Barnes & Noble has updated the Nook Color to include a number of apps and features present in its new Nook Tablet. We hope the update speeds up the aging e-reader tablet as well.
Barnes & Noble has released version 1.4.1 of its Nook Color software. The new update will attempt to level the playing field between the Color and the Kindle Fire, it’s closest price competitor at $200. Those who have a registered Nook Color should automatically get the update sometime this week. If you want the update now, you can get the update manually from this zip file on your PC. Afte rthat, you’ll have to connect your Nook Color to your PC using a USB cable.
Here are the new additions:
- Netflix
- Nook Comics
- PagePerfect Nook Books – Books that retain their print layouts
- Landscape and portrait reading
- Built-in dictionary with direct word look-up feature
- More font sizes
- Performance enhancements – It should be faster
- 100 total changes
All of these changes seem to be an attempt to bring the features of the Nook Color up to par with B&N’s fancy new $250 Nook Tablet (our hands-on impressions). However, even with the upgrades, we can’t recommend you purchase a Nook Color over a Nook Tablet or Amazon Kindle Fire. The Color has an outdated single-core processor and is lags well behind the Kindle Fire in speed. At the sub-$300 level, the Nook Tablet is probably the best e-reading tablet you can buy. Still, if you’re a Nook Color owner, this should be a joyous day. You can finally read in two orientations!
