The rooting of Barnes & Noble's delicious IPS-wielding e-reader took place a couple of weeks ago, rendering the device more of a tablet than a single-use reading terminal in one gloriously justifying move. As with most other tablets, however, it lacked one thing: proper Google app support with access to the Android market. Of course, with the main rooting hurdle already surmounted, it was only a matter of time before these problems were dealt with, too. Some folks in the know over at NookDevs.com have put together a meticulous tutorial to turn that 7" slab into all you've ever wanted it to be. Unfortunately, it's not quite at the Reference For The Rest Of Us™ level, nor is there any One-Click involved.

Simply put, you'll have to be somewhat comfortable with use of a bash terminal or ADB on your PC, as the installation process for the Android Market on the NC is quite involved. Of course, it's still right there in plaintext, step by step instructions, so if you're feeling brave and are an accurate typist, you can probably swing it without too much knowledge. Just heed the warning at the top: "This is hard, and can screw up your NC". If you're feeling uncertain, you're probably better off waiting a couple of days for the inevitable dummy-proof solution. Otherwise, the next step is surely a hardware mod: addition of the four standard Android buttons, which would make the NC an unstoppable proposition.

Source: NookDevs via DroidGamers