Barnes and Noble's Nook Color is an interesting device, albeit rocking an older version of Android (version 2.1) that might be holding the eReader back. Come January, B&N will give its newest Nook a makeover with Android 2.2, Smartphonemag.com reports.

"I spoke today with a Barnes and Noble representative who showed me the forthcoming update on his company Nook which is slated for this January," Smartphonemag.com's Steve Green writes. "The 2.2 Android update is a game changer and literally turns the eReader into a near full Android tablet device."

According to Green, Android 2.2 gives the Nook Color a boost in both performance and battery life, though he notes "the graphics performance still seemed sluggish even with 2.2 when scrolling through magazines and webpages." The upcoming Android update will also usher in a revamped Android Market, though it's still up in the air whether or not the Nook Color will have access to it.

Don't look for a handheld tablet from LG in time of the holidays, who is no longer planning to launch a slate built around Google's Android 2.2 (Froyo) platform, the company announced today.

"We plan to introduce a tablet that runs on the most reliable Android version ... We are in talks with Google to decide on the most suitable version for our tablet and that is not Froyo 2.2," an LG official said.

Playing the waiting game is a bit of a gamble for LG, as there are literally several dozen tablets on the horizon, some of which will debut before the end of 2010. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, didn't say if Android 3.0 would be a more likely candidate.

LG originally planned to release an Android tablet in the fourth quarter of this year. Back in August, Chang Ma, vice president of marketing for LG's mobile devices unit, said "Our tablet will be better than the iPad," while pointing out that the iPad isn't great for productivity.