Nook2Android turns Nook into full Android tablet

Nook2Android can turn the color Nook into a full-fledged Android tablet.

(Credit:
Nook2Android)

Barnes Noble Nook Color owners now have a new option that can turn their e-readers into full-fledged
Android
tablets.

Sold by a company called Nook2Android, a SanDisk microSD card preloaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the Android Market essentially transforms Nook Color readers into Android tablets.

Available in three sizes and prices ($34.99 for 8 gigabytes, $49.99 for 16 GB, and $89.99 for 32GB), the SD card plugs directly into the Nook, letting the device boot into Android mode. A boot menu gives users the choice of loading Android or the Nook operating system, while removing the card will automatically transform the Nook back into its normal e-reader state.

In Android mode, Nook owners can use the built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n to surf the Web and run various preinstalled apps, such as Gmail, Facebook, and Pandora, according to Nook2Android. Apps can be downloaded and installed directly from the Android Market. The company also promises that using the cards won’t affect the Nook’s internal memory or void the warranty from BN.

All three flavors of the card are being sold through Amazon. Although Nook2Android has picked up only a small number of user reviews at Amazon thus far, most of the people who have chimed in seem happy with it. Nook2Android also offers a FAQ page to answer questions from owners and potential buyers.

Until now, Nook Color owners eager to convert their devices into Android tablets have had to turn to various unofficial hacks, some of which have even been selling on eBay. Just like Nook2Android’s solution, the hacks have consisted of microSD cards running some flavor of Android, including a preview version of Honeycomb.

But since Nook2Android is sold through Amazon and supported by a 14-day money-back guarantee, it seems the better and safer option at this point for Nook owners eager for a taste of Android.

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Zynga Launches PrivacyVille, a Gamified Version of Its Privacy Policies

As Zynga edges closer to its initial public offering, the social game developer seems concerned with educating the masses both on social game revenue models and on the actual fine print of social game privacy policies. Today, the company announces PrivacyVille, an interactive walkthrough of its privacy policies that rewards participants with zPoints to spend in gift network RewardVille.

The experience can be clicked through in about two minutes, with each structure on the CityVille-like map representing a different component of Zynga’s privacy policy. The tutorial text seems to stress to readers that Zynga will collect players’ information from Facebook and from mobile devices and share it with third-party service providers, the legal system in the case of a court ordered disclosure, and with other players in cases where a player’s icon displays a link back to their Facebook account. Once completed, the tutorial gives participants a quiz on the policies with very easy-to-guess multiple choice answers. Completing the quiz activates the deposit of 200 zPoints into the player’s RewardVille account (enough to buy one of the more expensive decoration items, like the Zynga Zeppelin).

Social and mobile game developers have come under fire for sharing player information with third-parties in the past. In some cases, these were clear-cut violations of Facebook or Apple’s terms of service agreements with developers, and in others, it’s a question of how carefully the developers themselves handled the information through encryption and other methods that render players anonymous if the data is ever hacked. In any case, the point can be argued that most users clicking Accept on a developer’s terms of service don’t actually know 1) where their data is stored and 2) what parties now have the right to view that data.

For those not planning to complete PrivacyVille, Zynga’s data is stored in the United States.

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