Barnes and Noble Nook gets rooted, innards exposed

By on Dec 14, 2009 at 10:41 AM
eBooks December 14, 2009

Nook-Teardown_circuit_annotated

We wish we were there to see the look of surprise on the face of the folks at nookdev when they disassembled the Nook and discovered that the customized Android 1.5 OS that powered the latest and greatest e-reader was stored on a removable microSD card. Doing what most great hackers would do, they popped out the SD card, inserted it into their Linux box and modified the system files to gain root access. With the system files now accessible and root access achieved, the sky is limit for this little e-reader. Web browser? Email? Tethering hack? While you are dreaming about all the cool things you could do on your Nook, hit the jump for some up close and personal images of the Nook with its covering removed.

normal_front_nook_teardown

uncovered_back_nook_teardown

circuit_back_nook_teardown

[Via AndroidandMe]

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22 Comments

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  • HM

    steal more shit from engadget.

  • Jon

    I’d definitely consider getting this if the claims are true.

  • Dale

    1 @HM

    BGR hasn’t published original news – except made up BS – in months

  • ron

    Nothing like a bit of ‘nookie’ in the morning.

  • StevenGlansburg

    I’d break my contract for the 20th time if this ran Android

    • yaya

      you tit.

    • JoeTour

      this after the revelation that the apple iphone really killed ATT…….

      • StevenGlansburg

        naw, I’m just poking fun at how the majority of people who see anything electric and say, OMG I’D TOTALLY BUY THIS WITH ANDROID!! OMG OMG

  • Frogford

    For an eBook reader, they sure pack a lot of paper inside!

  • Kenny

    Danm !!! I canceled my order once I found out there wasn’t a web browser on it. got an iPhone
    for wifey instead.

  • Carl

    Woo-hoo! Mine should be here any day now (B&N has already missed their promised date of 12/11). I’m drooling at the possibilities, Android under the hood was one of the big draws of the nook vs. the Kindle for me.

  • Diego

    I wonder if you pop out the sim card and put it in an AT&T phone if you will get free data service on the device? Hmmmmm! Might make buying a Nook worth it if you can pop out the sim card and put it in an iPhone for free data for life!!

  • StevenGlansburg

    My brother actually got one of these and I must say they are pretty cool, but I think they are already outdated. With the proliferation of netbooks and better smartphones, things like this or the Kindle aren’t going to be around for long

    • StevenGlansburg

      correction: he doesn’t have it yet, but my point still stands, its cool, but ultimately a dying breed

  • Dominar Rygel XVI

    WILL IT RUN DOOM???????!?!?

  • Smokey DeBeers

    It seems like those loose paper pieces inside might be a fire hazard. Who engineered that thing?

    • Rad

      I’m pretty sure that the paper isnt in the device, just put in the picture to cover up the device/component information

      • BBstorm

        duh

  • http://itierey.blogspot.com/ iAmCool

    It looks coOl glad it has a micro SD slot

  • PR

    Haha. That’s funny.

  • Mark

    Some people seem to be missing the fact that people are buying these to read books on. People that would never think of any other possibility for it. I think these things will be around for a while yet.

  • NGK

    please hack this. My girlfriend would love it, but I cant face the fact of buying a $300 book, unless it had apps, and browsing capability…. How does the service work? anyone know?

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