Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 51,936
Since buying my Nook tablet last weekend, I've been familiarizing myself with options beyond my Nook content that was automatically available on the device after I registered it.
There are numerous Android apps for the Nook tablet, but only a small fraction of what's available on the Android Market; It feels a little like the iTunes restriction - you get what they decide you have access to. It also feels like the majority of Nook apps are games &/or kids stuff. Meanwhile, B&N have opened the developer route for Android developers to upload their apps.
One no-brainer app I installed was the Dolphin browser, which is far superior to Nook's built-in browser.
There are ways to 'root' the Nook, including double-boot methods, which would open the Nook to the entire Android Market. But I'd prefer to keep this simple. Some folks who rooted their Nook were surprised when an automatic upgrade un-rooted their device. There are ways around this also, including forcing the Nook to run an older version of Android, but I don't find this an acceptable way to go.
Amazon has opened their own version of Android Market and, just for the heck of it, I searched there for Nook apps. Their search engine returned a number of apps, but they're really Android apps, not necessarily for Nook. No surprise, given that Nook competes with Kindle.
Meanwhile, I've especially enjoyed the Smithsonian Channel app on the Nook; Some fascinating videos and other content.
There are numerous Android apps for the Nook tablet, but only a small fraction of what's available on the Android Market; It feels a little like the iTunes restriction - you get what they decide you have access to. It also feels like the majority of Nook apps are games &/or kids stuff. Meanwhile, B&N have opened the developer route for Android developers to upload their apps.
One no-brainer app I installed was the Dolphin browser, which is far superior to Nook's built-in browser.
There are ways to 'root' the Nook, including double-boot methods, which would open the Nook to the entire Android Market. But I'd prefer to keep this simple. Some folks who rooted their Nook were surprised when an automatic upgrade un-rooted their device. There are ways around this also, including forcing the Nook to run an older version of Android, but I don't find this an acceptable way to go.
Amazon has opened their own version of Android Market and, just for the heck of it, I searched there for Nook apps. Their search engine returned a number of apps, but they're really Android apps, not necessarily for Nook. No surprise, given that Nook competes with Kindle.
Meanwhile, I've especially enjoyed the Smithsonian Channel app on the Nook; Some fascinating videos and other content.