Nook Color SDK Now Available – Apps on the Way

The Nook Color is going to get its very own app store in 2011, and Barnes and Noble has just taken the next step in making that possible by releasing the Nook Color SDK.

This allows software developers to create new apps specifically for the Nook Color or make their existing Android apps compatible with the Nook Color’s 7″ screen and hardware specifications.

A lot of Android apps will work on the Nook Color as is, but app developers will need to get their apps approved by B&N to get them into the Nook Color app store.

The documentation and SDK can be download from the Nook Developer website. The Nook SDK 1.0 contains the Android Emulator, Android Debug Bridge configuration settings, and sample code.

Here’s a section from an earlier B&N press release about the Nook Developer program that outlines some content partners working on apps for the Nook Color:

Quotes from Content Partners and Developers Working with Barnes & Noble

Chronicle Books: Chronicle Books believes that digital publishing expands rather than replaces the traditional reading experience and embraces the digital marketplace by bringing its distinctive design, life-enriching content, and signature style to the widest range of dynamic digital products.

• “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Barnes & Noble for NOOKcolor not only because of their extensive market reach and our longstanding relationship, but because we share a vision about the digital consumer’s lifestyle – from traveling and exploring new hobbies to cooking a great meal to reading bedtime stories,” said Jack Jensen, President of Chronicle Books.

Concrete Software®: Concrete Software offers high-quality popular, casual games that you can quickly start playing for short or long periods of time.

• “With the explosive growth in the eReader market, we see new ways for us to reach a new audience by extending our award-winning casual games to Barnes & Noble’s NOOKcolor,” said Keith Pichelman, co-Founder & CEO, Concrete Software. “Even the most avid book lovers want to stretch their mind and take a short break from reading.”

Cooking Capsules™: Cooking Capsules offers a fresh approach to cooking with a delicious portfolio of “encapsulated” recipes. Each Cooking Capsule features a motivating cooking show, shopping list and step-by-step recipe instructions.

• “NOOKcolor is an attractive opportunity to take the Cooking Capsules application built for Android and reach a completely new audience, beyond phone owners without requiring a lot of effort,” said Mary Ann Cotter, CEO of Smart Capsules, Inc. “With the millions of cookbooks Barnes & Noble customers purchase, an application that provides practical cooking media and tools, like Cooking Capsules, encourages readers to pursue their interests in a new way, beyond the
  book itself.”

Dictionary.com: Miss Spell’s Class is an original word game that lets you test your spelling skills against the most commonly misspelled words on Dictionary.com. The Dictionary.com app delivers world-class reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, including nearly 1,000,000 words and definitions and 90,000 synonyms and antonyms, as well as audio pronunciations and Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day.

• “We are thrilled to extend our popular, brain-building Dictionary.com and Miss Spell’s Class applications to a new and growing market of Barnes & Noble customers,” said Shravan Goli, President, Dictionary.com. These apps are a great way for NOOKcolor owners to access trusted reference content and word/educational games.”
• “People want access to word definitions in context, without navigating away from what they are doing,” said Shravan Goli, President, Dictionary.com. “With open APIs from Dictionary.com, literally every developer of any application for NOOKcolor that utilizes words can integrate Dictionary.com’s content and features so that their users can effortlessly experience word discovery.”

Howcast: Howcast for NOOKcolor will show fun, useful how-to videos, whenever and wherever you need to know how.

• “We’re excited to be working with Barnes & Noble to bring Howcast’s informative and engaging how-to videos to NOOKcolor,” said Daniel Blackman, Chief Operating Officer and cofounder, Howcast. “Enhancing the reading experience with related content is a very compelling example of how eBooks are evolving, and Howcast for NOOKcolor will provide a great way for millions of readers to quickly access relevant information right from their device.”

Lonely Planet: Established in 1973, Lonely Planet is one of the world’s leading travel content providers enabling curious people to experience the world and get to the heart of a place. Lonely Planet has sold over 100 million guidebooks, 5 million mobile apps, and tens of thousands of eBooks and is a trusted source of travel information.

• “We see the convergence of books and eBooks as the future of travel publishing” says John Boris, Executive Vice President, Lonely Planet. “Guidebooks and travel tools translate seamlessly to the digital space, providing readers with a rich experience by incorporating stunning photography, detailed maps, hyperlinks and search features. We’re proud to have been first to market with eBooks and travel applications and we look forward to partnering with Barnes & Noble to deliver the ultimate digital travel experience on NOOKcolor.”

TasteBook: TasteBook is the best place to find, organize and share your favorite recipes and make a beautiful, personal cookbook.

• “We’re excited to extend the TasteBook food and cooking platform to NOOKcolor customers,” said Kamran Mohsenin, CEO and founder of TasteBook. “For culinary enthusiasts, TasteBook is a great way to take inspiration from the cookbooks you own, add and share your favorite family recipes, and even produce a personalized, keepsake-quality cookbook.”

Wine Ph.D.: Wine Ph.D. is a handheld database of wines from around the world providing up-to-date tasting notes, ratings, and food pairings in order to help those from novice to aficionado make intelligent drinking and purchasing decisions.

• “For NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble owners with an interest in wine, or who want to quickly find a great wine for the meal they’re preparing, Wine Ph.D. will provide useful information from wine tasting notes, ratings, and recommended food pairings. Also, the ‘MyWines’ tab allows users to save your favorite wines and record your own notes,” said Dave Lauinger and Brian Pierce, co-founders of Wine Ph.D.