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Let me first say that I don't currently own a NC. Though I have asked for one as a Christmas present in the light of what I've learned on this forum, combined with my experiences testing one in the Barnes and Noble store near my house. The touch screen experience in store (several different experiences actually) was fantastic. Combine that with the ability to "root" the device, and I'm super excited about it.
That said, I'm sort of an academic. Most of my reading involves heavy highlighting/annotation in books that are largely not eBooks bought from the "stores." One thing that might make or break this purchase is the ability to export my notes/highlights from the reader app onboard. I have gathered that, although the stock B&N reader makes noting/highlighting really easy, you can't export those notes into an annotated pdf or txt file at this point. So I'm wondering if 1) some updates may have been made to allow this functionality, or 2) maybe there are some 3rd party readers that could be "sideloaded" onto a rooted Nook Color to allow for such functionality.
Thanks in advance for any info.
Philip
Has anyone been able to run the Nook Android Application on a rooted Nook Color?
When I try to run it, it just exists immediately.
Why would you want to run the android app, when you already have the nook.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Nookie Froyo can and from what I've been told works fine, therefore the app works on the screen and such, but for some reason no it doesn't work properly in the B&N ROM.
I have the same experience, that is, immediate exit.
Why run it on the NookColor??
Because the Market app is just better.
Page turning is more like a page turn, the interface is better......
Tried killing native processes and it still won’t work..
No, ideas. I guess I’ll wait for Froyo.
moemoney12 said:
Why would you want to run the android app, when you already have the nook.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
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I knew someone was going to ask that.
Easy - once you add about 2700 books, the library app on the nookColor shows 0 books. You can still search, but you can no longer browse. (That's using up 2.5GB of space - so just about half).
I have 0 faith that B&N will fix this, so I was thinking perhaps that the android app would not have this limitation.
Whoa....have you reported this bug?
If that's the case i have no doubt it WILL be fixed. Has anyone duplicated this issue with that many books?
cabbieBot said:
Whoa....have you reported this bug?
If that's the case i have no doubt it WILL be fixed. Has anyone duplicated this issue with that many books?
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Click to collapse
I really hope you are right, but I wonder where you get your optimism.
E-mail technical support @ Barnes and Noble is non-existent. So far, the suggestions have ranged form hard resetting the device, to telling me how I can unarchive my books. So I gave up on that.
I called in a few times, and managed to get to the next level up of support, but can't seem to get them to file a bug report in their system. Previous companies I worked for, we would gladly file a bug report and give the customer the #. Not here.
As you can imagine, 2700 books might be considered an edge case - but not for long - especially given that the Nook reads PDFs, etc. 2700 is not all that much.
There's a post here: http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com...ks-in-Library/m-p/770718/highlight/true#M3277 which shows another user concurring. I have seen others with the same issue as well...
Two things.
First, another valid reason to utilize the android app is the ability to use multiple accounts. I personally use three accounts on B&N, and it is super annoying that I have to wipe my account just to read my other books.
Second, if this is a real bug present in the stock Barnes and Noble library, they will fix it. The original NOOK has had five updates to fix bugs and add features, and Barnes and Noble will continue this with the NOOKcolor. The main reason they chose the android OS as opposed to creating their own ( a la kindle or sony) was the easiness of OTA updates.
Two things.
First, another valid reason to utilize the android app is the ability to use multiple accounts. I personally use three accounts on B&N, and it is super annoying that I have to wipe my account just to read my other books.
Second, if this is a real bug present in the stock Barnes and Noble library, they will fix it. The original NOOK has had five updates to fix bugs and add features, and Barnes and Noble will continue this with the NOOKcolor. The main reason they chose the android OS as opposed to creating their own ( a la kindle or sony) was the easiness of OTA updates.
Also, the reason I am looking for it, is the ability to read holding the nook landscape, it is more confortable to me that way.
I prefer the Phone version of the UI in the Nook App and would like my CM7 NC to look the same as some of the button in the tablet version are hard to hit for some reason (especially 'go to shop', 'settings', etc).
I installed the APK that my phone downloaded but the app knows it's a tablet and converts to that. Anyone know how to make it look more like the phone version?
