One tiny detail that went largely unnoticed about the “nook”, the slick new e-book reader that Barnes and Noble just released: the nook’s operating system is based on Google’s Android OS. Hmmm… Why would B&N develop the nook based on Android? Well, Android is a sick platform for developers, and they absolutely love building on it. So why not open it up and let others develop for the nook? According a person close to the situation, that is in the plans for the nook, and it will soon be able to run apps.
Now, we don’t know if this will become a full-fledged Android device, where the nook would enable a user to download anything from the Android Marketplace. Chances are it’ll be more like a mini-Android marketplace, for apps built specifically for the nook. Either way, it would be a sweet addition to an already-impressive device. Imagine having crossword puzzles, interactive books, games and the like on your e-Reader. Unlike the Kindle’s closed platform, this would theoretically be more open and would provide developers and book publishers with a clever way to improve the interactivity of their books. Of course, the nook has to take off before this becomes likely so developers have a real incentive to build on the platform. Time will only tell, but for now, the e-book race just got even more interesting.