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Ok, here's the deal.
Fiancee got me a NC for my birthday because she read that it can be rooted and made into a formidable tablet. I agree with her and am stoked.
I don't have any dev experience, but I'm very familiar with rooting and flashing ROMs to our EVO 4Gs.
However, after reading through the developmental forum, I'm confused as to what steps I need to follow to turn my NC into a CM7 tablet.
Do I run autonooter? (The B&N store updated my NC to the 1.1.0 software yesterday in-store) Which one? Do I run it first?
After that, how do I flash CM7? Is there a more stable system\ROM\build?
With dealing with SD cards, I know this will be a bit against the grain for me because Rooting\Flashing the EVO is so easy and simple.
Any and all help will be appreciated.
(Side note question: Has anyone used a Steinheil Screen Protector on their nook? I see that SGP makes one for the Galaxy Tab, which has similar dimensions as the NC. Anyone?)
This seems like easiest to follow:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9816724&postcount=64
kapurcell said:
This seems like easiest to follow:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9816724&postcount=64
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome.
So that "roots" the nook, like SimpleRoot does to my EVO?
And then I go through the process in the CM7 Phiremod post in the Dev forum?
Also - should I go buy a second MicroSD card to use, leaving the current one in the nook as a clean backup?
It's useful to have multiple microSD. I have a couple 2GB microSD for nootering and flashing new rom. I use a 16GB for main use as backup and data storage.
If you're new to Android, I recommend just nootering your stock 1.1 NC because it's most stable. Froyo, Honeycomb, and Gingerbread built are still in development and are being tested.
Sent from my NC using Tapatalk
I'm not new to Android, as I've been using various CyanogenMod and MIUI builds on my EVO since I bought it last year.
What I am new to is the use of SD cards for flashing. That's where I'm a bit shaky on the steps.
Before you can get a good answer we need more infromation.
1) do you care about the B&N stuff that your Nook came with?
2) what is your goal?
a) e-reader that can do tablet functions
b) Tablet that can do e-reader functions
Do you want to run the alt OS from the SDcard or from the flash memory?
So far there are 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 3.0 ROMS for the Nook. Where do you want to be?
painter_ said:
Before you can get a good answer we need more infromation.
1) do you care about the B&N stuff that your Nook came with? - Not really. As long as I have a way to read books that I get off demonoid.
2) what is your goal?
a) e-reader that can do tablet functions
b) Tablet that can do e-reader functions Preferably this.
Do you want to run the alt OS from the SDcard or from the flash memory?
So far there are 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 3.0 ROMS for the Nook. Where do you want to be?Are there advantages\disadvantages? Which is the most stable solution to rooting\flashing? I have CM7 on my EVO now, though I'll probably be switching over to the latest MIUI later tonight. I wouldn't mind something similar to CM7 on my NC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the above help at all?
Bump for some help. Thanks guys.
I've only been a NC owner for a week. From my experience, you need to play a bit. Usual disclaimers apply:
1. spend time playing with the default B&N config. Enjoy. Ok, for me that got boring after about 1 hour.
2. Autonooter 3.0 (since you are on 1.1.0). Then just play with your rooted NC. Enjoy. I was amazed at what this little guy could do after only a root. Test a bunch of apps. Read a bunch on this website. Test more apps that you read about. Try different backup software. Get comfortable with Eclair. Run Quadrant. Enjoy.
3. Dahlingren's OC kernel. Make sure you get the Eclair kernel. I installed the 1100 MHz one, and monitored for overheating and random reboots/force closes etc. This one worked well for me, and amazed me again at how much faster it was (run Quadrant again). Get comfortable with the procedure to flash a rom with CWR. Enjoy.
4. CM7 with OC kernel. Play, test, enjoy. If the current bugs are deal breakers, revert back to Eclair, or try Froyo or some other flavour. Enjoy.
It seems to be darn near impossible to brick this guy, so I haven't worried too much. Worst case scenario is I have a $250 paper weight, but the best case has been worth the risk to me.
Enjoy.
Hi, I’ve been using my nook color sin January with rooted éclair running in it, and I’ve been wondering about if I should switch to another of the alternative ROMs available; this is my first Android device and I’m really pleased with it, and some of the terms used on this forums are really new to me, so my question is Should I stay with éclair or move to another versions available?
PS. I’m currently living in Mexico so the fact of losing the B&N store app wouldn’t be an issue for me.
Only you can evaluate what you need.
