Barnes & Noble will open up a new chapter in the development of its
Nook Color next month with a firmware update that includes Adobe Flash playback support and email plus an
App Store, features displayed exclusively on a Home Shopping Network segment this morning.
The segment, recorded by a fan and posted on YouTube, outlines those additions. (See grab below.) In a press release, Barnes & Noble acknowledged adding email, but didn’t mention Flash.
Though the Nook was introduced as a pure play e-reader, the new functionality puts it more in the direction of a tablet, a market dominated by Apple’s iPad and iPad 2, which don’t support Flash. Other Android-based tablets are beginning to support the platform though, including Samsung’s redesigned 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab, which is due in June, and Motorola’s Xoom, which will get full Flash support “in a matter of weeks,” according to a recent report.
On HSN, the updated Nook was listed at $299 with $11.95 for shipping and handling. On the segment, the device boasts a $504 retail value and a normally listed price of $379.95 on HSN. HSN plans to offer other sneak peeks at 5 PM and 9 PM today.
The upgrade comes after Barnes & Noble offered a “minor” tweak in January that added better Wi-Fi connectivity, improved performance and the ability to pinch and zoom the text.
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Spent some quality time watching the Home Shopping Network this morning to hear just how the Nook Color will be improved? That's what we thought... but we bit the bullet and tuned in ourselves to get the details for you. Simply put, HSN says Barnes and Noble will start rolling out an over-the-air software package in "mid-April" that will update the Nook Color to Android 2.2, bringing Adobe Flash Player, Angry Birds, and push email of some sort. It'll also apparently include "lots of Nook apps," though the channel's pitchmen only had one to show on TV -- a kid-friendly sketchpad, with a variety of drawing utensils and colored paper. HSN hosts also claim that customers who purchase the Nook Color on the show are "guaranteed to be the very first people updated," though we're not sure we'll take them at their word, considering some of the other fabulous exaggerations we just heard on the air.
