Nook Color: one week later - Nook Color General

Here are just some thoughts after trying out all the available goodies.
I did what a lot of people do, and decided on Nookie Froyo over CM7 because there is the perception reading these threads that your most stable flash based full android experience will be on Nookie Froyo. Here are my findings.
1) Honeycomb is pretty, but I can't get all the apps I need.
2) eMMC install is superior performance-wise. I won't give it up.
3) Nookie Froyo is ok, but the latest version has broken DSP. Rockplayer won't do hardware, but still looks nice.
4) Nookie Froyo has decided to just stop booting twice on me, forcing me to reinstall. Since the DSP does not work anyway, it makes much more sense to use a nightly CM7 build. It's much better anyway.
5) On the nightly CM7 13, Rockplayer plays better at 800mhz than it did on 1100mhz OC'd Nookie Froyo. CM7 is smoother also.
6) I had issues getting Dolphin HD, Wordpress, and some other apps on Nookie Froyo. CM7 had none of those problems.
7) The status bar based menu and back buttons on CM7 are the best compromise. Softkeys sucks, and gets in the way. I like the hardware based solution by remapping the volume keys also, but I find myself using the status bar shortcuts most often.
I'm quite happy with CM7. It seems to be the most "together" offering right now, and is much more user friendly than Honeycomb or Nookie Froyo.

Related

[Q] 1.1.0 vs Froyo

I've seen some comparison made in threads, but most are partial, and while I've looked into Froyo quite a bit, and even made a hack at it, I haven't come to fully understand why I should. So I thought it might be helpful to have a Pro/Con differentiation between the two; why did you go through the effort to Froyo? Why didn't you? I know some have gone Froyo and then back to Eclair. I'll try to edit this post into a list once we have some good comparisons thrown out here.
Alright, after playing with the latest Froyo and looking at this thread so far, the tentative list for newbz0rz to consider is here.
The List:
Froyo 6.6
+Flash (!)
+Higher Benchmark scores, possibly faster in certain ways
+Higher compatibility with certain apps
+Potentially more configurable
+Cut and paste
+JIT compiler (potentially increases speed)
+Launchers behave properly (i.e. add shortcuts)
+Text-to-Speech
-Choppy Flash (!)
-More effort and time (lots more) to setup equivalently capable features
-Higher risk of Nook destruction (although still low)
-Higher risk of lots of work rescuing Nook from the grave/brickyard
-No Nook Color features (i.e. B&N apps, in store access, reader, magazines, etc)
-Buggy-ish sometimes (Unstable) :-(
*-Different users seem to report very different experiences; thus, we'll just call Froyo Inconsistent
-Ignores internal 5GB storage
-Ugly notification bar mis-sizing
1.1.0 Rooted
+Stability (Consistency in a stable experience, compared to Froyo)
+Some claim smoother overall
+B&N "experience" (FWIW)
+magazines, built-in reader for those who prefer it (hint: Aldiko is better)
+Status/Notification bar at bottom with back/menu keys
-Ye Olde Android 2.1
*-No JIT
*-No Flash
-Incompatible with shiny new 2.2+ apps (not very many of those, but still)
-Possibly slower, benchmarks lower
-Dialogs don't display correctly due to B&N system configuration
-Many alternative keyboards don't work properly
-No Cut and Paste
*Evernote was a dealbreaker for me, oddly enough. I use it all the time. Also, 6.6 Froyo broke my ADB somehow, and was a huge pain for very little gain. Gotta love Nandroid. 1.1.0 rooted does 95% of what I want, while Froyo does the 5% it can't do and breaks another 10% of what already worked. But that's just me. I can wait for CM7/ a more stable Froyo before I get flash. Honestly, what flash content do I want to watch on my tablet that I cant use my netbook/desktop for? I'll stop asking questions I don't want the answer to.
The biggest plus for froyo for me was flash content. The negative is Thai it is not as smooth as 1.1.
haven't tried 1.1 yet, but froyo+launcherPro+dolphin browser is as smooth as a phone. also, plus flash content
It really comes down to this:
Rooted 1.1.0 is for people who want to have the basic(older, no flash) tablet expirence, on a platorm which runs well and requires little to no cmd-line/linux/etc. knowledge.
