The nook™ uses the Android operating system. Android is a mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel, which is an operating system used by the Linux family of Unixlike operating systems. It is free and open source software, released under the GNU General Public License, plus proprietary licenses from some other contributors worldwide. The Linux kernel was initially conceived and created by Finnish computer science student, Linus Torvalds in 1991.

Android was initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google, and lately by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). OHA is a business alliance of 50 firms including Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Nvidia, and Wind River Systems to develop open standards for mobile devices. It was established on November, 5 2007, led by Google with 47 members including mobile handset makers, application developers, some mobile carriers and chip makers. Nokia, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless are not members of the alliance, however Verizon has since launched two Android based phones, the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris. Althought AT&T is not a member, its 3G service is used with the nook™, which runs the Android operating system.

Android, the flagship software of the OHA, is based on an open source license and will compete against other mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Research In Motion, and Symbian. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. The unveiling of the Android distribution was announced the same day OHA was founded (November, 5 2007) with a consortium of 47 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.

Because Android is open source there is the possibility that developers will begin to create software that will allow Barnes & Noble’s nook™ eBook reader to be used in ways it was not originally intended. Some of the first applications may be a web browser, interactive games, or more sharing capabilities between other nook™ users or to other users on the Internet. As in the case with Apple’s iPhone, where there is a market and the ability, programs will be written.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am and is filed under eBook Readers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.