The Easy Way to Turn Your Nook Color Into an Android Tablet

I'm a big conceive in restraint. (The column isn't called Hassle-Full PC, after all.) So when given the option between something simple and something complex, you seat bet I'll pick out the former every time–even if information technology means spending a few bucks.

For example, not long since I bought the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, a 7-inch e-lector that beat the upcoming Amazon Kindle Fire to market by a full year. Although it was pretty slick right out of the box, I treasured to test its acumen as a full-dyspnoeal Anroid pad of paper.

This is possible thanks to a cognitive operation called "rooting," which effectively means breaking into the OS so you can mess around with it–or replace it. I did some explore, and although rooting didn't seem that complicated, I did find it a little intimidating. The high matter I wanted to do was "brick" my Nook, to render IT non-functional owing to some glitch or screw-up.

Thankfully, I found an easy alternate. A couple enterprising developers have created special microSD cards especially for the Nook Color, cards that would appropriate you to dual-boot the Nook Atomic number 76 and a special version of Android. Put differently, you just pop one of these cards into the Nook's microSD time slot, and fast: instant Android.

The real beauty of this is that IT's a semi-permanent solution. If you don't want the Android surroundings any longer, merely grow off the Nook, pop out the card, and reboot. Presto: You'atomic number 75 back to the Nook OS. (Actually, you don't even have to take the wit out, as you can choose the OS you want from a boot menu.) That means you'Ra not elimination your warranty, unlike when you root word the Nook.

I've tested a couple of these Corner Color cards, and they'atomic number 75 both terrific. The first, N2A, supplies CyanogenMod, a very popular Android ROM stocked lots of enthusiastic apps, including Amazon Kindle (so you're non locked into reading Barnes & Noble e-books), Angry Birds, and Wrangle with Friends. Of line, you butt always give the sack up Android Market and put in more.

I also tried a poster from Root My Nook Color, which offers a quality of tierce Android ROMs: CyanogenMod, MIUI, and PhireMod. Mine came with MIUI running an iPhone/iPad subject (one of many a available), and dang if my Nook didn't look same a baby iPad. Really, really cool.

Prices start at about $35 for an 8GB card; both shops offer a 16GB version for around $50, and N2A sells a 32GB card for $89.99. Bear in judgement this is something you can do yourself, using your own some, much cheaper microSD cards (Newegg, e.g., has a couple 16GB cards for below $20)–only it's a hassle, especially if you don't jazz what you're doing. The pre-made Humanoid card game put up plug-and-play simplicity–and the results are just plain awesome.

Causative Editor program Rick Broida writes some business and consumer technology. Invite help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, operating room try the trove of helpful folks in the Microcomputer Humans Community Forums. Sign up up to have the Rough-and-tumble-Free PC newssheet e-mailed to you each week.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/477232/the_easy_way_to_turn_your_nook_color_into_an_android_tablet.html

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