Rooted 1.1.0 OC'ed to .950/1.0/1.1ghz only requires a couple hours of development forum reading, a little bravery, and a NC that can handle it.
Nookie Froyo 6.6 OC'ed to 1.0/1.1ghz ON SD CARD again, only forces you to read the respective threads(twice) and have an available micro SD card(at least class-4 4gb). This is a good method to start out with because if you mess it up, just reflash the SD card.
Nookie Froyo 6.6 OC'ed 1.1ghz INSTALLED TO EMMC is not over-the-top hard. It just requires a lot of dedicated hours understanding what exactly the flash images are doing to your device. Being comforable while working in cmd-prompt/linux/android-system is a must. Acceptance of the fact that, doing so *can* break your $250 toy.
knaries2000 said:
The biggest plus for froyo for me was flash content. The negative is Thai it is not as smooth as 1.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed Flash was upsetting otherwise i would of kept it as 1.1 right now i dual boot w/ 66 and 1.1 but using froyo i really only go back to read my magazine subscriptions, and i like the back and menu softkeys setup on the bottom in teh 1.1 not so much in froyo
woot1524 said:
It really comes down to this:
Nookie Froyo 6.6 OC'ed 1.1ghz INSTALLED TO EMMC is not over-the-top hard. It just requires a lot of dedicated hours understanding what exactly the flash images are doing to your device. Being comforable while working in cmd-prompt/linux/android-system is a must. Acceptance of the fact that, doing so *can* break your $250 toy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've yet to see anyone break their $250 doing so. (In fact I don't see how it could break it). Also it doesn't require being fluent in any of those. Can you copy and paste? Okay well then youre set. Also, with people posting builds coming preinstalled with needed apps makes even using the command prompt almost uneeded (the only thing that needs to be pushed is the market).
The real downside to froyo is the lack of the B&N soft-keys on the bottom, meaning there isn't always a back and menu button on screen.
To Sum:
Froyo = Lack of softkeys permanetly there
Eclair = Slower, Lack of Flash
I tried NF for a little bit. I still have the card sitting somewhere.
For some reason, I don't feel the need to get Froyo on here until I can easily flash it like any other Android device.
I seem to remember there were certain compatibility issues along with slower benchmark results on Froyo. Is this no longer true?
vapor63 said:
I seem to remember there were certain compatibility issues along with slower benchmark results on Froyo. Is this no longer true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I know of. Froyo Quadrant scores are a full 400 or so points above eclair.
I've got rooted/OC'd 1.1Ghz 1.1 on mine.
I don't feel the need to go to Froyo.
Once Honeycomb is perfected, though, I am SOOOOOOOO there.
MattJ951 said:
I've yet to see anyone break their $250 doing so. (In fact I don't see how it could break it). Also it doesn't require being fluent in any of those. Can you copy and paste? Okay well then youre set. Also, with people posting builds coming preinstalled with needed apps makes even using the command prompt almost uneeded (the only thing that needs to be pushed is the market).
The real downside to froyo is the lack of the B&N soft-keys on the bottom, meaning there isn't always a back and menu button on screen.
To Sum:
Froyo = Lack of softkeys permanetly there
Eclair = Slower, Lack of Flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, the chances of bricking the nook color are remote. But as you can see from the dev threads, even they have warnings. Because the odds dramaticaly increase when one starts messing with system and boot mounts, or over-clocking the hardware.
The reason why I stressed the understanding of what exactly your doing, when you flash the emmc or uImage, is there are many conflicting/confusing instructions involved If you take things verbatum from threads. I just don't think it's something a novice user should try at the moment. Especialy with the loss of the abilty to do a CWM recovery(I know about the sd images and swaping the cards out to do a backup, others don't, nor have more than one sd card)
Froyo does infact have Back and Menu buttons in the status bar.
you just need to push a couple files found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=932631
The real problem with nookie Froyo is that it's still not a daily driver. It's buggy(to an extent), it's always being updated(annoying, but part of the fun), and frankly 1.1.0 just runs better.
