Database Develop

[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 to do with Shrink-Wrapped NC for Teenager?

Hi folks. Yes, I'm another newb but not quite an idiot, and I would love your advice. We've got a new NC for a teenager who loves books but would also appreciate videos and some applications. It's just out of shrink wrap.
From my preliminary reading it sounds as if (a) only NookieFroyo provides Flash support including Flash video, and (b) B&N may be pushing Froyo shortly as stock ROM.
1. Is there any likelihood that B&N will or could in some way use this update (or any update) to prevent subsequent rooting or other hacks?
2. Are all the various mods reversible? Our concern is being able to, at worst case, revert to stock in order to have all original Nook functionality restored, including brick-and-mortar store compatibility (e.g., in-store borrowing) and especially warranty service.
3. Regarding the B&N store, the AutoNooter threads recommend registering with B&N before beginning any changes. Is this necessary, and/or absolutely required, and why? If you register and then root, will that allow you to purchase books, whereas you would not otherwise have been able to?
4. Is there a substantive difference (look, feel, or function) between the process of buying books on the original stock NC versus installing the Nook app for Android on a rooted or modded NC?
5. If one "merely" roots the device and doesn't install CM or NookieFroyo or other ROMs, can one still install apps at will? I'd be fine with sideloading if no Market app were functional.
6. My impression is that the stock NC supports very few applications but that with the upcoming upgrade B&N may be featuring a store. Is it accurate to say that in its stock form the NC is not (yet) much more than a book reader?
7. Regarding AutoNooter, it seems to have forked based on the 1.1 B&N update. Is it better to start at 1.0.1 with the original AutoNooter or to allow the 1.1 upgrade and use the GMPower fork?
8. Is an AutoNooter or other rooting procedure required before CM is applied? I assume so, but only ask because the CM procedure at Cyanogenmod.com (I can't post links yet) doesn't have a rooting step. Maybe it's the case that AutoNooter is for rooting the existing B&N image but that other ROMs can be independently booted from SD? (Told ya I'm a newb.)
9. What, if any, of the stock device's capabilities are lost (reversibly or irreversibly) by rooting and/or modding? (One I wonder about is in-store "free" reading at B&N locations.)
Obviously I'm all over the map, and I apologize. Just trying to figure out the best approach to make the kid happy (e-reading, Youtube, and web browsing would probably suffice) and not end up with a funked out device that can't be used or supported for its original purpose.
Thanks very much in advance.

1. Is there any likelihood that B&N will or could in some way use this update (or any update) to prevent subsequent rooting or other hacks?
To be honest, maybe. But, once you autonooter or install a custom rom B&N cannot OTA update your nook.
2. Are all the various mods reversible? Our concern is being able to, at worst case, revert to stock in order to have all original Nook functionality restored, including brick-and-mortar store compatibility (e.g., in-store borrowing) and especially warranty service.
Yes, there are flashable images that will revert the nook back to out-of-the-box state. look through the Dev forum.
3. Regarding the B&N store, the AutoNooter threads recommend registering with B&N before beginning any changes. Is this necessary, and/or absolutely required, and why? If you register and then root, will that allow you to purchase books, whereas you would not otherwise have been able to?
I think it's something to do with being able to connect to google's services. yes it's necessary when you stay with eclaire, not wirh froyo/CM7/honeycomb. yes, the store works with rooted eclaire.
4. Is there a substantive difference (look, feel, or function) between the process of buying books on the original stock NC versus installing the Nook app for Android on a rooted or modded NC?
you use the store the same way on a rooted-stock nook as you would on a stock one. I don't know how the look feel or function is for the b&n app, I have an original nook for reading.
5. If one "merely" roots the device and doesn't install CM or NookieFroyo or other ROMs, can one still install apps at will? I'd be fine with sideloading if no Market app were functional.
The market works with rooted-stock, but you'll eventually want to install CM7 or Honeycomb, trust me.
6. My impression is that the stock NC supports very few applications but that with the upcoming upgrade B&N may be featuring a store. Is it accurate to say that in its stock form the NC is not (yet) much more than a book reader?
A stock NC is pretty useless for anything other than reading/web surfing
7. Regarding AutoNooter, it seems to have forked based on the 1.1 B&N update. Is it better to start at 1.0.1 with the original AutoNooter or to allow the 1.1 upgrade and use the GMPower fork?
Auto-nooter 3 works just fine for 1.1.0 thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=942424
8. Is an AutoNooter or other rooting procedure required before CM is applied? I assume so, but only ask because the CM procedure at Cyanogenmod.com (I can't post links yet) doesn't have a rooting step. Maybe it's the case that AutoNooter is for rooting the existing B&N image but that other ROMs can be independently booted from SD? (Told ya I'm a newb.)
No, you do not need to root to install Froyo/CM7/HC. The nook is hard wired to boot the SD-card first if able. You can go straight from stock to CM7 with one flashed micro SD-card.
9. What, if any, of the stock device's capabilities are lost (reversibly or irreversibly) by rooting and/or modding? (One I wonder about is in-store "free" reading at B&N locations.)
This I don't know. I don't use the NC as a reader at all. My Original nook takes care of that.
Hope this helps. Happy modding.

