B&N is increasingly facing more competition from Amazon, especially after the launch of the Kindle Fire, which all but overshadowed the launch of their new Nook Color device. Personally, I think the new Nook Color is an even better option for those of you who want to root the device and install something like CyanogenMod 9, which is based on Android 4.0 and gives you access to over 400,000 applications in the Android Market, and a lot more freedom to do what you want with the device. Plus, considering it’s Android 4.0, it should be significantly smoother than Amazon’s custom Android 2.3 UI, too.
The reason why I thought it’s a better device than the Kindle Fire is because you have more storage (16 GB) and a SD slot, and you can expand the storage by 32 GB. Plus, it’s much easier to install a custom ROM like this. It also has double the RAM, so you can browse the web without hiccups, and it has a mic for parents who want to record a story with their voice, and play it to their children. So even though the Nook Color is $50 more expensive than the Kindle Fire, I think it’s money well spent.
But B&N can’t stand still, and I’m sure Amazon won’t either. B&N seems to want to release a new Nook in spring, but we don’t know whether it will be a Nook Color or a regular e-ink Nook. Something tells me it’s just an e-ink Nook, though, because that’s usually when they release a new one.
I’m sure B&N has realized that the e-ink category is going nowhere fast right now, so if they won’t release a new Nook Color, then they will at least try to release something more innovative than a simple e-ink reader. Perhaps it will be a color e-ink reader, or perhaps they are going with Mirasol this time. Mirasol hasn’t been perfected either, but by then it might be able to provide a smooth colored experience, compared to e-ink. That might still pull some e-ink customers towards B&N’s side, and help them at least be more competitive in that market.