I am surprised that nobody bothered to mention that with Froyo, currently, you lose the ability to veiw kids picture books, newspapers, and magazines. If you care about any of that stuff, you have to stay with 1.1.0
waiting for guys at Cyanogen to release the nightlies for NC
i tried froyo last night since you can now flash through recovery.
it was a painless install but then i had to get adb running to install gapps and sdcard fix.
after running it for awhile it isn't bad but still not as smooth as 2.1. not sure why people are posting that its faster as it is not. it's little more choppy overall and has hardware acceleration problems when playing movies. as some have mentioned it is annoying not having the navigation buttons without the nook bottom bar.
i am also just waiting for cm7 and i'll say goodbye to eclair forever. it was a breeze restoring back to stock through recovery and will probably try the next update of froyo now that I know what I'm doing.
jblues1969 said:
I've got rooted/OC'd 1.1Ghz 1.1 on mine.
I don't feel the need to go to Froyo.
Once Honeycomb is perfected, though, I am SOOOOOOOO there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my exact standpoint.
If a Honeycomb (That isn't just the SDK preview) is made for the NC, I will be downloading it.
So we've got a working list running for reference; I'm sure some people have more to add? This kind of thing would have saved me a lot of time a few months ago, let alone now with the increase in crazy options.
Thanks for this list, its awesome. It helps address the questions.
I am ofcourse going to try froyo since its so easy to do so but I wanted to help decide what was going to be my daily driver, etc.
CM7 is built on 2.3 AOSP right? I am excited to read above that nightlies are coming soon?!?!?
woot1524 said:
True, the chances of bricking the nook color are remote. But as you can see from the dev threads, even they have warnings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The warning are there as a just in case. These roms won't short out any circuits (short of the Overclocking one) and are just standard warnings. Since the NC boots to the SD card first it shouldn't be bricked. In fact if you wish to claim it can brick it then I can equally make a claim nooter will.
woot1524 said:
(I know about the sd images and swaping the cards out to do a backup, others don't, nor have more than one sd card)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need more than one sd card. I only have one and have successfully recovered when I was trying to do some edits myself.
woot1524 said:
Froyo does infact have Back and Menu buttons in the status bar.
you just need to push a couple files found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=932631
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is actually glitchy and if you read the developer even stated it himself later on. He said instead of releasing a custom ROM to fix the problems he'll just release the source code in case anyone really wants them
woot1524 said:
The real problem with nookie Froyo is that it's still not a daily driver. It's buggy(to an extent), it's always being updated(annoying, but part of the fun), and frankly 1.1.0 just runs better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eclair is buggy to an extent as well and on the issue of which runs better we'll have to agree to disagree since we can only have it based on opinion. Froyo has higher quadrant scores, and runs much smoother for me. As for compatability I'll test evernote later, but I dont know of any apps I've tested that don't work in froyo but do in eclair, while theres quite a few 2.2 exclusive apps that obviously won't work in eclair. But for those who can't get apps to work in 2.2 that did in 2.1 might be worth more than those 2.2 exclusives
In the end I would suggest just dual-booting Froyo and Eclair. Theres a simple download over the developers forum's that allows this. You just put it on an sd card, then type one line on your nook and you can test both of them and decide for yourself, while always having one for backup
How is the 1.1 g?
I feel quite the opposite, I think the B&N 2.1 experience is horrible.
B&N 2.1
- Dialogs don't display right due to B&N system configuration
- Keyboards don't work properly and if the keyboard does not have the settings in the UI there is now way to configure it due to B&N config
- No Cut and Paste. The work around are horrible.
- Default B&N Apps are horrible by far the worst apps in every field.
- System settings are non standard and accessing app configurations is very difficult.
- No JIT compiler causes apps to run slower.
- Launchers do not work properly because of missing
- No Text-to-speech.
- Random reboots multiple times a day.
- Games are sluggish, basic games are just fine.
Froyo 2.2 (0.5.8)
+ JIT compiler
+ Can get the nook 4 android app (which I think is better than their stock reader)
+ Cut-n-paste
+ Text-to-speech
+ More Stable( reboots on me twice a week)
+ Default Android back end so configuring keyboard apps and other apps is possible.
+ Launchers behave properly.
+ Access to more Market apps.
+ Game experience is much smoother(thanks to the JIT).
What bugs do you see on the Froyo that you don't see on the Stock nook. If anything I've seen more issues running stock nook than foryo?

