Nook for Android update – periodicals now supported no comments
Barnes & Noble has updated the Nook for Android app. 
The main upgrade is that you can now access magazines and newspapers from B&N on Android tablets. The update also features a new library design that is optimized for tablets as well as various enhancements for the HTC Thunderbolt and Honeycomb tablets.
This is good because the Nook Newsstand has a wider selection of digital magazines — more than 140 titles — than can currently be found at the Kindle Store or elsewhere. Kobo and the Sony Reader Store also have a few magazines, but Kobo’s Android app currently does not support periodicals. I also like the fact that digital magazines from B&N seem to show all or most of the content of the paper magazine.
I’ve just had a few minutes to play with the new app and it seems to work quite well. I’ve a subscription to MaximumPC that I was reading on my Nook Color, and I’m happy because I can now carry it around with me on the Xoom rather than having to carry two devices.
The layout will be familiar if you have seen magazines on the Nook Color. There is an article mode (apparently publishers can opt out of this, so it may not be available in all titles) that reformats pages without graphics to make the text easier to read. Just like on the Nook Color, the Reader Tools are brought up by tapping the center of the screen. This gives you a sliding strip of page thumbnails that let you quickly scan through pages and navigate to the one you want. The TOC and brightness controls can also be accessed through the Reader Tools.
This update brings Newsstand access to Android OS 2.1 and higher tablets with 7-inch or larger screens and resolutions of at least 800 x 480. Smartphones will only see minor performance enhancements with this version of the Nook for Android app.
By the way, a potentially even more plentiful source of digital mags is Zinio,which has thousands of magazines available internationally. Unfortunately, Zinio only has apps for the PC and iOS at the moment. I am informed that Zinio is just now putting the finishing touches on an Android app of its own, so the availability of digital magazines for Android tablets is going to get even better real soon.
