[Q] Sideloaded Books on Nook Homescreens ? - Nook Color General

Anyone figured out how to add sideloaded books on the 3 homescreens ? currently only stuff bought from the B&N store can go on the homescreens. Maybe some sort of hack ?
I can hope right ?

That is my only gripe about this device. I really wanted some control over the home page. I understand why they did it, but it just bothered me.
I have installed ADW as a new home screen and am looking for a copy of Launcher Pro to try as well as an alternate to the stock home screen. I also loaded Astro in the hope that I can somehow get individual books and folders on the home screen. The good thing is that you don't lose any of the main BN features at the bottom of the screen. I was able to put the library as an app on the home screen which works for now.
If anybody knows how to do this, I'd love to find out. It's my last hurdle to this being a perfect machine for me.

I originally wanted this as well, but since I rooted, I no longer want it or need it.
I installed LauncherPro and choose to use that as my defacto Home, so I never see the original B&N setup home screen.
Now I can place apps there or anything else. To me, apps are more important than seeing my book covers on the home screen. The only drawback is that I have to go to the library to see my books, but hey, it's a small price to pay.
My advice is this:
If you want to install apps and not just your books on the "home" screen, root the NC and go with LauncherPro or an equivilent.
If you want the original B&N experience and want to sideload your non B&N books then wait until someone comes up with a method, as far as I know, it isn't a priority at the moment.
But rest assured, someone will figure it out.

Related

Some apps don't show up in my Market

Maybe this has nothing to do with the NC, not sure yet.
But I've noticed that some apps don't seem to show up in the Market on my Nook Color, but do on my Android phone and AppBrain.
For example EA Mobile has some 99 cent games on sale right now. I got Need for Speed for my phone. And it shows up in AppBrain on my NC, but in the Market it's not there.
I noticed some others missing too like Super Manager.
Are these apps not showing up because this Market apk came from the Galaxy Tab and they aren't supported on tablets (noticed one of the EA games did mention it wasn't supported on the Galaxy Tab)? Or is something else going on?
Ravynmagi said:
Maybe this has nothing to do with the NC, not sure yet.
But I've noticed that some apps don't seem to show up in the Market on my Nook Color, but do on my Android phone and AppBrain.
For example EA Mobile has some 99 cent games on sale right now. I got Need for Speed for my phone. And it shows up in AppBrain on my NC, but in the Market it's not there.
I noticed some others missing too like Super Manager.
Are these apps not showing up because this Market apk came from the Galaxy Tab and they aren't supported on tablets (noticed one of the EA games did mention it wasn't supported on the Galaxy Tab)? Or is something else going on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Market will not show apps that are deemed incompatible with your device. Since NC doesn't come with market, it will mainly show you generic apps. Other alternate market apps may show you apps that work or that don't and apps that require OS 2.2, since the NC is an unsupported device.
-CC
I've had this same problem, specifically with Pocket Legends. I sideloaded an old .apk of it and booted it up. It works, but then tells me to upgrade and when I let it go to the market, the screen just flashes and goes back to the pocket legends app.
Ugh. Is this something that could be fixed in the future? I'm starting to get surprised at how many apps I can't download from the Market now. Can't even install Firefox.
I guess I can try side loading some of these thing from my Android phone.
Ravynmagi said:
Ugh. Is this something that could be fixed in the future? I'm starting to get surprised at how many apps I can't download from the Market now. Can't even install Firefox.
I guess I can try side loading some of these thing from my Android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't install Firefox? Shows in the market here for me.
Firefox Beta 3 showed up for me and installed fine.
Inconsistance
I've had to re-root my new nook color several times. The first time I did it the Market had a limited number of apps. Viewing the "Top Free" or "Top Paid" only had about 10 apps visible as opposed to a long ongoing list of apps.
After a factor reset and re-root the market was showed any and every app.
After a third factory reset and reroot the market was back to the original way with far fewer apps. (currently Firefox, Dolphin, Skyfire are NOT visible but Opera is)
So I can confirm "something" is problematic. I came to this forum hoping for an answer myself.
Running 1.0.1 and used auto-nooter each time.
This may not fix your problem, earlyhike - but it may help someone:
When viewing the market holding it as a portrait, only 10 apps show but if you rotate to landscape then you can scroll through the long list.
Hope this helps someone
I would very much appreciate if someone could upload the Firefox Beta 3 since I can't get it from Market. Thanks in advance.
chhaggerty said:
I would very much appreciate if someone could upload the Firefox Beta 3 since I can't get it from Market. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to install it on my Android phone, then just copied the APK file over to my Nook and installed it that way. I put a copy here of Firefox 4 beta 3.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15926256/org.mozilla.firefox-1.apk
Now I'm curious what is going on.
Those of you that found Firefox, were you using the new Market or the old market?
I'm using the New Market and not seeing Firefox (and some other things). I wonder if this new Market apk is the issue.

