Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color now has Apps. More Angry Birds, less reading?

Barnes and Noble has just announced NOOK Apps for its eBook Reader with a NOOK Color update.  The NOOK developer program, which began late last year, opens up a new chapter in the company’s mission to take on Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s classic Kindle eReader, the latter of which currently doesn’t support apps.

NOOK Apps will include popular applications such as Aces Bubble Popper, Angry Birds, Cheese Plate, Goodreads, Epicurious, Flight Control, GeoBee Challenge, my6sense, NOOK WordOfTheDay, and Uno from publishers and third-party developers. “Being able to promote the Angry Birds franchise across multiple channels – on NOOK Color, on BN.com and in hundreds of Barnes & Noble retail locations – is unique and extremely appealing,” said Peter Vesterbacka, ‘Mighty Eagle’ of Rovio in the release.

The NOOK Color currently sells for $249 and features a 7″ color touchscreen, built on Android OS. In the release, a Barnes & Noble rep writes, “The addition of popular apps and other most requested tablet features to the newly updated NOOK Color make the best reading device on the market.”

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But can a eReader device with apps still cultivate a pleasurable reading experience? Will you be able to get through Tolstoy knowing you could be playing Angry Birds? If you are a true bookworm, I suggest sticking to the NOOK 3G ($199) and NOOK Wi-Fi ($149) to get your reading on without distractions of new apps and blinking emails.