Nook OS Versions and Compatiblity

So I am trying to piece together what works best so far for the Nook Color. It seems that the compatibility of OSes go in this order:
1. Rooted Eclair - videos works, apps work, everything works
2. Nookie Froyo- some apps don't work
3. CM7- some apps don't work, video playing using internal GPU doesn't work
4. Honeycomb- many apps dont work, videos don't work, just basically a demo
Do I have that right?
And with that question asked, does it seem like any version will eventually reach feature parity with the rooted Eclair version?
I am not sure about feature parity, I do know when I was on 2.2, Zinio worked and it does not work on the stock rom. I think the stock rom will gain features like flash whn bn updtes to 2.2.
My guess is the closest will be CM in a final release.
Leko
Your assessment looks fairly accurate.
Based on my past experience with with CM on other devices, I expect it will exceed the stock OS in all at areas in the near future.
poofyhairguy said:
1. Rooted Eclair - videos works, apps work, everything works
2. Nookie Froyo- some apps don't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Froyo has more working apps, for the simple fact it has flash and quite a few apps require flash. I've only come across maybe one app that didn't work in froyo but did in eclair (but only in 1.0.1)

[Q] What rom are you running and why?

What rom are you running and why not a different one? Forgot Honeycomb
Can a admin please add honeycomb to my poll?
Rooted stock eclair. It's doing everything I need it to do right now....no need to change just yet. Slingplayer and Youtube for me, angry birds and nook kids books for my son.
CM7 nightlies.
I have tried quite a few of the other Roms and appreciate all the work involved, but CM works better than anything else for me.
And by the time it hits stable.....yeah, a great piece of work.
Navigating with GPS and Google in my car on a big screen....
Streaming video (still choppy but getting BETTER)
Web browsing
And the occasional game, of course.
I am running Nookie Froyo because it is more stable for me than CM7 at the moment.
stock rooted eclair
tried phiremod but 3 hr battery life is a no go.
tried HC but didn't have market and haven't tried to add market to try again
stock kernel too. the OC ones make my nook very laggy
Running Nookie Froyo on eMMC using an older OC kernel (2.6.29-omap1 [email protected] #44). VERY stable, albeit without interactive govenor on the CPU, with stable wifi performance as well. Installed status bar mod that's available on the dev forum which adds shortcuts to the status bar.
I like Nookie Froyo because I'm able to get flash working on it. As of right now its the most useful to me of all the options until CM7's fully developed and HC beyond that.
I haven't tried CM7 on eMMC but have tried it on microSD and it's way too sensitive on the screen sensitivity for my taste. Makes typing a chore. Most likely the newer kernels have improved this though.
I can't say enough about Nookie Froyo. I have it installed to the EMMC with the latest status bar hack. It is really close to perfect for me. Honestly, I don't do a ton with my NC. Surf the 'net, Tweetdeck, Pulse and Gmail make up 99% of my use. I can do all of those without fault (though I do suffer sometimes launching WiFi after a reboot but from sleep - no problems). I also need to try the Ad-Hoc fix so I can tether to my rooted Droid 2 but it isn't a priority.
The work that has gone into this ROM has been astounding to me and it is so very close for primetime. Love it!
i use stock rom, but i would use nookie froyo but im scared im going to mess something else because i dont know how to burn the image to sd.
Running stock rooted, mostly because I like the status/navigation bar in the stock rom. I did try and install rom manager and recovery, and it stuck and boot to recovery all the time. Luckily I found a file to remove it, but I don't think I'll be flashing anything for a while.
The stock rom does most of what I need anyway, I don't much care for flash. I'm only hoping for honeycomb now.
CM7 because Honeycomb is not available.
Honeycomb, mostly for kicks, I have a phone for stability and honeycomb is sweet and meeting my needs
Im running stock 2.1 from my autonooter it does everything that i actually need like doc to go youtube and all my 16bit emulators run great also it impresses everyone i show it all my apps look great on it so ill just wait until they figure out froyo or gingerbread in autonooter format its th safest and easiest to install
Sent from my LogicPD Zoom2 using XDA App
CM7 nightlies and dalgrins OC kernels.