Google Reader on NookColor?

I've done a few searches, but have not found any info on my problem/question, so I hope some can help.
Ok so I downloaded Google Reader yesterday for my NC and it works great until I go into the story, in which it's the small cellphone sized screen. I've tried compatibility mode, which did nothing. So I'm wondering is there a fix for this? or maybe a altered version or something?
I guess this is one of those annoyances with the NC but I'm not really too worried about it, although it would be pretty cool to have my google reader feed fully working.
I have this issue too. Turning off compatibility mode works on some apps, but not this one. Hope there is a workaround! I've switched to Feedly in the meantime, it's pretty nice and has a Read It Later function built in.
Did you reboot after changing compatibility mode?
I use NewsRob for my google reader feed. Great app.
Yes, I tried restarting, it didn't help. I might change to a different app in the meantime if there is no fix.
I read somewhere that the problem is screen resolution. Something about CM7 running at 161 and Google Reader running at 160. Apparently CM7 needs to be at 161 to get Market to work. You can get a resolution switcher to go back and forth but you'll have to reboot every time you switch. There is no good solution. I use newsrob, which is good but not perfect either.
irisclara said:
I read somewhere that the problem is screen resolution. Something about CM7 running at 161 and Google Reader running at 160. Apparently CM7 needs to be at 161 to get Market to work. You can get a resolution switcher to go back and forth but you'll have to reboot every time you switch. There is no good solution. I use newsrob, which is good but not perfect either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can set the Nook to 160 and Market will still run, you just lose a *lot* of functionality such as the My Apps page and push install via web market. D7 Reader (would link, but new user code wants me to go spam 8 posts to unlock functionality) is my choice of replacement apps.
Is this a CM7 issue? I'm still running rooted and Google Reader works great. I was planning on switching to CM7 soon but having a non functional Google Reader app is almost a deal a breaker for me.

Trouble Getting HC versions of apps.

Hey everyone,
I just upgraded my Streak 7 to Honeycomb, and mostly everything is working great, and I really love the new interface. But some things I'm having issues with.
I've got the new Honeycombed Email app, Gmail app and Calendar, which make much better usage of the screen real estate. But I can't get the new version of Google Docs, or Amazon Kindle. Both of those have the same interface as before.
The other thing, and I don't know if this is normal or not, but I now have two Android Markets. One looks like it's for Phone Apps, and the other for Tablet apps.
I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Google Docs, but when I search for it in the tablet market, and click install, it just opens up the phone app market. I can then search in there, and install it, but I still get the old single column interface.
With the Amazon Kindle App I'm unable to uninstall it, as it's built into the Dell Android install (haven't rooted, still a bit of a novice when it comes to Android, so not sure what the consequences of that would be). I've tried updating the Amazon Kindle App, but I still get the same single column book list as before (saw screen shots in the Market showing a more tablet friendly interface with bigger book covers)
I just discovered this forum today, wish I would have found it sooner!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
To update Kindle you'll need to use the phone market (the second one on my tablet) and update it from there. I've found the tablet market crashes trying to update it.
I'm still playing around and I don't use Docs so I can't help with that.
I have found that enabling Google Instant can often cause the browser to crash when manually entering addresses.

No menu inside Amazon Appstore??

Hi all,
My Nook Color had been running an ancient version of CM9, but was acting all laggy and locked up more often than not. I blew that away and installed Parandroid. Seems to run much better.
However, I'm having issues with the Amazon Appstore.
I installed it. However, there is no soft menu button available to select which will bring up things like My apps, so I can reinstall them. I CAN install new apps though as I registered the device through the Kindle for Android app, and was then able to purchase something through the Appstore.
Has anyone else had this problem on their Nook Color? If so, were you able to resolve it?

YouTube kids on Fire 5th Gen?