For me, I stay with rooted eclair (1.1). The only thing it's really missing is Flash, which I don't need. (QQ player actually lets me play sideloaded flv files) Ultra keyboard gives me cursor keys and copy/paste. I have Nookie Froyo on SD card, but so far it hasn' t seemed worth changing.
oh flash would be a great plus, but can you read the internal storage of the Nook when running Nookie Froyo?
Sorry, can't help on that; I've never tried.
Honeycomb is cool so far. Try it..
I've had great success with phiremod v4 CM7 rom(gingerbread). I've also used the Froyo 6.8 and honeycomb v4 2nd edition roms. Froyo was nice, but it kind of seems that development is winding down for it, in favor of CM7 and Honeycomb. Honeycomb was also cool, but leaves soooo much to be desired. At the moment few apps and games will run on it.
Just as a tip. Before you go and start flashing new roms, read the respective development forum threads. Nook Devs is nice, but their site is lacking alot of info currently on the development forum.
Best of luck, and get away from that stock B&N grossness.
I would recommend test driving the Nook Froyo 0.6.8 microSD card version (check NC development area).
I highly recommend you get a Class 6 microsd card and get SetCPU from the Market to overclock to 1.1 MHz. While you can use a Class 4 card to test, the Class 6 has become my daily tablet configuration (and I have the ability to go back to 1.1 eclair if I want).
Froyo has flash and better video than Eclair and HC (from what I've seen). Phiremod rom is an option but doesn't look quite there yet (maybe after a few builds). Flash may not be a deal breaker for some but it allows web pages to really appear as they were supposed to be designed without the gaps you would see without it (could argue that a lot of flash is just ads but websites look as they originally intended).
I've been checking my Nook Froyo build and don't think I can see the internal drive so not sure if this is an option.
I would start this off by giving all the developers a big thank you! I'm not the only person here that appreciates what they have done for the community of Android and other OS based phones and tablets.
But to the question at hand. Why would I need to customize the Nook color? I can understand rooting it, but why modify the system in such a way as to turn it into an over glorified phone?
Why hasn't someone come up with a rom that mimic's the original purpose of the nook? What I mean by this, is create a rom that for all intents and purposes looks and acts like the original nook with the rest of the features hidden?
Again, this is just me, I still give thanks to all the developers and appreciate their hard work.
I'm not a dev, but I don't really understand your question...you want a ROM that acts just like the stock nook now but with features hidden? If this is what you want then why bother rooting, just keep it as is. I, personally, don't know why you would want to hide more features, the purpose of root is to unhide or add features
Hi,
Depends what you want from the Nook Color...
The Google Android market is not available under the stock B&N ROM, so that
is one wonderful feature either rooting or changing ROMs can you give you.
(Rumors say the next version of B&N software will have an limited B&N market)
If you use NC mainly for an eBook reader - Market access lets you also use
Amazon Kindle eBook reader, FBReader, various PDF readers and many others.
Of course there are games, music players & video players, web browsers, news
readers, weather apps, alarm clocks etc. too. Once you start installing applications
it can be interesting to change the base user interface and/or the performance of
the system - customizing & personalizing the NC can be fun too!
Or you can just use it as is, plenty of productive uses for the un-modified NC!
Peter
FroztIkon said:
But to the question at hand. Why would I need to customize the Nook color? I can understand rooting it, but why modify the system in such a way as to turn it into an over glorified phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are missing is that modifying the system does not turn it into an over glorified phone.
It turns it into a Galaxy Tab that costs half the price.
The Nook Color is a tablet - onto which B&N then installed a special-purpose color e-reader operating system. By removing that operating system and installing a more general purpose Android operating system, one then has a 7 inch web tablet.
The Nook Color is well-suited to this, because B&N put a lot of their hardware $$ into a very high quality multi-touch display.
That allows the 7-inch size to show that it is the best compromise between portability and visibility.
Like a Kindle e-reader, the NC can be easily held with one hand, fits into a small bag or purse, or large coat pocket, but is large enough to clearly display a full page of text - or else a much bigger portion of a web page than a phone.
hxh103 said:
I'm not a dev, but I don't really understand your question...you want a ROM that acts just like the stock nook now but with features hidden? If this is what you want then why bother rooting, just keep it as is. I, personally, don't know why you would want to hide more features, the purpose of root is to unhide or add features
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The purpose of the device was as a reader. Why root it, change the rom only to have to download the nook app for the nook? Which is kinda the reason of the question why. Why change the entire thing, then have to download an application that makes it do what it was meant to do.
