NOOK Tablet: The Missing Manual

Chapter 9. Downloading and Using Apps

THE NOOK TABLET IS called a tablet for a reason. Just like other tablets, it can do lots of things other than letting you read books—notably running apps. Just as with all tablets and smartphones, the NOOK lets you download apps to do all kinds of nifty things, from playing music to playing games or keeping track of your diet. Bottom line: Anything you can do on a traditional tablet, you can do on your NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color. (And yes, that includes Angry Birds.)

Note

The NOOK Color runs apps as well, although it may not run all the apps that the NOOK Tablet can. For example, as of this writing, it cannot run Hulu Plus, although by the time you read this, that may have changed.

In this chapter, you’ll learn all about how to get apps, how to install them, how to manage them, and how to use them—including the built-in apps on your NOOK Tablet. You’ll also get advice on some great apps to download.

Running Apps

The NOOK Tablet runs the Android operating system, even though its interface doesn’t look like other Android tablets or smartphones you’ve seen. That’s because Barnes & Noble has customized the Android operating system for eReading and other purposes.

Note

The Android operating system was created by Google, which makes it available free of charge to tablet and smartphone manufacturers.

Because the NOOK Tablet is built on Android, it runs Android ...