Greetings,
This is my first post here, so forgive me for posting in the general forum and not in the dev forums (I have to accumulate 10 posts to use the dev forums). I have a very important and worthwhile project that I'm hoping will interest a few devs here.
I am attempting to build a proof-of-concept for a very large educational institution that is considering implementation of ebook readers. Obviously, stock ebook readers are not up to what we need, and more robust tablets like the Galaxy Tab are cost prohibitive given the goal of distribution of these devices to tens of thousands of K-12 students. I don't want to be stuck with a single book distribution method, so I am looking for some standard Android flavor rather than a Nook-like interface.
So, here's my challenge to you. I would like to use the Nook Color (the $250 price point is perfect) to build a proof-of-concept low-end, semi-restricted Android tablet. I am looking for:
- Android 2.2
- Flash Support
- Ability to run:
- Dolphin Browser
- Regular Nook Android App
- Kindle App
- Google Book Reader App
- Adobe Reader App
- Some (undefined) Calculator App
- Stock Android Calendar App
- Stock Android Mail App
- Google Maps App
- Google Earth App
- Stock Android Gallery App or Equivalent
- Some (undefined) File Manager App
- Some (undefined) Note Taking App
I would also like the ability to load APK files (that we write) without the use of the Android Market. And . . . I need the final installation to *NOT* have root capability.
Anyone have a ROM to start this?
Also, while I'm somewhat familiar with rooting other Android devices, I'm not a developer and not a linux expert. I employ developers that have written a few Android apps, so they can handle the installation if necessary.
Any takers?
You can contact me off-list if you like at Dwayne at leeschools.net.
Thanks,
Dwayne
Wouldn't a $200 netbook be a far more usable tool to a student?
good thing you didn't post this in development.
once nook is updated to 2.2 this will basically all be possible with just root.
supposed to be released soon....
if you want a custom rom those will be around soon as well.
--edit--
i see you want this all without root. i don't believe that is possible. good luck though
There are specific reasons we are not considering netbooks for this project, beyond the scope of this discussion. For the purpose of this POC, we are only looking at touch-based slates.
I can't think of a way to fully disable root without someone being able to add it back. With that said would you be able to just delete the marketplace to make it "locked down" after installing everything? Possible disable super-level access as well?
I've not seen any confirmation that they are going to update to 2.2. I've only seen rumors to that effect. Do you have evidence to the contrary, because that would be great.
Additionally, the reason I'd like to involve the devs is because it is highly unlikely that B&N will release it with anything close to a stock 2.2 install. It will likely still require quite a bit of work to function normally. Hopefully I'm wrong on that account, but based on B&N's business model, I anticipate that they will do their best to prevent it from being used as a full tablet. They want to sell books. I don't think they want to sell devices without books. Not enough margin in the devices.
Perhaps I'm wrong related to their business model. I have approached B&N and requested an NDA to work with the Nook product team to see if they are interested in working together with us on a customized version. My feeling is that if they make very little on the device (with the goal of making the majority of their profit from content), they'll decline this offer.
MattJ951 said:
I can't think of a way to fully disable root without someone being able to add it back. With that said would you be able to just delete the marketplace to make it "locked down" after installing everything? Possible disable super-level access as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We could remove super user, but I'd also like to prevent users from killing services. I anticipate that we'll need some additional security apps that need to run full-time. One of our big challenges is that, by law, whenever we provide an Internet-capable device for students to take home, we are required to filter Internet. That's a huge task. On a PC, we an lock it down and force traffic through our filters from outside. From an Android device, we don't know how to handle that yet. We have a few approaches. I'm in discussion with M86 regarding an Android equivalent to their mobile client.
But . . . we have a lot more experience locking down a Windows or Mac PC than a phone OS. Most phone OSes are built from the perspective of a consumer, where the user is free to add/remove apps. We need a way to deal with that. Haven't gotten that far yet. The first order of business was to see if we can build our base functionality in a $250 device.
DwayneA said:
I've not seen any confirmation that they are going to update to 2.2. I've only seen rumors to that effect. Do you have evidence to the contrary, because that would be great.