For me eclair was lame. I was tracking NookieFroyo but when I saw that its primary dev (cicadaman) was abandoning his creation to contribute to CM7, I moved to CM7. I took the plunge and blew away my eMMC and all is great! (I still use NF068 as a flasher when I want to dd something into the eMMC). CM7 is *almost* perfect at this point. BTW newbies, its almost impossible to brick your Nook. DD'ing stock back on to your eMMC is child's play.
I'm running Froyo because (in no particular order):
I broke gmail in rooted Eclair and had to restore to stock so I figured I might as well upgrade to Froyo while I'm at it
Changing LauncherPro shortcuts was painful in rooted Eclair
Froyo has better memory management than Eclair
A stable build of CM7 isn't out yet
A stable build of Honeycomb isn't out yet
CM7 nightly because I am using CM7 on Nexus One for nice features and up to date ROM.
I'm a newbie with the nook, I just got it a couple of days ago, but I have done a fair amount of experimenting. I have tried rooted stock, Nookie Froyo, Honeycomb, and CM7. So far, Nookie Froyo off of the eMMC works best for me. I want to use the Nook as part of job everyday (I'm in field sales), so it needs to be responsive and stable. I also like to watch videos a lot and need great video performance. I also use launcher pro and have my Nook set up to mirror the setup on my phone.
CM7 is a great user experience, but the choppy video is a deal breaker for me.
Honeycomb looks to be a great option in the near future when the source code becomes available and I'm looking forward to that.
rooted stock in emmc, cm7 on sd card.
Stock is stable, video works. The rooted keyboard is hoooorrible though, even worse than the default.
CM7 has a better keyboard, even without attaching my apple keyboard with bluetooth. After attaching it though...so much better, even as glitchy as it is.
So stock for consuming content, CM7 for producing it.
Probably switch to CM7 full time once the video kinks and the sleep kinks are worked out.
Stock on emmc and CM7 on sdcard....will like to update to the latest build though.....
eMMC: Rooted stock eclair, I still need the kid books feature.
uSD: CM7 nightlies. This is really good to try.

[Q] Which ROM should I go for?

So, in lieu of Google holding onto the HC source code and me getting fed up with the stock ROM, I am wondering if I should for for Nookie Froyo or CM7 or maybe wait longer...
List of things I don't like about 2.1 rooted ROM:
B&N launcher, I'm always hitting it by accident
No copy/paste (need!)
No Flash support
Overall slow, buggy performance, screen not so accurate (big pain)
App incompatibility, I'd like to try some apps like Firefox or update Maps regularly
WiFi issues, have to toggle on/off to connect
Poor battery life
List of things holding me to 2.1 now:
Notification bar on bottom, with back and menu buttons (this is a big one)
Ability to quickly lock to portrait mode by tapping the clock
And since I only have 2 GB uSD cards, can I completely copy my current ROM with CWM to restore back to where I am now?
Thanks for any input
I suggest you check out CyanogenMod 7 with tablet options from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1002000
[MOD][CM7] Honeycomb features - in progress - updated 03/26
It addresses the features you are concerend with and is great on the NookColor!
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
i have tried nookie froyo, Honeycomb and now CM7 on the ineternal memory and personally i find CM7 alot more stable, my youtube works, flash works, bluetooth works, orientation is smoother than others, apps do not seem to over scale/under scale often...oooh yeah my angry birds work, wifi stays connected when coming out of sleep mode, but early way you go you are gonna get some bugginess. but CM7 does not seem to have as many.
CM7 hands down. A fast working community.
> Sent from my Super Clean Fascinate via XDA Premium app <
Well, I dove right in and installed Honeycomb v4 on eMMC and I am super excited for it. I just had to give it a go.
I guess lots of apps aren't really working for it right now?
Which Rom
I use Nookie Froyo (from the sd card) on my unrooted Nook. It works really well gives u access to the market and all that it brings; I have gmail,Gtalk etc. good battery life, and you can just remove the sd card to use the Nook in the "out of the box form".
One of the great things about the NC as it is right now:
there are a HUGE number of ways to try new things.
Personally I am a fan of rooting for the speed gains and ease- once cwm recovery is installed I can flash and revert easily and as needed.
I run CM7 nightlies on emmc (internal memory) and keep important backups (still have rooted stock and at least 2 GOOD, stable backups at all times) and yet test any and all new rom updates and test I choose.
