BN Updates the NookColor

And there was much rejoicing!

I rooted my NookColor awhile back, just before they sent down an update. I unrooted (derooted?) it to get the update and never got around to re-rooting it? (once you say "root" so many times, it kind of loses all meaning...)

Sent to you by Kev via Google Reader:

Barnes & Noble Adds Apps, Email, and Other Features to the Nook Color

via Maximum PC - All Articles by Paul Lilly on 4/25/11

Many wondered if tablets and dedicated eBook readers could coexist, primarily because the former can do everything the latter can do, plus a whole lot more (except read comfortably in direct sunlight). But much lower prices and lighter devices have made sure that eBook readers remain relevant. On top of that, Barnes & Noble appears determined to blur the line between what constitutes a dedicated eReader and a full fledged tablet.
Barnes & Noble today announced it added "significant new features and content" to its Nook Color device, which B&N pitches as "the reader's tablet." This $250 in-between now has full-featured, built in email, an enhanced Web experience, and a broad collection of popular apps courtesy of its v1.2 update, B&N says.
"Nook Color offers the best reading experience of any device, and now delivers the most popular tablet features such as engaging apps so customers can play, learn and explore, free, built-in email, an Android operating system update for enhanced Web browsing and more interactive content," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "With our new Nook Apps program, we've partnered with the world's best publishers and developers to offer popular brands like Angry Birds, Epicurious, Uno, Lonely Planet, Dr. Seuss, Little Critter and many more quality and entertaining applications. These and other enhancements, plus new ways for adults and children to experience exciting content, make Nook Color a great alternative to paying double the price – or more – for an expensive tablet. Our easy-to-use, full-featured Reader's Tablet is available for only $249, and presents the best value of any tablet on the market."
B&N is correct in describing these additions as "significant." The addition of Nook Apps allows the Nook Color to be taken a little more seriously as a "reader's tablet," with a selection of both free and paid apps, with half of the latter priced at $2.99 or less and the majority priced at $5.99 or less, B&N says.
Email is another big addition. B&N says users can now organize multiple Web mail accounts in one inbox, adding that it works with the top Web mail services, including Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, and Hotmail.
B&N will begin rolling out the over-the-air (OTA) update to customers via Wi-Fi over the coming weeks, or you can grab it immediately by heading to www.nookcolor.com/update.

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Book Review: March In Country

March In Country, the latest Vampire Earth novel by struggling author E.E. Knight proves to me yet again that you should be reading his work! Book number nine of VE finds David Valentine finally having a relatively good day. He's been through so much hardship the past few books, this book is quite a breather for him. Not to say he doesn't have some troubles to overcome, but compared to recent books, this one seems a breeze for him.

Valentine is reunited with old friends and makes some new ones along the way, and finally gets the Kentucky Freehold under some semblance of working order even without the moral support of the Southern Command. There's an interesting turn of events with his old friend Narcisse, and some foreshadowing of Valentine's possible future.

All in all a great addition to the Vampire Earth series.

March in Country was provided to me by the publisher for review. I also bought the ebook version so I could read it on my NookColor (first book I've read on it!). 

Related articles

• Post from E.E. Knight titled "Worst royalty statement ever!"
• Recent Reads January 2011

Review: NookColor

Well, not really a review. More of an initial reaction. I received a NOOKcolor as a Christmas gift. As did my oldest daughter. My two younger kids both received the regular Nook.

I've downloaded a couple of books to the Nook and turned a few pages in, but didn't actually start reading any of them to read them - just to see how it looked and how it worked. One neat thing about the Nook is that you can put any .pdf or open ePub format book on it to read. You're not restricted to buying books from Barnes & Noble.

My local library (as I'm sure many others do) have an ebook check-out option using Adobe Digital Editions. You download the book from the library to your home computer, then hook up your Nook to that computer and transfer the file over to the Nook. After two weeks or however long the library has it set up, your rental of that book expires and you no longer have access to it unless you check it out again. There are also thousands of free ebooks available from various sources, including the Barnes & Noble website and Project Gutenberg.  

The NOOKcolor is basically just a branded, locked-down tablet PC running on the Android operating system. It comes with a built-in web browser, and yes, you can surf the internet with this ereader - which is what I've mostly used it for the past few days. It has a touchscreen for navigation and control, as well as a software keyboard almost exactly like a smartphone. As you can add your own ebooks onto the optional sd card, you can also add videos and watch them or music files - but they have to be formatted a specific way and size. You'll need to Google the exact settings to get it right.

A nitpick: it seems you need to turn it off and back on sometimes after making changes or additions to get it to sync up, not after adding books but after adding other stuff. After adding videos, I didn't get any sound. Rebooting the unit made it work fine.

The NOOKcolor has a single built-in speaker, but includes a standard stereo headphone jack. You can watch movies or listen to music, or even listen to audiobooks using it. The unit itself isn't heavy, nor is it too light. It seems the perfect weight.

A few other tidbits: like smartphones and other tablets the screen auto-rotates to match how you're holding the unit, which makes browsing the internet and watching videos a nicer experience. You can get a variety of covers/cases for your Nook, some with pockets and some without. These serve to protect your Nook, and make it look snazzy. And like other Android devices, you can "root" it to gain more control over the operating system and use more Android apps on it than what Barnes & Noble intended. Also, unlike other devices, the Nook does not charge when plugged into your USB port on your computer. It only charges via the AC adapter.

I mentioned putting ePub files on the Nook. There's a program called Calibre that will convert ebooks from one file type to another for use with your Nook, or other ereader. It can convert .pdf, .doc, .txt, and many other formats. Another source for free ebooks is Baen. In fact, they often include a CD full of ebooks in their hardback releases. That's kind of awesome in my opinion!

There's much more to this little device, I haven't had much time to actually play with it and get into the thick of it (let alone actually read something on it...). All in all, I'm quite pleased with the NOOKcolor and look forward to using it more.