Sorry but I'm a total newbie with Kindle Fire tablets. I got my daughter this for Christmas and was setting it up for her so it's ready to go.
It never even crossed my mind that YouTube kids wouldn't be available. Now that I know it isn't, I'm hoping there is a way I can side load it. I uploaded the apk to Amazon Drive, downloaded it to the fire and it says it needs Google services.
Any help is really appreciated!
igotpins said:
Sorry but I'm a total newbie with Kindle Fire tablets. I got my daughter this for Christmas and was setting it up for her so it's ready to go.
It never even crossed my mind that YouTube kids wouldn't be available. Now that I know it isn't, I'm hoping there is a way I can side load it. I uploaded the apk to Amazon Drive, downloaded it to the fire and it says it needs Google services.
Any help is really appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.howtogeek.com/282425/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-the-amazon-fire-hd-8/
(same technique works on 5th gen Fire)
Discussion thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/ama...google-play-store-fire-t3486603?tag=823814-20
Worked flawlessly. THANKS!
I was able to install the Google play store and install KidsYoutube, but i can't add it to the FreeTime account because it doesn't come up in the app list under managed apps. Any advice? I assume this is a permissions issue because other apps (including the google play store) don't come up either, only apps downloaded through the Amazon AppStore
Yes, I am also interested in trying to get google apps over to the freetime kids side. Is there a way to force it over or bypass the permissions issue? My daughter loves the kids tablet and it works beautifully but she still steals my phone for youtube kids which is the best standalone kids app out there. She loves it and cant have it on the freetime side of the tablet.
BulldogJoe said:
I was able to install the Google play store and install KidsYoutube, but i can't add it to the FreeTime account because it doesn't come up in the app list under managed apps. Any advice? I assume this is a permissions issue because other apps (including the google play store) don't come up either, only apps downloaded through the Amazon AppStore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
topherdownfrown said:
Yes, I am also interested in trying to get google apps over to the freetime kids side. Is there a way to force it over or bypass the permissions issue? My daughter loves the kids tablet and it works beautifully but she still steals my phone for youtube kids which is the best standalone kids app out there. She loves it and cant have it on the freetime side of the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any luck on this? I want to get YouTube kids on my daughter's 5th gen and this news makes me sad
How old are your kids?
I have a 4 and a 6yo boys, who both have a Kindle kid edition since Christmas 2015. When I first turned them on, I was extremely disappointed that the entire tablet was Amazon centered. Of course a quick look at XDA and both tablets were rooted running CM12 within minutes.
We of course did lose the whole "freetime" interface, which has only 12 months of free content, but figured that it would teach them Android, and maybe even make them smarter. Between Netflix, Youtube and youtube kids there was no real loss in not having freetime installed.
In order to block content, simply install Nova launcher, and hide apps that aren't kids related, and setup the home screen to be kid friendly (bigger icons, no google search bar, home button to open app drawer etc).
Now I can tell you that my 6yo totally mastered Android, creates app shortcuts, change backgrounds, downloads games etc. My 4yo can navigate Android comfortably, start apps he likes, search for videos on YTK and Netflix.
I feel that it challenged them to learn the OS as is, without sheltering them in a tailored made easy kid interface.
Possible solution found
fastamx79 said:
Any luck on this? I want to get YouTube kids on my daughter's 5th gen and this news makes me sad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this today. I wont have time to test it out until tomorrow though because my daughter and her tablet are at the ex's today. If you try it and it works let me know.
https://www.howtogeek.com/321474/ho...show-up-in-freetime-profiles-on-fire-tablets/
topherdownfrown said:
I found this today. I wont have time to test it out until tomorrow though because my daughter and her tablet are at the ex's today. If you try it and it works let me know.
https://www.howtogeek.com/321474/ho...show-up-in-freetime-profiles-on-fire-tablets/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet, thank you! Looks promising! I'll give it a shot later tonight after she goes to bed so I can sit down and focus. I'll report back :good:
topherdownfrown said:
I found this today. I wont have time to test it out until tomorrow though because my daughter and her tablet are at the ex's today. If you try it and it works let me know.
https://www.howtogeek.com/321474/ho...show-up-in-freetime-profiles-on-fire-tablets/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long story short, it works! The parts they don't tell you, you'll need to also install all the google services on the freetime side to get the app to work. I figured that out after 10 minutes of waiting for that to update (i have it installed on the main account as well that's why i didn't put 2 and 2 together right away). I used the same method that was linked earlier in this thread.
After I got YT Kids setup on my freetime side I ran into an issue of not letting me sign in to my account. The screen would come up to add account, but then would go right back into the app. To get around this I also installed google play store on the freetime side. once that was logged in YT kids linked and it was done.
To install all that extra crap, use the same method as you will to install the YT Kids app.
It's not a pretty solution, but it works!
fastamx79 said:
