With Barnes & Noble (B&N) yet to release an official update for bringing the Kindle app for Android on its new Nook Color - the holiday season's best-selling device this year -, hackers have already started "rooting" the device to run a customized Android version that allows users to download Android apps, including the Kindle app.

Even though the "rooting" of the Nook Color began shortly after the $250-priced e-reader was launched by B&N, it is only recently that the Blog Kindle has posted the rooting guidelines step-wise, with a number of other blogs linking to these instructions.

Noting that Nook Color is "more of an entry level Android tablet than a dedicated eReader," an how-to article on the Blog Kindle said: "It's actually quite easy now to get Kindle books on Nook color and have both eBook stores available to you on a single device."

The article further added: "As it (Nook Color) comes out of the box it just happens to start the Nook application by default and not let users run anything else. However, that can easily be fixed by rooting the device and enabling the Android Market."

With the rooted Nook Color having Android Market on board, users can download a lot of applications, including Kindle for Android; as well as play games; watch YouTube videos; and download Nookbooks.

Despite the fact that the rooted Nook Color firmware is less than perfect and needs an occasional reboot; it still is pretty stable.