I'd love to find a rom that has all the same features of Froyo or Gingerbread that doesn't remove the B&N functionality of the reader. Meaning, its a reader without needing to download the nook app.
This is akin to asking why if you already own an iPhone would you buy an iPad2 or an iTouch.
Atahachi said:
This is akin to asking why if you already own an iPhone would you buy an iPad2 or an iTouch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I'm being more specific to just one device. I have a Captivate, so according to you, why would I want a modified nook color.
The true purpose of the question, which if you read up, was why modify it, just to download the app for it's purpose.
Well, for me there are two reasons....
Flash
Rooted Stock can be kinda... painful... at times. The settings is a perfect example. The stock version of android was customized to the point where it can be almost annoying to use as a tablet.
As to the purpose of reading, I agree. the nook app doesn't compare to the 'app(s)' that came stock. But while I do miss them, I much prefer to have a more true android experience.
hololight said:
Well, for me there are two reasons....
Flash
Rooted Stock can be kinda... painful... at times. The settings is a perfect example. The stock version of android was customized to the point where it can be almost annoying to use as a tablet.
As to the purpose of reading, I agree. the nook app doesn't compare to the 'app(s)' that came stock. But while I do miss them, I much prefer to have a more true android experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. It is painful and missing the stock reader is painful as well. I guess I'm missing the point of the full Droid experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
You modify or upgrade it firmware is to UPGRADE its functionalities, if you want to use it more than a simple eReader. You'll turn it into a tablet, and/or replace many functions of your phone which it'll be better with the large screen.
the answer can quite simple actually. alot of people didn't buy it to be a reader. they bought it because they knew it could be rooted to be a fairly competent tablet.
afaik, nothing can be really done to make it what you want (stock b&n apps with froyo/gingerbread features) until B&N releases a newer version with Froyo. Its not a matter of the devs wanting to get rid of all the stock apps. if it were possible to maintain the stock apps and incorporate them into a froyo or gingerbread build i'm absolutely sure it would have been done. but i for one don't want the community standing still waiting for B&N to update its stock rom to froyo while great roms like CM7, and Nookie Froyo go undeveloped.
you're free to stay on autonooter (stock rooted) if that's what you want.
In other words: Why on Earth would anyone want to buy something and then make it much better... for free?
Barrist said it best. I didn't buy a nook for the ereader, I bought it for the potential to make it into an Android Tablet, and I'm very happy with it. Also there are MUCH better apps for reading than the Nook app or Kindle app, which is another reason I am happy. If you're interested in the features of different ereader apps, check out the post in the nook color themes and apps section (i'll be posting it later today)
And to answer a question that was implied, there is a dev working on a launcher that will mimic the stock ROM while flashed to another ROM. Although it has caused many issues (that they are trying to resolve) progress is going pretty well from what I understand. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as porting an app over to work, the dev actually has to modify the programming and I don't think he has much help. I think it's just one guy with advice from the community.
For me the purpose is because I don't want a ebook reader. I want the world's first affordable tablet, which a hacked Nook Color is. I never read books, but I use my Nook Color tablet for hours everyday (lots of fruit to cut).
For others the reason is because the stock B&N program only works on Eclair, and frankly Eclair sucks. No Flash, no hardware composite, no bluetooth support on Eclair.
Im not new to loading ROM's for Android devices. I have an HD2 and have loaded about 50 ROMS on it in the last year I have had it! Recently, I got my wife a NC, and want to play around a little bit.
The big issue is this. My wife HATES my HD2 simply because every time she picks it up, its a new ROM! She really LOVES the NC, so there is no way she is going to let me really mod the thing like my phone.
There are a few small issues with the stock ROM, and I have been reading the post's for a few weeks now to see if there is something that fits what im looking for, but there are so many post's its really hard to dig even using the search! So please bare with me for asking questions im sure have been asked many many times.
#1, is there a ROM that will still run B&N books? Or will I just have to stick with stock ROM for that?
#2, can the stock rom be overclocked of the above is true? One of the biggest gripes is youtube playback. Will the OC help that?
#3, Has anyone gotten the Netflix player to play on a stock rooted NC?
Basically I want to let her watch Netflix on the NC and punch up the performance a little, and still keep the B&N software useable.
Any help would be great!