Additionally, the reason I'd like to involve the devs is because it is highly unlikely that B&N will release it with anything close to a stock 2.2 install. It will likely still require quite a bit of work to function normally. Hopefully I'm wrong on that account, but based on B&N's business model, I anticipate that they will do their best to prevent it from being used as a full tablet. They want to sell books. I don't think they want to sell devices without books. Not enough margin in the devices.
Perhaps I'm wrong related to their business model. I have approached B&N and requested an NDA to work with the Nook product team to see if they are interested in working together with us on a customized version. My feeling is that if they make very little on the device (with the goal of making the majority of their profit from content), they'll decline this offer.
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Click to collapse
Dude, all of those hings are capable. Have you done any reading in this forum. Just get a nookie froyo 2.2 card set one up the way you want. uninstall super user and market. make lotsa copies of card and stick it in nook. If you really want you can also trash the firmware on the internal memory so it will not even book the stock nook firmware.
enjoy!
Consideration should be taken that rooting technically voids the manufacturer's warranty. Other than that, using the NookColor as a tablet is still a gamble in terms of getting a rock-solid and reliable device. Supporting the devices may be problematic.
Fortunately, the devs here are doing great work and I fully expect (hope) that it will be a rock-solid reliable device very soon.
You will probably also want to avoid booting from the microsd because they are easy to remove.
Filtering could be done with a VPN.
to avoid removal of micro sd, just put a little sugra on the break where the nook opens for the micro sd, sort of lieka warrenty sticker
If you need help. Let me know.
The Nook Color already has a Froyo image that can be installed. DSP currently doesn't work. That is responsible for video decoding not only for local files, but for Flash video as well.
Other than that, Flash will still run, but not on all occasions, and the rest of your requirements have already been accomplished (ie. apks can be installed and already exist on the Market or from the Internet).
You can install the Froyo image (it consists of a boot image and a system image) to your Nook easily, and afterward install all of the "G" apps with a quick copying of a folder.
Check here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=864
- Do a little reading
- Possibly try installing Froyo on your memory card first.
- PM me if you need any guidance. I'm feeling pretty PRO at this after using adb all weekend to work with my Nook.
FYI: You can completely hose your internal installation and still be good (As long as you don't actually corrupt your memory physically). The Nook can always be booted off of a microSD card and restored to a fresh installation.
Edit: I just read some of your other posts. Just a thought: You could uninstall or disable the browser by default, thus not having to worry about Internet filtering. Later, users could still install apks from the sdcard (All that you have to do is tick a box in "Settings"). You can also do all of this without touching the stock rom. Of course you'd want to disable that from booting ever, so... after you were booted into your microSD card OS you could use adb to delete the content of the mmcblk0p1 (boot) partition. But I think that still might go against BN's warranty rules.
I understand the reasoning of wanting to lock it back down but if your students are capable of finding XDA (I'd imagine 1 or 2 of them is, at least) then that person would probably root the systems for anyone who was so inclined. I mean, B&N wasn't able to stop it, it's not likely that you would (without some sort of remote supervision app that could monitor and detect rooting).
gallahad2000 said:
I understand the reasoning of wanting to lock it back down but if your students are capable of finding XDA (I'd imagine 1 or 2 of them is, at least) then that person would probably root the systems for anyone who was so inclined. I mean, B&N wasn't able to stop it, it's not likely that you would (without some sort of remote supervision app that could monitor and detect rooting).
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that was going to be my 2cts. A student would just have to pop in an sd card. And it would be a little unfair not giving student that right? And even then, they could always push something over via adb.
Have you looked at other options like the Archos line of Android tablets?
Otherwise, the SD Card install of Froyo works well - just superglue the opening
Why would any school district buy tablets with no warranty? Doesn't seem that feasible to me.
blackderbyhat said:
Why would any school district buy tablets with no warranty? Doesn't seem that feasible to me.
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He's only looking for a proof of concept right now, and is trying to work with Barnes and Noble directly.
I forsee many broken nooks in our future.
Can anybody suggest a todo app for the NOOK which is compatible with its e-ink screen? I searched on Google but most of them are either full of fancy (in this case ugly and flashy) animations, or are incompatible with Android 2.1. I find it pretty sad because freqently something cames into my mind when i'm reading, and I can't really take a note of it..
