Nook Color Rooted. Android Market Access Unlocked. #nookcolor

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been following a thread over at XDA off and on, whose ultimate goal was to root the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. (For those who don’t know, the Nook Color runs Android 2.1 atop some pretty compelling hardware: 800MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB internal memory + 32GB additional memory, and a spacious 7″ touchscreen.) The main reasoning behind rooting a nook: in its stock state the Nook Color is severely crippled, having access to the Android Market blocked outright.

But that is true no more. The fine talent over at XDA has cracked open the Nook Color allowing plenty of awesome hacks, with the most notable being access to the entire catalog of Android Market apps. It’s especially interesting considering the highlighted hardware above, because as it stands, said hardware is near the top end of current Android tablets. And now that the software has been unlocked, the Nook Color can officially compete in the world of tablets.

For now, instructions aren’t publicly available. Hopefully that changes. Nonetheless, it’s extremely reassuring to see that the full potential of the Barnes & Noble Nook Color can finally be unleashed, albeit even in private groups. Anyone eager to root their Nook Color?

SoftBank 16GB iPad 3G + WiFi Subsidy: Free. #ipad #softbank

Japanese cellular provider Softbank is joining Three UK and Orange UK in offering customers subsidized iPads in return for signing a multi-month contract. Softbank’s most enticing proposal offers customers a free 16GB 3G + WiFI iPad in return for signing up for a 25-month 24-month contract costing ¥4725 ($56 USD or £36) per month.

Cheaper discount pricing (especially free) is something we normally don’t see on Apple products. When it does happen, it is almost always the third party eating the cost. With that said, Moco News speculates that the subsidized iPads could be an attempt by Apple to get more iPads into the market in a timely fashion in an attempt to attract more iAd publishers — iAd in particular will be launching in Japan in early 2011. It’s certainly plausible. Though as already mentioned, the discounted cost it more likely a decision by Softbank to simply tie people into a 25-month contract in which they’ll make up the iPad’s subsidized price and then some.

Even then, Japanese users on the fence regarding purchasing an iPad due to high pricing now have a chance to take another look.

AT&T Confirms December/January Release For Motorola Olympus. Promptly Removes Statement. #android #motorola

Much to the excitement of mobile gurus everywhere, AT&T’s AT&T Share account on Facebook let slip some very eye raising news in response to an inquiry from an interested AT&T customer. The statement, shown above, claims that we could possibly see the Olympus (a “real” iPhone killer with Nvidia’s Tegra 2 inside) before December’s end, and by January for sure. However, shortly thereafter somebody at AT&T HQ made AT&T Share remove the statement and replace it with your typical PR verbiage.

“This response was posted erroneously. We don’t have any information to share about upcoming devices.”

Most of us aren’t stupid. Therefore, AT&T’s late rebuttal of their own statement shouldn’t be given much weight. A December/January time frame for the Olympus is perfectly reasonable. Though if the actual release for the Olympus is closer to early to mid-January, AT&T’s reasoning for removing the statement is perfectly understandable — they don’t want people to hold off on purchases and wait until the new year. End of year holiday sales are a boon for electronics companies and cellular providers who cash in on the latest and greatest mobile devices.

I say we’ll still see the Olympus in late December to early January. You?

Sony Ericsson Offloads Xperia X10 Update Frustrations on AT&T. #sony #android

Out of all the Android handsets available for purchase, few would argue against the fact that Sony’s Xperia X10 is one of the sleekest units money can buy. However, all that eye candy doesn’t come without one massive con — super slow updates. While the Xperia X10 has only been available in the U.S. since August 2010, it has been available elsewhere around the globe since March. And yet it still ships and runs with Android 1.6 (Donut). Up until now, many would point the finger at Sony. After all, it is they who design and market the tweaked Rachel UI that runs atop Android. As many of you already know, special skins are one of the biggest causes of delays. But even then, Sony may not be the only party to lay blame with. According to SE, AT&T isn’t helping…

Massive Windows Phone 7 Update Coming in Early 2011. #wp7

It looks like early 2011 will bring Windows Phone 7 users some much needed TLC and added features to their platform of choice — this according to a Windows Phone 7 developer by the name of Chris Walsh who claims to have inside knowledge on a “massive” WP7 update slated for early 2011.

The chief focus of this first service pack of sorts is to fill in a slew of gaps the initial release left open — things such as copy/paste, Bing maps integration, 3rd party multi-tasking support, custom ringtone support, and a slew of bug fixes and optimizations. Needless to say, it will be a big shot of adrenaline for WP7. As for the claim (seen above) that the update is so large “it could be called Windows Phone 8″, we’ll have to wait and see about that. Such claims sound a tad lofty to us. Nonetheless, 2011 will be a big year for Microsoft and WP7.

Sandy Bridge Processor Speeds + Prices Leaked! #intel #sandybridge

While we’ve several different stories over the last few months concerning Intel’s upcoming Sandy Bridge processors, any actual useful information such as price and speed has been unobtainable — until now. Chinese site EXPreview managed to scoop pricing information and rated clock speeds for the first generation of Sandy Bridge processors. Get the full scoop after the jump…

Every PlayBoy Issue from 1953-2010 Crammed Onto “Cover-to-cover” 250GB Hard Drive. #playboy

Over the last few years, Playboy has been in the news various times. Though unlike the older glory days, the news was usually grim in nature, telling mostly of money problems and slowly declining subscriber figures. It seems the digital age and instant gratification are hitting the subscription-based, x-rated magazine fairly hard. Many have criticized the publications slow reactions to the digital age. And for the most part, those criticisms were pretty spot on. But it it appears that Playboy may finally be catching on (or at the very least throwing one last hail marry).

In cooperation with Bondi Digital, Playboy will be releasing a 250GB Seagate-made hard drive stuffed full with every magazine published since 1953. In that light, the $300 asking price doesn’t seem all that bad, now does it? How much longer do you think they’ll be around…?