How to Turn Your Nook Color into an Android Tablet

Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color is, in the company’s own words, “the reader’s tablet.” It looks like a tablet, it checks your email like a tablet, and it can get you online like a tablet. From a hardware standpoint, the Nook Color stacks up well against other 7-inch tablets, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Acer Iconia Tab A100. But unlike those other tablets, it doesn’t run full Android, which means you don’t get access to the 200,000-plus Android Market apps. For the full benefit of Android, you have to add it to the Nook Color yourself.

We’ll show you three ways to transform your Nook Color to an Android tablet. Two of these methods let you choose whether you want to run different versions of Android or the Nook OS each time you boot; the other leaves most of the Nook customization intact, but adds Android Market access and a few clever Android features on top. None of the three methods is irreversible, none will break your Nook Color (unless you try really hard), and none will take you longer than an hour. They are, however, almost certain to void the device’s warranty, so proceed with caution.

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micro SD Slot
CyanogenMod
N2A Card Android
N2A Boot Choice

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You’ll need three things to get started: a Nook Color, either an N2A card (see below), or a blank microSD card along with a computer or card reader that accepts microSD cards. It’s important that your microSD card be at least a Class 4 card, and preferably Class 6 or higher; two of these methods boot and run the Nook Color from the card itself, so you’ll want a fast card. Also, make sure to get a card with a minimum capacity of 4GB, though 8GB or higher is ideal. You’ll use nearly 4GB just for the Android OS, and you’ll want extra space for your own apps and files.

First up: the simplest way to get Android running on your Nook Color.

N2A Cards
NooktoAndroid N2AThe easiest way to turn your Nook Color into an Android tablet requires no technical knowledge and only about eight seconds of your time.

It involves nothing more than inserting a microSD card from a company called N2A (they’re available in 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB models, respectively priced at $34.99, $49.99, or $89.99) into your Nook Color’s card slot. Every time you power on the device, you’re given the option to boot into either Android or the Nook OS. If you decide you don’t want Android after all, just turn off the Nook Color; take out the N2A card, and you’ll never even notice it was there in the first place.

We’ve reviewed the N2A card, so I’ll spare you the gritty details, but in essence: N2A uses a well-known Android ROM called CyanogenMod, which is based on Android 2.3 “Gingerbread.” It’s a solid operating system, adding a variety of apps and features as well as access to the entire Android Market. This version has been customized to run on the Nook Color, but it’s not as tablet-friendly as Android 3.0 “Honeycomb.” (For more, check out our review of the N2A Card.)

N2A cards are certainly the easiest and least-risky solution, but you’re essentially paying a convenience fee—N2A does nothing you can’t do yourself. N2A will even help you do it yourself, if you’d like; the company has detailed instructions on its website.

N2A lets you use either the Nook OS or full-fledged Android. But what if you want the best of both worlds? That’s where nooting comes in.