Long story short, it works! The parts they don't tell you, you'll need to also install all the google services on the freetime side to get the app to work. I figured that out after 10 minutes of waiting for that to update (i have it installed on the main account as well that's why i didn't put 2 and 2 together right away). I used the same method that was linked earlier in this thread.
After I got YT Kids setup on my freetime side I ran into an issue of not letting me sign in to my account. The screen would come up to add account, but then would go right back into the app. To get around this I also installed google play store on the freetime side. once that was logged in YT kids linked and it was done.
To install all that extra crap, use the same method as you will to install the YT Kids app.
It's not a pretty solution, but it works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you install framework on free time side?
topherdownfrown said:
How do you install framework on free time side?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take the 4 apk files (the google framework and playstore) and put them on the root of the sd card. Use a computer to do that. When I was trying to copy from internal memory to sd card i kept getting errors.
Once the 4 files are on the root of sd card, shove it back in the tablet, then go into freetime, launch the file explorer that's recommended in the walkthrough and install each one.
You may need to wait after first boot like 10 minutes for whatever apps you have installed on that sd card to rebuild. That happened to me when i put the sd card in, even though the tablet was off
fastamx79 -- I am having trouble installing part 3. Google Play Services 10.2.98 (240-146496160)--
It states app is not installed - when trying to install (the google framework and playstore) on freetime side-- it will not install
This is so frustrating -- please help
fastamx79 said:
Any luck on this? I want to get YouTube kids on my daughter's 5th gen and this news makes me sad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually just registered finally so I could reply to this. I wrestled with this a bunch over Christmas - the key to doing this is an app in the Amazon Kindle App Store called GoToApp (I used the free demo version). Since it is in said store, you can assign it to your child account via the Freetime app on the parent side. I also also temporarily added a file manager to the child account as well - I used ES File Manager, which is also free and in Amazon's App Store, though I believe any file manager would work. Since they are now assigned to your child account, they should show up on the carousel in FreeTime mode like any other app . I then loaded the 4 APK files needed for Google Play and the YouTube kids APK onto an SD card. You then go into the child account and install the apps, using the file manager to get into the SD card. Once done, go into GoToApp - this app is essentially a launcher, and you can add YouTube Kids into it and let them launch the YouTube Kids App from within GoToApp. Both my older and younger sons very quickly learned that essentially GoToApp's icon = YouTube now.
A few other notes on this, however- if your kid is smart, they can use GoToApp for other things. I had manually installed a file manager and he figured out how to unhide it in GoToApp and then went to town. For my 3-year-old this was obviously a non-issue, and it has worked fine for him.
Also, the YouTube Kids app is very, very finicky when trying to get it installed. I found a specific version that worked when nothing else did. I don't know that version off hand, but can dig it up later if needed. I essentially just kept going back versions via APKMirror until I found one that worked (though once installed I never have had to update it, and it still works fine). I also found that installing the Play framework seemed to work best if I installed it only on the kid account and not the parent account - one tablet I had installed it on my account first, and then probably wiped it a dozen times overall before it worked decently. Only installing it on the parent account would give errors when it was then run via the kid account, and I had problems when I installed it on both. Once I figured out the way to do it, the other tablet was fine; I didn't have any problem with that tablet.
In the end, though, I ended up reverting back to a normal kid account for the older child - the combination of the backdoor combined with a lessened amount of parental controls led to him getting a little too into it some nights. I think that both of those issues are really more my fault more than anything else, especially the latter. What we did end up doing was putting YouTube Kids in the parent account and locking down as much as we could (can't open the Play Store or Settings without a PIN and so forth), and he now has to ask to watch (instead of being let loose with it) and is at least semi-supervised now. This also let me take better advantage of the FreeTime controls. On the other hand, the younger one still has this GoToApp setup 9 months later, and it has worked well for him with no problems to speak of.
Anyway, novel of a post, but if rather have someone learn from the mistakes I made and not have to put hours into it like I did.
EDIT: For some reason I thought that the above comment was second-to-last without any reply to it. Oh well, hopefully this helps someone.
e1999 said:
fastamx79 -- I am having trouble installing part 3. Google Play Services 10.2.98 (240-146496160)--
It states app is not installed - when trying to install (the google framework and playstore) on freetime side-- it will not install
This is so frustrating -- please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might try Google Play Services 10.2.98 (230-146496160) instead - this is, I believe, the version I installed on my kids' tablets (one 2015 Kindle Fire 7" and one late 2016 Kindle Fire HD 8", if memory serves). I actually just did a wipe/reinstall on the HD tablet last week and the same file worked for me on the parent side at least (didn't reinstall on the kid account though).
Safe Vision app is similar to YouTube Kids
You can try Safe Vision app which is similar to YouTube Kids. Just search for 'Safe Vision' on Amazon App Store.
Disclosure: I am developer of this app.

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