Barnes & Noble adds Android apps, email to Nook Color

Bookseller chain Barnes & Noble unveiled a significant Nook Color e-reader update that adds Android applications, email and support for Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR, effectively positioning the seven-inch, $249 tablet as a cheaper alternative to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad. With the Nook Color v1.2's update to the Android 2.2 operating system, Barnes & Noble will offer both free and premium applications including games (e.g., the bestselling Angry Birds), multimedia apps, calendar and weather solutions--Nook Apps will offer over 125 applications at launch, with roughly half of paid apps available for $2.99 or less and the majority priced at $5.99 or less.

The Nook Color update allows users to run applications and games including Angry Birds.

Barnes & Noble states that all updated Nook Color devices will now ship preloaded with Nook Email as well as Nook Friends, a reader-centric social network enabling consumers to swap books, view reviews and recommendations and "Like" titles via Facebook.  Also new: Enhanced browser performance and Adobe Flash Player integration, which promises access to expanded video, interactive and animated content alongside enhanced pinch and zoom, improved global search and shortcuts to settings and audio.

Barnes & Noble notes that more than 5,000 content providers and developers have registered with its Nook Developer program--programmers can build interactive Nook Color apps using tools in Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, including Flash Builder 4.5 and Flash Professional CS 5.5. There is no fee to join the Nook Developer program--participants receive 70 percent of Nook Color app revenues, and may offer free trials to users. B&N adds that it has received hundreds of developer requests to qualify for application submission in the three weeks since it opened the Nook Developer program.

At $249, the Nook Color is half the starting price of Apple's iPad 2. As its name indicates, the Nook Color also touts a color touchscreen--Amazon.com's rival Kindle e-reader unit includes a gray-scale screen without touch-sensitive functionality.

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