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Barnes & Noble finally decided to introduce its oft-delayed App store recently, and has thrown in a 1.2.0 software update into the mix. Although the B&N Store is essentially useless in relation to the real Android market store, other features such as the ability to play flash video, and noticeable performance improvements make this an update worth looking into for Nook Color owners, at least for those few remaining that haven’t rooted their device.

First and foremost you should determine if you actually need v1.2.0. Do this by tapping the Settings button, which opens the Settings window, tap Device Info, then in the Device Info screen, select About your Nook Color. Most likely the Software Version section will read 1.1.0, so feel free to proceed. If you see 1.2.0 or higher – do not continue further.

Barnes & Noble has a Software Updates page here. Click the Expand All link so you may actually, you know, read the web page text as you would on any other site. To save you time navigating the ill-thought out update page, the direct link to the 1.2.0 version is here, save this file to your local machine. Connect your Nook to your computer using its silly USB cable, and copy to the update file to the root folder on your Nook. As with prior upgrades, do not extract the update zip file, or place in a location other than the top directory location on the Nook.

After the copy is finished, eject the device and hit the power button, but do not fully turn off. The Nook then uses its cadre of hidden coding elves to update various system files, and when completing their tasks, the elves flip the screen switch back on so you can see the Installing.. window displaying progress until the update is fully finished. After this process is finished, verify the update has worked properly by tapping the green ∩ button at the bottom left of the screen. You should see this message: “New Software Update version 1.2.0. Your nook is up to date with the latest software.“

You will be able to watch YouTube videos, enjoy smoother and faster scrolling behaviour, and riffle through the limited selection of overpriced apps on the Nook application shop. Enjoy your update!