Hasta La Gadget!

On the heels of the announcement that it’s grabbed 25 percent of the US e-reader market, Barnes & Noble has decided to give the world a heap of details on its Android developments. First up, we’ve got an updated Android app, and while it’s not exactly a drastic upgrade, version 2.5 has been refreshed with a new library grid view (apparently optimized for 7-inch tablets), a book download progress bar, and a wish list feature. We told you they were rather minor updates, but our guess is that the Nook Honeycomb app that’s being promised for some time this spring will be far more exciting. Yep, it’s a lot of B&N Android, but while we’re on the topic, we’ve got to admit we’re wondering about the whereabouts of that Nook Color app store, which was announced back in October. Look not everyone has taken to rooting, okay? Alright, we’ve totally digressed — hit the gallery below for some screens of the new app or the source link to try it out on your own.

Barnes & Noble updates Nook Android app, promises a Honeycomb version this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Honeycomb on a humble e-reading tablet? Why yes, it’s not only possible, it’s downloadable. Deeper-blue, the chap who’s been spending the past few days porting the Honeycomb SDK over to the Nook Color, has today decided to release his latest work out to eager users and fellow coders. He’s enabled the accelerometer, touchscreen, buttons, graphics acceleration, and wireless connectivity, but other things like sound remain on the to-do list. Hit the source link for all the code and info you require to be among the first to run Android 3.0 on their tablet.

Update: Video walkthrough after the break!

[Thanks, Forrest]

Continue reading Honeycomb for Nook Color released for download (update: video)

Honeycomb for Nook Color released for download (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the first things that happens after a new platform emulator breaks loose is that a bunch of hackers far smarter than ourselves get hold of it, tear it apart, and port it to whatever’s convenient. In the case of this week’s Android 3.0 Honeycomb preview, “whatever’s convenient” would be the Nook Color, which reigns as perhaps the cheapest decent-quality Android tablet money can currently buy. Naturally, xda-developers has a thread going on the subject as we speak; the current port is said to be really slow and mostly broken — but then again, that kind of describes the current state of the emulator itself. Good news is that the developer says he plans on working on graphics acceleration to improve performance over the weekend, so with any luck, the Xoom might have some unofficial competition before too long. Follow the break for another shot.

[Thanks, s30zgt]

Continue reading Nook Color earns its very early, very unofficial Android 3.0 Honeycomb wings

Nook Color earns its very early, very unofficial Android 3.0 Honeycomb wings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble may be selling millions of Nook products, but it’s sounding like the 3G variant hasn’t really done its part to help those figures. We’ve received hard evidence from within B&N that the Nook is being discontinued, with sales to seemingly continue until stock is exhausted. The outfit is encouraging retail partners to not send out any bulk orders for the Nook 3G, as there simply won’t be sufficient quantities to fulfill those orders. Of course, we’re told that the company never actually received a huge amount of Nook 3G bulk orders to begin with, so maybe WiFi really is everywhere these days. At any rate, grab yourself a Nook 3G post-haste if you’ve been thinking it over — once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. Or, you could wait for a next-gen version with a Pearl display. Just sayin’.

Update: We received clarification that the discontinuation isn’t due to the lack of bulk sales, they’re just the first casualty of a dwindling supply.

Exclusive: Barnes & Noble phasing out the Nook 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You Nook owners just aren’t ever satisfied, are you? First, reading wasn’t enough so you went ahead and rooted to get your Angry Birds on. That was all fine and well, until that Froyo hack came along and (maybe?) nuked your device. If your confidence hasn’t yet been shattered, strap on your seatbelt for the latest chapter in the life of the Nook Color after e-reading. Apparently user occip over at the always-hacking xda-developers found a way to enable the currently dormant Bluetooth radio tucked away in some undisclosed cranny of B&N’s colorful Nook. This one’s not for the faint of heart just yet — you have to be on Froyo already, and that’s a feat in and of itself. Still, it paves the way for things like Bluetooth GPS dongles as well as headsets for apps like Skype. We’ll see what happens when B&N releases 2.2 officially, which should be pretty much any day now…

Nook Color Bluetooth chip shows signs of life — if you’ve already hacked it, of course originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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