Hasta La Gadget!

For less than a third of the price of the cheapest iPad, you can buy Barnes and Noble’s adorably-named, but often ignored e-reader: The Nook. One aspect of The Nook that is often overlooked is the fact that the little sucker is Android-powered. That’s open-source Android-powered. Which, if you think about it, kind of makes The Nook the very first Android-based tablets (or tablet-like gizmos) that the nerdosphere has been buzz–buzzing about.

Of course, The Nook’s scope is a far cry from heavy-duty tablet territory–it’s designed for basic e-reading first and foremost. However, with a few slight “adjustments” you can pimp your Nook with additional functionality such as a Pandora and Twitter app. For free.

Hackers had previously developed a method to RoboCop-up the humble e-reader that required performing some open-Nook surgery. However this newest non-invasive technique can all be accomplished with a spare microSD card and some simple software fanoogling. All under a half hour.

Note: this will definitely void your B&N warranty. However if you’re looking for a simple e-reader that will perform basic web functions without being forced to sacrifice food, rent, inoculations, etc. this may be a handy alternative.

Directions over at NookDevs.

hat tip to popsci