I think all of your questions are easily answered by the FroYo SD card image. You can keep the Nook stock for reading books and warranty purposes and if you want the extras, stick the SD card in. Basically, if you haven't come across this one yet, the NC will boot off of the SD card first, then internal second. So if there's an SD card with a bootable image, you're up and running in froyo. If no SD card you're booting stock. It's a beautiful thing I tell you

So it really is that easy? It will just boot off the SD card out without any modification? Amazing.
That's the kind of thing I'd be worried about them changing or locking (vis a vis my question #1 above). My anxiety is whether to hack NOW to prevent future lockdown, or try to hack LATER after the authorized Froyo push.
Obviously the hacker community has made the NC a very hot item, but if the history of every other repurposed device (video games, DVRs, etc.) is any precedent B&N may not see it as valuable to encourage or allow it to continue.
Edit: But I'm also seeing reports that you do need to root the device in order to boot off the SD?
Thank you for the feedback, woot1524 and devis.

Running any version of android off of an sd card is EXTREMELY slow. You can reverse any hack root or mod made to the nook.. as long as the mod isnt physical ie. You scratch your name into the back of the nook no teenager will want to wait for the time it will take to run it off the sd card.. theyll just get frustrated and give up.
Nookie Froyo 0.6.8 (zoom2)/Tapatalk Pro

woot1524 said:
1. Is there any likelihood that B&N will or could in some way use this update (or any update) to prevent subsequent rooting or other hacks?
To be honest, maybe. But, once you autonooter or install a custom rom B&N cannot OTA update your nook.
2. Are all the various mods reversible? Our concern is being able to, at worst case, revert to stock in order to have all original Nook functionality restored, including brick-and-mortar store compatibility (e.g., in-store borrowing) and especially warranty service.
Yes, there are flashable images that will revert the nook back to out-of-the-box state. look through the Dev forum.
3. Regarding the B&N store, the AutoNooter threads recommend registering with B&N before beginning any changes. Is this necessary, and/or absolutely required, and why? If you register and then root, will that allow you to purchase books, whereas you would not otherwise have been able to?
I think it's something to do with being able to connect to google's services. yes it's necessary when you stay with eclaire, not wirh froyo/CM7/honeycomb. yes, the store works with rooted eclaire.
4. Is there a substantive difference (look, feel, or function) between the process of buying books on the original stock NC versus installing the Nook app for Android on a rooted or modded NC?
you use the store the same way on a rooted-stock nook as you would on a stock one. I don't know how the look feel or function is for the b&n app, I have an original nook for reading.
5. If one "merely" roots the device and doesn't install CM or NookieFroyo or other ROMs, can one still install apps at will? I'd be fine with sideloading if no Market app were functional.
The market works with rooted-stock, but you'll eventually want to install CM7 or Honeycomb, trust me.
6. My impression is that the stock NC supports very few applications but that with the upcoming upgrade B&N may be featuring a store. Is it accurate to say that in its stock form the NC is not (yet) much more than a book reader?
A stock NC is pretty useless for anything other than reading/web surfing
7. Regarding AutoNooter, it seems to have forked based on the 1.1 B&N update. Is it better to start at 1.0.1 with the original AutoNooter or to allow the 1.1 upgrade and use the GMPower fork?
Auto-nooter 3 works just fine for 1.1.0 thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=942424
8. Is an AutoNooter or other rooting procedure required before CM is applied? I assume so, but only ask because the CM procedure at Cyanogenmod.com (I can't post links yet) doesn't have a rooting step. Maybe it's the case that AutoNooter is for rooting the existing B&N image but that other ROMs can be independently booted from SD? (Told ya I'm a newb.)
No, you do not need to root to install Froyo/CM7/HC. The nook is hard wired to boot the SD-card first if able. You can go straight from stock to CM7 with one flashed micro SD-card.
9. What, if any, of the stock device's capabilities are lost (reversibly or irreversibly) by rooting and/or modding? (One I wonder about is in-store "free" reading at B&N locations.)
This I don't know. I don't use the NC as a reader at all. My Original nook takes care of that.
Hope this helps. Happy modding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your answer for number 1 and 8 apply to each other. Since the Nook is hardwired to boot from uSD, there will almost surely be rooted ROMS for it. Hope that helps clarify this point.

