Many of us who own a Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color want to use it as an android tablet, but do not know how to go about it. There are a number of options that are available over the internet, but most of those options run the risk of bricking you Nook color device. There has also been a lot of information and news about the intention of Barnes & Noble to come up with an android 2.2 update for the NOOK color. Even if such an update does not give complete access to the Android Market, the users will still have wider accessibility to apps, once the update comes about.
However, there are many NOOK color users who do not want to wait for the upgrade. Instead most users prefer to get Honeycomb operating system for their devices. Such users can definitely avail of the many options that are available over the internet. But most of these options that have been made available by the development communities are aimed at rooting the e-reader. Rooting the Nook color will void the warranty on the device. Additionally, there is the risk of bricking the device. Thus you may be left with a defunct device that does not have warranty. Even if one is able to successfully root the Nook color, there is no way to revert to the default configuration. Hence the best option to run honeycomb on your Nook color is to opt for a bootable Honeycomb disk image on a MicroSD card.
An easy option would be to purchase a bootable card on e-Bay which may come to around $30 plus shipping. However, if you want to turn your Nook device into a 7 inch honeycomb tablet on your own, then all you require is a class 4 or better MicroSD card, around 30 minutes of your time and a computer.
You can follow the instructions given below to create a bootable Honeycomb disk image on the MicroSD card or you can search for the steps over the internet:
- A NOOK Color bootable image of Honeycomb or any other version of android operating system can be found over the internet
- The disk image can be written to the MicroSD card with the help of your computer’s disk tools
- Power down your Nook Color
- Insert the bootable MicroSD card in the Nook color and power it up
If everything goes according to the plan, then the Nook e-reader will boot into the Honeycomb operating system or any other android OS that you may have chosen. The beauty of this method is that, in case the steps do not work, then all you need to do is to power down the Nook device, remove the microSD card and then power it back again. You will have your nook e-reader as it was before. Even if you are able to successfully boot using the card, you have the option of reverting to using the nook device as an e-reader, by following the same procedure of powering down the device and removing the card.
One has to note that, following the above steps will limit the speed on you device when you are using the bootable card. Hence one can use a card that has greater read/write speeds. Also, if you wish to download data and apps onto the card, then a microSD card of a greater storage capacity should be used.
This may not be the best option for getting honeycomb operating system onto your Nook color, but it is the safest bet. Instead of spending a wad of cash on a new tablet, one can definitely opt for this option.