Sagittarius0 said:
Can anybody suggest a todo app for the NOOK which is compatible with its e-ink screen? I searched on Google but most of them are either full of fancy (in this case ugly and flashy) animations, or are incompatible with Android 2.1. I find it pretty sad because freqently something cames into my mind when i'm reading, and I can't really take a note of it..
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Click to collapse
Try: Evernote https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B7ODz45fOUKVWlZ0S3lIb3hNNnM
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Sadly wi-fi is not really available to me, so it is out of question. Any offline apps?
Sagittarius0 said:
Sadly wi-fi is not really available to me, so it is out of question. Any offline apps?
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Click to collapse
Not sure what you are looking for.
Evernote works off-line. Download the apk and side-load it to your nook, There is also a simple notepad app that comes with Android that should be already on your nook after rooting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66YJFnI18pw
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socialnmobile.dictapps.notepad.color.note
.
Thank you Wozhere! This is what I was looking for!
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And regarding Evernote, Richardcoop, I have to register on the first start. But it doesn't matter now, thanks.
Pleasure. On nook I change the theme to: Dark & black on higher androids for all my devices. Settings: Default color to black & reduce Default font size + reduce List item heights, last option needs app relaunch. On phones/tabs I use Extensive Notes Pro which exports txt files sadly abandoned by it's dev as well as ColorNote.
Two apps that I use on my NST (glowlight) are AlReader and RelaunchX, for which there are still relatively recent apk's to be found. I haven't seen them mentioned here a lot, so here's the link to the latest Alreader that still works on Android 2.1 (hard to find if you don't speak Russian):
http://4pda.ru/pages/go/?u=http://a...340035&usg=ALkJrhhH03h-JtOUNtSq7Dy0YRE5zt-deQ
And here's ReLaunchX, a fork of ReLaunch:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
I just fixed my Nook after it stopped working with the 1.2.2 update that I hadn't installed yet, so I'm updating it with some recent apps that still work on it.
Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk
STEELBAS said:
Two apps that I use on my NST (glowlight) are AlReader and RelaunchX, for which there are still relatively recent apk's to be found. I haven't seen them mentioned here a lot, so here's the link to the latest Alreader that still works on Android 2.1 (hard to find if you don't speak Russian):
http://4pda.ru/pages/go/?u=http://a...340035&usg=ALkJrhhH03h-JtOUNtSq7Dy0YRE5zt-deQ
And here's ReLaunchX, a fork of ReLaunch:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
I just fixed my Nook after it stopped working with the 1.2.2 update that I hadn't installed yet, so I'm updating it with some recent apps that still work on it.
Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
There is also an English version of the Alreader website with app downloads: http://www.alreader.com/?lang=en
nmyshkin said:
There is also an English version of the Alreader website with app downloads: http://www.alreader.com/?lang=en
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Click to collapse
That's true, but despite what it says there, the version up for download there is not actually compatible with Android 2.1. I had to use Google translate on their support forum to find the above version.
Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk
STEELBAS said:
That's true, but despite what it says there, the version up for download there is not actually compatible with Android 2.1. I had to use Google translate on their support forum to find the above version.
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Yes, you are correct. I've been trying out v. 1.7.7, which is that same as in your link.
I like it a lot except for two minor issues: the TTS does not work (a very minor issue) on the NST, although if you install the app on another device with native audio support it does work properly, and (more significantly for me), there is no way to address the Library directly. Unlike the author of FBReader, this author has made all of the various activities private so there is no way of accessing them from outside the app. I've been looking at the Android Manifest in the decompiled app, trying to decide if this can be "fixed". I've seen references to dealing with this issue before but now when I want then I can't locate them
nmyshkin said:
Yes, you are correct. I've been trying out v. 1.7.7, which is that same as in your link.
