Android 4.0.4 comes to the NOOK Tablet (unofficially)

Now that  Android 4.0.4 updates are rolling out for phones and tablets that are officially supported by the CyanogenMod team, we’re starting to see unofficially supported CyanogenMod devices getting in on the action.

This weekend the folks that first brought Android 4.0 to the Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet released Alpha 0.02, this time with Android 4.0.4.

The update doesn’t look like much right now. It includes the new CyanogenMod boot logo and a bug fix that allows the Google Chrome beta web browser to be installed.

I also found that when I updated from Alpha 0.01 to the latest Alpha I had to flash the Google Apps package from the CyanogenMod Wiki again. Until I did that I was unable to use the Google Play Store, Gmail app, or other Google applications on the tablet.

In case it’s not incredibly clear, installing CyanogenMod 9 on the NOOK Tablet can void your warranty, so don’t expect any support from Barnes & Noble if something goes wrong. This is also an early experimental build based on the CyanogenMod team’s work, so don’t expect everything to work properly — Netflix and YouTube HD video playback, for instance, still aren’t supported in Alpha 0.02.

If you’ve already installed an earlier beta of CyanogenMod 7 or CyanogenMod 7, you can flash the latest build using ClockworkMod Recovery using the following steps:

Reboot into ClockworkMod Recovery

• Download the update-cm9-acclaim-alpha0.02-fullofbugs.zip file from the link at the xda-developers forum and place the file on your tablet.
• Press and hold the power button on your NOOK Tablet to bring up the Tablet options menu.
• Select Reboot.
• Tap the item that says “Recovery.”
• Tap “OK.”
• Wait for the tablet to reboot into ClockworkdMod Recovery.

Backup your device: Optional (but recommended):

• Use the volume buttons to scroll down to the backup and restore option, and select the backup option by pressing the “n” button.
• Select the backup option.
• Once the backup is complete press the power button to return to the main menu.
• Now you can restore from this backup if anything goes wrong.

Install the update

• Use the volume buttons to scroll down to “install zip from sdcard” and select it by pressing the “n” button.
• Press “n” to “choose zip from sdcard”
• Locate the update-cm9-acclaim-alpha0.02-fullofbugs.zip file and select it.
• Scroll down to the option marked “Yes” and select it.
• Once the install is complete, press the power button to return to the main menu.
• At this point it’s a good idea to scroll down to the option for “wipe cache partition” before rebooting — but you can try rebooting right now if you want too.
• Your tablet should reboot into Android.

You can follow the same steps from the “install the update” section to install the gApps package.

If this is your first time installing any version of CyanogenMod 9 on the NOOK Tablet, you’ll want to root your tablet (using an SD card or by connecting the tablet to your PC and running a root tool on your computer), install ClockworkMod Recovery, and then use ClockworkMod to install CM9 using the steps above.

You can find more details and tips at the xda-developers forum.