The Nook Color, Barnes & Noble's seven-inch tablet/e-reader is almost a year old this October, so it might be time for a hardware refresh. DigiTimes is reporting that a Nook Color 2 will come this month to square off against Amazon's Kindle (tablet)?

The timing seems about right for a Nook Color 2. According to DigiTimes, "Nook Color 2 will feature a 7-inch full color touchscreen, and support functions of email, music, games and apps."

Technically, the current Nook Color can be a standalone Android tablet, since it does run on Google's mobile OS, but its powers are locked up by Barnes & Noble. A $35 microSD loaded with software can unofficially unlock the Nook Color, turning it into a full Android 2.3 tablet, but that's only if you're willing to hunt one of those microSD cards down.

With serious mumbles about Amazon launching Kindle tablets (note: not standalone E Ink e-readers), Barnes & Noble might finally feel a threat coming. After all, the Nook Color is the most popular e-reader, after having passed the Kindle e-reader.

Lovely, we love a good round of rumors for devices other than Apple gear.

Via DigiTimes