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The Barnes & Noble NOOK Color may not have a dual core processor or a microphone, but that’s about all that’s separating this 7 inch Android tablet aimed at readers from the newer NOOK Tablet.
Barnes & Noble normally sells the NOOK Color for $169, but the retailer has just dropped the price to $149, making this one of the cheapest Android tablets available with a 1024 x 600 pixel display.
It ships with the Barnes & Noble NOOK Store instead of the Google Play Store, but there are all sorts of neat tricks you can perform to install custom ROMS and add the Google Play Store — some of the most popular methods involve booting from a microSD card so you don’t even overwrite the operating system that comes with the tablet.
Here are some of the day’s best deals on mobile devices and accessories.
- Barnes & Noble NOOK Color for $149 – B&N
- Dell Latitude ST 10″ 32GB Windows 7 tablet for $455 – Dell (via Dealnews)
- Motorola XOOM 32GB WiFi tablet for $330 – 1SaleADay (via eBay)
- Skytex SkyPad Alpha 2 7″ Android tablet for $120 – Newegg (coupon: EMCNENG44)
- Kobo Touch E Ink eBook reader w/touchscreen for $80 – Buy.com
- Refurb B&N NOOK Simple Touch eReader for $66 – Newegg
- ADATA 32GB class 4 microSDHC card w/adapter for $20 – TigerDirect
You can find more bargains in our daily deals section.
Bought a refurbished Nook Color a few months back — easy upgrade to CM7 on SD card (Android 2.3.3) and overclock to 1.2MHz (50% overclock) no problem. Runs just about everything I’ve thrown at it, including Angry Birds, of course.
Also been trying CM9 (Android 4.0.4), but not quite ready for prime time yet, but give it a few weeks. The ICS interface does look very nice on the Nook Color screen though.
CM9 was way too slow for me when I installed it on my NC. I highly recommend the MiRaGe ROM for the NC which is based on CM7.2. Runs great and has the ICS look. Even nicer if you install Go Launcher and ICS Icons.
Tried the Go Launcher, but ended up preferring the standard 7.2.
Speed hasn’t been much of an issue with me and CM9 — stability has been more of a concern. The good news is that a couple of manufacturers with Nook compatible processors seem to be on the verge of supporting ICS, which should mean better Nook support in future. Still, I do agree that the Nook Color makes a very nice entry level Gingerbread device for $149 (and that’s likely to bring the refurbished price down close to $100 in the near future).