Flash works and video should be perfect in CM7 soon: I just tried the video test build (and wiped data) and reverted back to my nightly with Tablet Tweaks and 1.1Ghz overclock, all configured and ready to go. Nightlies have not YET required me to do a data wipe....
My point being- it is pretty simple to try any and all roms and decide which you want from personal experience.

New to NC, not to technology. Advice needed.

Forgive me for the intrusion, but I have a question for you all. Looking at the various threads and screen shots, it appears that most are using a rooted nook rather than honeycomb or froyo; is this accurate?
My story:
I was in Best-buy the other day shopping tablets (Xoom, Galaxy, iPad, etc) and someone was walking by and said "Hey, save money, get a NC." Of course I was like, what? I'm no stranger to Linux, servers, and basic programming but tablets and android is uncharted territory for me. So, after this guy did some basic explaining I was like "half price, and near limitless customization? Yeah thats for me!"
So here I am, been browsing this website for a few days trying to decide how I should go about 'unlocking' my NC. Do I use some sort of root kit to just unlock the 'stock' system? Do I use 'Froyo' on a SD card? What about this honeycomb thing, should I use that?
Like I said, it appears from screenshots most people are still using the basic NC system, that has maybe just been rooted to run apps and such from the market? I'm sorry for sounding dumb, I'm really not, just not sure what route is best for me, or the best choice. I am a fast learner, I just don't want to spend weeks learning something only to realize I was learning the wrong thing for what I need.
What I've gathered so far:
Stock rooted NC - will do fine for most users. Launcher Pro, Pandora, YouTube, browsing, games, gmail, etc. What about GPS? Google Maps?
Froyo - Same as above, some cosmetic differences, bells and whistles only advantage?
Honeycomb - Culmination of the previous two lists?
Insight welcome please?
Signed,
Work in progress.
It may be a little over half the price... But the Nook color is half the speed of the Motorola Xoom. So if you really have the money, I would return the nook color and just get a xoom, you'll be happier with it. If you're looking for just something to surf the net, and play a few games or programs, then the NC is a decent choice.
I use CM7 nightlys. CM7 is in my opinion the best rom, it allows bluetooth support and flash. It can be overclocked to 1190mhz. And has a lot of options for customizations.
HC is limited to a preview sdk build until google decides to let others have the final source, which could be a while... (Motorola Xoom comes with it installed)
Froyo is limited in a lot of regards, and CM7 is far better and offers a lot more support for programs and hardware. That said... Some people feel Froyo is better than CM7, but they're essentially the same underlining OS.
Individuals requirements vary, but since you asked I will give my two cents:
CyanogenMod 7
While it is currently not released as "stable" but only nightly builds, the nightlies are extremely good. Phiremod is based on the nightlies and adds some nice stuff, but is also slightly behind since the nightly has to be released before it can be customized.
The latest is CM7 nightly 32 right now (http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?type=nightly&device=encore) but it changes almost every day.
A Video Test build was just released that has YouTube working in all its glory (? Did I really type that?) so the video issues should be a thing of the past in a few days. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=960537
The same dev has an overclock kernel which gets the cpu up to 1100mhz and adds the interactive governor- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=925451
And another guy took a great idea and ran with it: adding Tablet Tweaks to CM
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1002000
I generally run the latest nightly with an oc kernel but now that the Tablet Tweaks has made so much progress, my routine is like this:
Flash latest nightly
Flash Tablet Tweaks
Flash OC kernel
Don't let the "nightly" status of CM7 put you off too much- the CyanogenMod team are perfectionists and won't call a rom Stable until it is PERFECT.
Right now the nightlies are better than any fresh install of Windows I have ever seen, for example....
I wouldn't go to honeycomb as a permanent solution now - it is reasonably good but still experimental with problems running full tablet applications.
I'm using Froyo but will switch over to CM7 shortly. At one point, froyo was more stable (two weeks back - things change fast) with working video and flash. CM7 has come along quickly and its time to move on. Having said that - both of these require some fiddling to get working properly. This is not a no-frustration experience - if you are comfortable with sorting out linux-like issues it won't be too bad. Fun if you like tinkering with gadgets.
Rooted stock is stable, adds the open android market to the the stock B&N experience which includes a very nice reader. If you upgrade beyond stock you will lose the reader which has some desireable features like "borrowing a book" in the store, magazines and newspapers. Not working on froyo, cm7, or hc.