I like it a lot except for two minor issues: the TTS does not work (a very minor issue) on the NST, although if you install the app on another device with native audio support it does work properly, and (more significantly for me), there is no way to address the Library directly. Unlike the author of FBReader, this author has made all of the various activities private so there is no way of accessing them from outside the app. I've been looking at the Android Manifest in the decompiled app, trying to decide if this can be "fixed". I've seen references to dealing with this issue before but now when I want then I can't locate them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yes... Well, I would never use the NST for TTS, so that's no problem for me. As for the library... I take it you mean in the underlying code? Out of interest: what would you use it for? I basically use ReLaunchX to locate the book I want (in my own directory-based library) and open it with Alreader.
The one thing I wish Alreader would provide, myself, is a cover image of the current book to use as a screensaver on the Nook. But that's a minor issue.
STEELBAS said:
Ah, yes... Well, I would never use the NST for TTS, so that's no problem for me. As for the library... I take it you mean in the underlying code? Out of interest: what would you use it for? I basically use ReLaunchX to locate the book I want (in my own directory-based library) and open it with Alreader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to confess that I hate Relaunch. I use a more traditional Android structure, including ES File Explorer, but that's not a nice way to browse for books. On two devices I have the B&N system and on one for experimentation I have removed all that and am trying out different readers. I miss the Library.
The one thing I wish Alreader would provide, myself, is a cover image of the current book to use as a screensaver on the Nook. But that's a minor issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, but it does! Take a look in /media/screensavers and you will discover that it has created a new folder and there is a cover image there for the book you are currently reading. All you need to do is select that folder from the NST Settings app.
nmyshkin said:
I have to confess that I hate Relaunch. I use a more traditional Android structure, including ES File Explorer, but that's not a nice way to browse for books. On two devices I have the B&N system and on one for experimentation I have removed all that and am trying out different readers. I miss the Library.
Ah, but it does! Take a look in /media/screensavers and you will discover that it has created a new folder and there is a cover image there for the book you are currently reading. All you need to do is select that folder from the NST Settings app.
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Click to collapse
Aaaaah. Here I was looking all over for that folder, but for the place where you'd expect it. Well. Great, then.
I never really used the B&N Library app in the first place, I always immediately rooted my Nook and browsed for books in the directory structure, so that helps... Also my meta-data is always a mess so using a real library app wouldn't really work well for me, anyway.
STEELBAS said:
Two apps that I use on my NST (glowlight) are AlReader and RelaunchX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably have more experience with AlReader than I do so I thought I'd pose a question which I have not been able to answer.
Is there a way to center the page number in the status bar? I don't have any of the other stuff showing in the status bar but I do want to see the page number, even in full screen. What I don't like is to see it floating at some small indentation from the left margin. You can center the title/author in the Header (which I do not have visible in full screen), but why not the page number? I think the answer is perhaps that the developer wanted to cram in all the other possibilities in the status bar and so each has a certain space allotted to it. I hope not.
I've pored through the settings xml file for AlReader but I can't make sense of much of it. Too many obscure abbreviations. I can't even find the line for centering the title/author in the Header.
Any ideas?
Edit: I made a tiny bit of headway, identifying variables in the xml file that control some aspects of the header and footer. However, as sometimes happens with these files, when you make a change and save the file, the values have reverted back if you return for another look. I'm assuming that the master data must be held in a database so I'll look at that tomorrow.
Edit-Edit: Nope, nope and nope. The databases are all about books. So the values are hidden in the app itself (library files or jars perhaps, who knows?). I spent way too much time squinting at the smali files from the decompiled app but it's just all so much mush to me. Not even a hint that resembles English as to how items are positioned. It's a pity that one of the choices in the Header was not "page". If that were true I'd switch the Header with the Status bar and the problem would be solved. The "page number/chapter" I find useless. Oh well....nothing is perfect.
External library app
I have a ton of bookmarks for NST/G stuff that I was reorganizing this morning and in the process came across this app: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/library-app-t2823169
I haven't put it through the wringer yet, so to speak, but it looks reasonably good and books open in whatever the default reader is. If it's reliably functional it may serve as a general library app for whatever reader one chooses. Perhaps worth a look.
I'm trying to install v1.77 on NSTG 1.2.2 but I got error: Parse Error
try the
mrhamed said:
I'm trying to install v1.77 on NSTG 1.2.2 but I got error: Parse Error
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Click to collapse
Try the attached. It works for me.