From Engadget -
And here we go. With the Nook rooted and plenty of Android devs at the ready to exploit the device's free 3G data and semi-useful WiFi connection, it's officially open season on Barnes & Noble's new e-reader. Within the last few hours the Nook has been given a web browser to join the Pandora hack just announced by NookDevs. A trick that adds plenty of functionality to the Nook including the ability to login to public WiFi hotspots and read the news on an RSS aggregator (pictured right with Google Reader). Better yet, the rogue band of devs have already ported AndTweet and the Facebook app from the Android Marketplace. Unfortunately, the Google Maps port failed due to some missing libraries within the Nook's Android implementation. Naturally, none of this has been packaged for the everyman yet, but at this rate we might have off the shelf Nook homebrew before those January Nook orders can be delivered. Hey Barnes & Noble, welcome to the wild west of consumer electronics.
From TG Daily -
Per Wired, a team of hackers has successfully rooted the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader, allowing users to connect it to a computer and freely access the OS using Google's Android developers kit. The hack, which involves mounting the unit's Android OS MicroSD card on a PC (via a card reader) and altering the init.rc file, transforms the Nook into a color touchscreen computer running a full Android install, with free wireless over 3G from AT&T plus Wi-Fi, and a battery that lasts days. It also has multi-media messaging service (MMS) support, as well as support for a speech recognition engine. Which all means it is just the kind of platform killer apps will be developed for.
More details of the hack here.
From Silicon Valley Insider -
Per NY Times' David Pogue, Barnes & Noble's Nook should not have been released. Bottom line, it is a maddeningly slow, half-baked ripoff of the Kindle, and its supposed benefits all have drawbacks. In Poque's own words, "... it’s slower than an anesthetized slug in winter."
It takes three seconds to turn a page, 3x longer than the Kindle does, which is surprising since it uses the same E-Ink screen that the Kindle and even Sony Readers use. And it even longer to do other trivial tasks, such as opening the Settings panel, accessing the bookstore, or even just opening an ebook for the first time.
Per Engadget the Barnes & Noble Nook is now being shipped to customers. Above photo was sent in by Engadget reader Peter.