I'd agree that cm7 is probably the best compromise at this point - at least for me. You will still be flashing gapps and wondering where certain apps or wallpapers are in the market.
Xoom or galaxy tab actually work (largely) without customization today. Closer to an ipad experience in that it works out of the box. Nook color can largely replicate those functions but you'll do a little work setting it up.
Peter
I would not trade the NC for the Xoom just because the Xoom is so ridiculously overpriced IMO. Personally, I would go with stock rooted. If you find that you are wanting to do something with it that you cannot do on stock rooted, then look for something else like Nookie Froyo or Honeycomb (which is still a little half baked on the NC IMO).
Wonderful advice and well said. Thank you much for everyone's time, I above anyone else know how precious every second is.
'Sorting out linux and tinkering' is exactly on point, I've been doing that very thing for about 12 years now. I like to consider myself an avid enthusiast rather than full throttle geek. Anyway, I think I'll study the route of stock rooted and further my knowledge on full flash before taking that plunge.
That being said, one more question and I'll let you all get back to more important things. I should be right in assuming just follow the steps in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872490 or the v3.* thread to fully root the stock NC and have google apps, market, etc up and running? From what I've read, this auto-nooter has pretty much all of it built in already; Gmail, Market, root-kit etc.
PS: Wonderful site, very informative.
Signed,
Work in Progress.
LarcenQ said:
Stock rooted NC - will do fine for most users. Launcher Pro, Pandora, YouTube, browsing, games, gmail, etc. What about GPS? Google Maps?
Froyo - Same as above, some cosmetic differences, bells and whistles only advantage?
Honeycomb - Culmination of the previous two lists?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in your same boat (I recently started with Nookie Froyo on SD so I can leave the Nook alone, but am just learning what else needs to be done to fix some buggy behavior.)
One thing to understand is that there are multiple versions of Android. The Nook Color still ships with Android 2.1 (Eclair). They are supposed to be pushing out 2.2 (Froyo) in a few days. The Cyanogenmod (CM7) people are using 2.3 (Gingerbread). And the NookieFroyo folks are of course using 2.2. I have no idea what Phiremod is. As expected, the later versions of Android tend to have more features/work better.
The 3.0 version of Android, Honeycomb, is still the most experimental and apparently doesn't work that well with the Nook Color yet. Worse, Google has decided to hold back the latest source code of this "open source" project for now, meaning that only the Xoom can run the thing. But it's the only Android version with true tablet support.
As to GPS,the Nook Color does NOT have a GPS chip, so regardless of Android version you can get GPS coordinates only by rough calculation based on a WiFi database or by tethering to a GPS device or GPS-equipped cell phone.
xdabr said:
I have no idea what Phiremod is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phiremod is based on CM7 nightlies with some very nice customizations.
Yup -- Xoom overpriced. Unless you've a burning desire to be on the cutting edge, I'd go with the Nook Color and wait out the pricing on Android tablets. They are bound to come down.
Also, a couple of key points:
Barnes & Noble is theoretically going to push an upgrade sometime in April that will include Flash capability and some sort of Market. No details on the market. However if they're smart there will be a host of apps available that we all know will run on the Nook (because we've rooted and downloaded them). This new stock configuration may be all that a lot of people want or need.
If you are determined, however, remember that this forum is like a big toy store and can be confusing. You can run stock internally and dual boot into a fast SD card to run virtually any other configuration. Or, you can flash the internal rom and run most of these variation on the OS internally.
Here's the relevant point: When booting, the Nook Color looks first at the SD drive. That's very cool, because it allows us to do a whole bunch of fun stuff.
I'm currently running rooted stock internally and CM7 (the version with working Bluetooth) off a SD card. Truth be told I typically boot into CM7 because it works so well -- even for reading B&N Nook books. I use a little variation that allows hard key dual booting. There is a brandy new release of CM7 that resolves some video issues and I'll update to that.
However, the CM7 releases do not include the Google stuff, including the Market, so you have to load those via ADB (Android Development Bridge) which means setting up your computer with an Android development environment -- something very doable and free, but it takes some time to get it all working right.