Oh yea, and as far as what to do for a teen...
I would go with Nookie Froyo 0.6.8 eMMC. Download and have the image to return to stock ready to go, just in case. And then be patient for when CM7 is finally cooked.
Be prepared to do most of the tinkering with NF to get it right BEFORE you give it to your teen. Once you get everything working(market, youtube, etc), then it should be ready for him/her. I have been using NF for a bit now, and once I got everything working it is great. read the forums here for a bit and you will get an idea of just how good these babies can be.
be prepared for the usual ....it's not the Xoom, an ipad, etc arguments and complaints...it's a teen you are dealing with(basing from my experiences only, with my daughter...aren't they great?).

luciferii said:
Running any version of android off of an sd card is EXTREMELY slow. You can reverse any hack root or mod made to the nook.. as long as the mod isnt physical ie. You scratch your name into the back of the nook no teenager will want to wait for the time it will take to run it off the sd card.. theyll just get frustrated and give up.
Nookie Froyo 0.6.8 (zoom2)/Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for me. I find it quite fast and very usable. No issues whatsoever with it being slow.
One thing to do is to install LCD Density and change the screen density to 200 or 220 for added smoothness. It doesnt change the resolution, just the size of items on the screen to bigger and everything flows together very nicely.
The SD card 0.6.8 is my daily driver lately, I use it for work and personal email, news, reading, games, Slingbox watching... it's great. not sure what is this slowness you're talking about.

xdabr said:
So it really is that easy? It will just boot off the SD card out without any modification? Amazing.
That's the kind of thing I'd be worried about them changing or locking (vis a vis my question #1 above). My anxiety is whether to hack NOW to prevent future lockdown, or try to hack LATER after the authorized Froyo push.
Obviously the hacker community has made the NC a very hot item, but if the history of every other repurposed device (video games, DVRs, etc.) is any precedent B&N may not see it as valuable to encourage or allow it to continue.
Edit: But I'm also seeing reports that you do need to root the device in order to boot off the SD?
Thank you for the feedback, woot1524 and devis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to root to run it off of SD. Just pop it in and go.

devis said:
Not for me. I find it quite fast and very usable. No issues whatsoever with it being slow.
One thing to do is to install LCD Density and change the screen density to 200 or 220 for added smoothness. It doesnt change the resolution, just the size of items on the screen to bigger and everything flows together very nicely.
The SD card 0.6.8 is my daily driver lately, I use it for work and personal email, news, reading, games, Slingbox watching... it's great. not sure what is this slowness you're talking about.[/QUOTE
You don't have issues with the sleep of death and wifidisconnects?
That is what turned me off of froyo for Nook
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

i would just root it and leave it stock.
if the teen wants to learn how to flash let 'em have at it. you can't brick a nook

xdabr said:
Hi folks. Yes, I'm another newb but not quite an idiot, and I would love your advice. We've got a new NC for a teenager who loves books but would also appreciate videos and some applications. It's just out of shrink wrap.
From my preliminary reading it sounds as if (a) only NookieFroyo provides Flash support including Flash video, and (b) B&N may be pushing Froyo shortly as stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well im a teenager and i can tell you that if said teen wants full video support said teen should stick on stock nook OS but rooted but if said teen wants something that runs well but with an amazing UI i recommend HC
as a teen i dont really need flash to much but it is nice to have but pretty much i used flash for youtube on the web but now that youtube streams in HTML5 on their mobile site i feel like i didnt need it as much

Beat them with it.

