Comments on: Rumor: B&N Nook to run Android Apps?

By: tom

tom — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:19:10 +0000

since wifi is built in along with 3G tethering apps would be extremely popular. this may be a problem since 3G is free and presumably both AT&T and B&N want to keep limits on usage. and what about VOIP. these things would be turned into free cell phones.

if the baseband firmware is not set to proxy everything through B&N servers i am pretty sure the hackers will get this up and running in a matter of days. but to allow it only be trouble.

i could see a special B&N marketplace being setup with only apps that use very little bandwidth or are subscription based with sub. charges baying for bandwidth usage. my guess is that this is the plan and that everything will pass through B&N servers that limit access to only ‘allowed’ IP address to prevent the hacking from getting out of control.

By: digit_pro

digit_pro — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:52:48 +0000

B&N turned to Google’s Android operating system to power the Nook, which may be why it supports so many file formats, including PDF, EPUB, eReader, MP3, and PNG, JPG, and GIF image formats.

Reference: http://futurismic.com/2009/10/22/the-bn-nook-is-it-the-ebook-reader-weve-been-waiting-for/

Good luck!

By: kathy

kathy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:02:53 +0000

I have the sony ereader. and it supports any format out there. Can the nook support word docs or lit files?

By: digit_pro

digit_pro — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:50:06 +0000

B&N has their act together!

By: JAH

JAH — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:26:17 +0000

Here’s a reason why they might limit the apps: if this thing really does come with free AT&T 3G connectivity what’s to stop a Nook user from abusing that? AT&T/B&N have done this deal anticipating only small amounts of traffic to enable to bookshelf browsing, purchasing and downloading. I can’t image they would be happy with end users gobbling up bandwidth with Youtube or streaming media.

Thoughts? Am I correct about the no-charge 3G connection? These devices do have that, right?

Personally I have no desire to own a Nook (or any e-reader) as a consumer but I would love to develop apps for it…even if the SDK only allows Nook-specific development.

By: ricky yun

ricky yun — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:06:57 +0000

Hopefully it is ture…

By: Max

Max — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:41:05 +0000

Another reason to NOT allow app downloads is to maintain focus. If a user buys a $300 device that can only display ebooks, the user has an incentive to load the thing up with ebooks purchased from B&N. If the device supports other features, it becomes more of a tablet causing less revenue to flow into B&N. Ebooks would simply become secondary in relationship to all the other things the device can do.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:38:40 +0000

You seem to be confusing the Nook with the Kindle. *Amazon* don’t want you to get books from anywhere else, B&N seem to be cool with it. They are making a big-ish deal out of the fact that it reads industry-standard ePub and PDF files, which need converting to run on the Kindle. If they didn’t want you get books from anywhere, they wouldn’t be promoting the fact that you can…

By: Scott Smith

Scott Smith — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:43:21 +0000

Sounds familiar.

http://www.changeist.com/changeism/2009/8/31/e-readers-the-new-tablet.html

By: Johan

Johan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:37:46 +0000

All this buzz about the Nook is simply so exciting! I could not resist, since I had been wanting to buy a reader for so long. Was debating whether or not to get the Kindle. The Nook seems to have it all. It does however only sell within the US and I live in Australia. I used US Unlocked and they pre-ordered it for me. Excellent service by the way!

By: mcgowen007

mcgowen007 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:12:59 +0000

They would need to be cutsom made for the very unique screen dimensions of that bottom touchscreen. But as a developer myself, I would love to make some nook-specific games!

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:37:03 +0000

the reason to NOT allow apps would be to prevent the ability to download ebooks from anywhere other than B&N. B&N doesnt want you to download any book u want, just theres.

By: Greg Kumparak

Greg Kumparak — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:06:32 +0000

If it’s running Android (which it is – v1.5), there’s no reason to not let it run apps. I’d be surprised if they went and incorporated full marketplace support or anything, but it’s totally reasonable that they’ll allow users to sideload APK files or release a small number of apps themselves.