The holy grail is probably Honeycomb, the Android version specifically designed with tablets in mind. There is a development version of Honeycomb that actually works pretty well, but it's not fully fleshed out just yet. I've got it running on a separate SD and it's very cool, but lacks some functionality. Once it's fully developed that will be my daily OS for sure.
One of my wants and needs is to be able to use an external folding keyboard. The only version floating around right now that supports the Nook's built-in Bluetooth (unused by B&N) is a release of CM7 -- and it works. I can use the nifty Freedom Pro keyboard and it's really pretty good -- no excessive lag.
Hopefully that's enough to get you going. I'd say -- given the overwhelming wealth of information on this forum -- keep your Nook stock until after B&N pushes the update. In the meantime, get a good fast SD card and use that to mess with your pick of Android versions offered here. Pick just one and than tunnel down into the forum to work with it at first.
Happy Nooking!
robedney said:
I'm currently running rooted stock internally and CM7 (the version with working Bluetooth) off a SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I wanted to try this CM7 tonight when I got home, however, I do not want to wipe/tamper with my onboard nook, and everything I've read about CM7 you have to install on internal memory. Is there a link to the instructions on booting CM7 from the sd card?
Thanks in advance!
Signed,
Getting somewhere.
Yup -- I'll track it down. Stay tuned.
Here's a thread that sets up a SD card to run CM7 with working Bluetooth. Read the whole thread before you start (some good simple instructions are in there):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=989637
Be aware that Google stuff and the Market are not included -- you'll have to install those via ADB (and there are full instructions on how to set up and do that on this forum.
Or -- a newer option that looks pretty cool (and avoids having to use ADB to get the Market):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1000957
I think I'll try this on a spare SD card and see how it all works out.
There are hardware differences to consider too.
NC is 7 inch screen, vs 10 inch for XOOM and some other tablet.
Then size and weight.
Also NC doesn't have cameras, the others may have one or two...
And NC doesn't have mic, although bluetooth headset may work.
I am happy with my NC for its price and what I need.
robedney said:
Here's a thread that sets up a SD card to run CM7 with working Bluetooth. Read the whole thread before you start (some good simple instructions are in there):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=989637
Be aware that Google stuff and the Market are not included -- you'll have to install those via ADB (and there are full instructions on how to set up and do that on this forum.
Or -- a newer option that looks pretty cool (and avoids having to use ADB to get the Market):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1000957
I think I'll try this on a spare SD card and see how it all works out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much obliged! I'll give this a try tonight once I get home from work. God I love mature people instead of 'scr3w yu n00b!'.
Signed,
Getting there.
Just make your of which Stock ROM you have (1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.1.0). Each Nooter is made specifically for each ROM.
Also, as far as Gapps is concerned, there is no need to use ADB. All of it can be installed easily via ClockworkRecovery. ADB stuff is fun, but not needed to get full blown CM7 w/gapps and everything else.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1000957.html
just used this for a SD bootable CM7. I'm running rooted 2.1 for daily use and testing out the different options via SD bootable builds. fyi, this also allows the install of google apps without ADB.
HI,
One question for you:
What do you want to use the Nook for mainly?
Toy/Playing/learning/Android Apps/Web/eBooks... CM7 (Nightlies)
eBook reader mainly... Perhaps stock rooted.
Lots of video/Flash? Not sure which, perhaps Froyo. CM7 soon.
Require bluetooth? CM7
One immediate advantage for rooting is access to other eBook reader
applications, such as Kindle.
Don't forget to look at/select a soft button approach that you like,
Android is expecting more than the one button at the bottom. I like
Button Savior from the market, but there are a variety of other solutions.
It is handy to have a bunch of SDcards on hand too, I never seem to have
enough of them. Don't forget that when you move to an internal memory
version of, say, Cyanogenmod7, that you need a SD card for data too.
Good luck, the NC is a fun toy!
Peter
envygreen said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1000957.html
just used this for a SD bootable CM7. I'm running rooted 2.1 for daily use and testing out the different options via SD bootable builds. fyi, this also allows the install of google apps without ADB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're in dire need of a single (maintained) collection of all these pre-built SD card images -- is there such a posting?
Hunting through the forum is not as much fun as it seems.
EDIT: Looks like there's a list of ROMs at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872003
DOH!
Read post carefully BEFORE replying!
lol

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