Barnes & Noble has announced a big update for the Nook Color e-reader coming in April which will include a number of new functions such as applications and email, essentially bringing the LCD e-reader closer to being a full-fledged Android tablet. It has been understood for a while that the Nook Color can be jailbroken and rooted to give it full tablet functionality, and the rooted tablet compares favorably to the Galaxy Tab—a bit slower, but a lot cheaper. But it’s been attracting a lot more attention lately: NPR’s All Things Considered did a story on the practice...

The jailbreak wars continue. Last week, users found that a recent iBooks update had the undocumented side-effect of failing to open DRM-protected e-books on jailbroken iOS devices. ReadWriteWeb presumed this was Apple’s way of trying to protect its DRM from being broken and unprotected e-books subsequently exported. However, the jailbreakers have struck back. ReadWriteWeb now reports that the developers of the jailbreak Sn0wbreeze have released a new version that supposedly fixes iBooks “100%” (though some users have still reported trouble with it). As always, if you jailbreak your device, you do so at your own risk. I’m...

Engadget has an exclusive report indicating that Barnes & Noble is phasing out the Nook 3G. The company is encouraging retail partners not to send bulk orders, noting that the supply is dwindling to the point where there will not be sufficient supplies to fill them. This is more than likely the first sign that a next-generation Nook is on its way, and will feature the clearer Pearl e-ink display found in the latest version of the Kindle. On a related note, David Carnoy at CNet reports on a Barnes & Noble press release noting that more than...

Engadget reports that iOS 4.2 for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad will become available for download this Friday, to be preceded by the release of iTunes 10.1 on Thursday (or, according to Redmond Pie, today). As we’ve previously reported, iOS 4.2 is going to include a number of advances, most notably adding multitasking, folders, game center, etc. to the iPad, but it will also redefine the iPad’s “orientation lock” switch to a mute switch (with no way for users to change it back). One of the features touted for the new iOS was “AirPrint”, the...

It’s been possible to “jailbreak” (love that verbing of nouns) iPhones and iPod Touches for a long time (and recently, it was even declared legal), but I hadn’t known it was also possible to jailbreak the Kindle. This enables adding custom fonts, USB networking, or new screensavers, and who knows what else. The complete details are in a post on the Mobileread forums. The post claims that the jailbreak will not interfere with adding future official software updates, but also notes a firmware bug has occasionally led to people losing their collections and having to re-download (so be...

The AP is reporting that the Library of Congress has now given DMCA exemptions that allow the following: 1. "Jailbreaking" the iPhone in order to install applications that are not approved by Apple 2. owners of cell phones to break access controls on the phones in order to switch wireless carriers 3. allow the breaking of technical protections on video games in order to look at or correct security flaws 4. Allow college professors, documentary filmmakers and college students to break copy protection on DVDs to embed clips for educational purposes This is big news. As to item 4, the...

The way that pixel doubling makes some iPhone apps look on the iPad is one of the iPad’s only drawbacks, especially where e-book apps are concerned. However, those who have jailbroken their iPads may have another option. MacStories reports on a way to modify some apps to make them run at full iPad size without pixel doubling. It requires connecting to your device with ssh (which is only possible after jailbreaking and installing the OpenSSH Cydia package) and then adding several lines of code to an app’s info.plist file. The article writer tries this with several apps,...

Despite recommendations from friends and colleagues, I've never seriously considered jailbreaking my iPhone. I don't use a landline for work so my iPhone is my only voice communication tool. Why would I risk disabling it just so I could multitask or run a few apps Apple doesn't want to sell? It's just not worth it. On the other hand, jailbreaking my iPad sounds very appealing to me. Why? First of all, I'm going with the wifi-only model. No 3G for me. I already pay AT&T too much every month for data service for my...

Here are some interesting bits of news from the last couple days of the iPad sales frenzy. Investor Village estimates that 120,000 iPads were preordered in the first day, with wifi-only models beating out wifi+3G by a 2:1 ratio. "Apple has been able to generate over $75 million in revenue in one day on a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven't touched or for that matter, even seen in person," said Victor Castroll, an analyst with Valcent Financial Group. "And, we're still three weeks away. That is amazing." The Unofficial Apple Weblog...