Canadoc said:
devis said:
Not for me. I find it quite fast and very usable. No issues whatsoever with it being slow.
One thing to do is to install LCD Density and change the screen density to 200 or 220 for added smoothness. It doesnt change the resolution, just the size of items on the screen to bigger and everything flows together very nicely.
The SD card 0.6.8 is my daily driver lately, I use it for work and personal email, news, reading, games, Slingbox watching... it's great. not sure what is this slowness you're talking about.[/QUOTE
You don't have issues with the sleep of death and wifidisconnects?
That is what turned me off of froyo for Nook
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SOD nope... not at all. Have yet to experience it. WIFI disconnects, yes... well, mostly the WIFI dance when it switches itself from off to on and to off and back to on again. But a reboot fixes it, so no biggie. There is actually a fix for it but me being the lazy bum that I am haven't gotten around to fixing it. And i'm reluctant to change to the newer image because this one runs so well why fix what ain't broke.
to OP... if you still dont know what to do with it, give it to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Btw, not all sd cards are alike. The ones who are complaining about Froyo running slowly off the sd card are probably not using a fast enough sd card. I suggest getting the Transcend 8 gb class 6 microSDHC card. I'm getting 13 MB/s write and 15 MB/s read speeds which is above class 10 specs.

I'm still in slight shock that you can dual boot without making ANY changes at all to the device, without so much as a BIOS tweak.
So it sounds as if you could even grab the display model or a friend's device, boot it off your SD to use Android for a while, and then just hand it back COMPLETELY unchanged, with all original functionality and data intact. That's just too easy!
The gist I'm getting is that even if B&N root locks the internal storage's OS in future updates, it's unlikely the SD card boot option will go away?
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. (I ran out of Thanks credit.)

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

[Q] Nook Color - Easy/Stable Root Path

I had some trouble installing CM7 in my last posts. Now I have one for both my wife and I . We are not into Netflix, flash or anything fancy, just want to be able to install apps from Google Market like Angry Birds and install apps like my Office Viewer.
I have very successfully installed custom ROMs on my GTablet but I want to keep it easy on my Nooks, which both at 1.3.0. The new one has the 1 GB data partition so that will need to change. I see 3 main options:
1. Install Manual Nooter.
2. Install CM7 on a uSD.
3. Install CM7 on the nook.
Are there any other compelling options that I should consider like Phiremod? My main goal is stability and reliability - this will likely be the only mod I do short of a major Android release down the road. And since I have to apply it to two Nooks, ease of install and maintenance would be nice.
Thanks for suggestions.
Matt

You might want to check out MiUi. It is a different enough experience that it is appealing to some (me included). I am running v 1.9.16 from a microSD card, although most put it on the internal memory.
See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1161914
It tends to be a simpler, stable and a very smooth running interface... especially good if you deal with a limited number of apps since it doesn't use an app drawer but has everything on the main screens (like the iPad).

davidr415 said:
You might want to check out MiUi. It is a different enough experience that it is appealing to some (me included). I am running v 1.9.16 from a microSD card, although most put it on the internal memory.
See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1161914
It tends to be a simpler, stable and a very smooth running interface... especially good if you deal with a limited number of apps since it doesn't use an app drawer but has everything on the main screens (like the iPad).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would heartily endorse the use of MIUI on an SD Card - it is very easy to implement using the Multiboot installer from here: http://forum.xda developers.com/showthread.php?t=1022786, thus leaving your Nook intact and it runs very smoothly - for me it runs much more smoothly than CM7.
Noob or not, it's a great ROM - I run it from a Sandisk Class 2 16 Gb microSD.

docfreed said:
I would heartily endorse the use of MIUI on an SD Card - it is very easy to implement using the Multiboot installer from here: [code]http://forum.xda-developers.c...omplicated stuff.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It's important to use a Sandisk card. Otherwise you will be disappointed. There are several threads on this in case you haven't read them. My personal experience has also proved this to be true.

Matt_WhatsAnIPad said:
I had some trouble installing CM7 in my last posts. Now I have one for both my wife and I . We are not into Netflix, flash or anything fancy, just want to be able to install apps from Google Market like Angry Birds and install apps like my Office Viewer.
I have very successfully installed custom ROMs on my GTablet but I want to keep it easy on my Nooks, which both at 1.3.0. The new one has the 1 GB data partition so that will need to change. I see 3 main options:
1. Install Manual Nooter.
2. Install CM7 on a uSD.
3. Install CM7 on the nook.
Are there any other compelling options that I should consider like Phiremod? My main goal is stability and reliability - this will likely be the only mod I do short of a major Android release down the road. And since I have to apply it to two Nooks, ease of install and maintenance would be nice.
Thanks for suggestions.
Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest that you wait a little longer as the stock NCs will be getting a fairly significant update soon so that they will include Netflix and Hulu and some other B&N store items. It is not clear whether this will also be an upgrade to Gingerbread & I have no idea whether this will change the partitions again.