Nook Color Becomes an Android Tablet

Barnes & Noble announced Monday that it introduced new features to its Nook Color e-reader.

With a new store to buy software applications—many of which specially designed for the tablet’s 7-inch color touchscreen, the device has become more competitive with Apple’s iPad and Amazon.com’s Kindle. It features access to e-mail accounts including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and Hotmail, as well as games such as Angry Birds, Uno, and Brain Exercise.

Nook Color also updated to Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, which allows users to watch videos on Adobe Flash 10.1.

The tablet costs $249 and gives users access to 2 million books, 150 interactive magazines and newspapers, and more than 12,000 children’s chapter and picture books.

“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,” Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said in a release.

The software update, which is free for all current and future Nook Color customers, addresses many shortcomings brought up by device reviews when the Nook Color first launched in the market in October.