Tech Tuesday – Roll Your Own Android Tablet

Tablet "computers" are the new fashionable rage in the tech world right now. Everyone wants one of those mobile computing beauties for getting work done or just surfing the web. Here's a way you can turn a plain old Nook e-reader device into an Android based tablet.

This article over at NPR, gives you the basic info and a video for instructions on how to root the Nook e-reader and install Android on it. Then you can surf the web, get apps for the device and play Angry Birds. All you need is a Nook e-reader, a micro SD card and about 30 minutes. The Youtube video posted in the article, and also just below in this story, gives you the step by step instructions on how to do it. There is also a Mac version of the hack video for my fellow Mac users.

The video is pretty detailed and explains things well enough so that if you're not too sophisticated with hacking tech like this, you'll still feel pretty comfortable.

Since I don't have a Nook, I can't attest to how well it runs or how stable it is. But I did meet someone recently that has done this hack. He said that it was a simple procedure, but like the article says, the device, once modified, is prone to glitches and can be slower. The glitches I'm sure will get fixed as time goes on and updates to the particular version of Android software is made available.

I like articles like these for hacks, because these are projects you can do in an afternoon and have hours of fun. And if you get tired of it, you can simply restore the original software on your Nook and it'll be like you did nothing at all. So if you decide to do this project, post your results here. I would love to know how well it goes over.

Happy Hacking.