Gibbage said:
Im not new to loading ROM's for Android devices. I have an HD2 and have loaded about 50 ROMS on it in the last year I have had it! Recently, I got my wife a NC, and want to play around a little bit.
The big issue is this. My wife HATES my HD2 simply because every time she picks it up, its a new ROM! She really LOVES the NC, so there is no way she is going to let me really mod the thing like my phone.
There are a few small issues with the stock ROM, and I have been reading the post's for a few weeks now to see if there is something that fits what im looking for, but there are so many post's its really hard to dig even using the search! So please bare with me for asking questions im sure have been asked many many times.
#1, is there a ROM that will still run B&N books? Or will I just have to stick with stock ROM for that?
#2, can the stock rom be overclocked of the above is true? One of the biggest gripes is youtube playback. Will the OC help that?
#3, Has anyone gotten the Netflix player to play on a stock rooted NC?
Basically I want to let her watch Netflix on the NC and punch up the performance a little, and still keep the B&N software useable.
Any help would be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. FroYo and CM7 will run B&N books through the B&N Nook App. Children's books ("Read to me") are stock only (Android 2.1 Eclar).
3. Not sure about stock NC but CM7 works beautifully http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=13737296#post13737296
Paul22000 said:
1. FroYo and CM7 will run B&N books through the B&N Nook App. Children's books ("Read to me") are stock only (Android 2.1 Eclar).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the latest stock upgrade puts it up to 2.2 - stock 1.1 and below were eclair. The books still work fine after rooting too.
Sent from my Droid Incredible 2 using XDA app
Can Nook run android apps with the stock nook ui? Not rooted or anything straight out the box?
kidcjay25 said:
Can Nook run android apps with the stock nook ui? Not rooted or anything straight out the box?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock is still Android - the angry birds that b&n sells is Android. But without rooting you can only get whatever b&n sells you.
Sent from my Droid Incredible 2 using XDA app
#1. Also The stock nook color reader app can only be run on a rooted stock device. I am pretty sure no roms at all support it. ( I don't know why there is no froyo rom that is based on the stock build maybe it is not possible) The BN app in the market is a fairly different reading experience.
#2. stock rom can be overclocked just fine, You can find Kernels Here. I run 1.1Gz some times no problems, 1.2 was too much for my device. Usually though I leave the clock down at 800-900 because the boost is not needed. Also, Youtube works beautifully on my rooted 1.2 right now ( I dont remember if the last time i was watching youtube i was overclocked or not)
#3. I am one of the last people in the universe to not have netflix so can't really try this out.
If CM7 still has sleep issues stock will get better sleep battery life by about 10x so your wife wont have to live next to a power outlet.
kidcjay25 said:
Can Nook run android apps with the stock nook ui? Not rooted or anything straight out the box?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For pure stock nook colors, Barnes and Noble has their own app store with just under 150 apps I think. Only a small selection of them are free because no ads are allowed. They do have pulse reader though, which is mine and a lot of peoples favorite news aggregator.
Just Install CM7 to a MicroSD. That way whenever your Wife uses the Nook it's Normal Stock, which she's probably fine with, but when you use the Nook you can Pop the Card in and it'll boot into CM7 instead allowing you to do anything you want. When your Wife wants to use the Nook just turn it off and take out the Card, turn it back on and it'll boot to Stock again.
I recommend this Thread for Installing CM7 to MicroSD:
[ROM][CM7] Size-agnostic SD Card image and CM7 installer for SD Cards. with updater
____________________________________________________
Sent from NookColor CM7 uSD using Tapatalk
I just ordered a Nookcolor. Is there any reason to dual boot (using stock and cm7) other than invalidating the warranty? I have rooted and put custom ROMS on several phones, so I am not afraid of the process. I was wondering if perhaps their was any difference between the quality of the ereader (I love the eink technology on my wife's old b&w nook) on stock and the nook app on android. Thanks for your help.
Nook app for Android is a pain in the everyone-knows. It's shytty.
If you want to read and read alot, stay with ereader.
Oh, and btw, based on what you've described, it doesn't sound like "dual boot"
votinh said:
Nook app for Android is a pain in the everyone-knows. It's shytty.
If you want to read and read alot, stay with ereader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why you use a different e-reader app.
I personally do not care for stock at all.
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- Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk
I was referring to booting off the SD card using this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1000957
The only reason I would do this is I want to know if the "reading experience" is better using the stock ereader or if users out there are happy with the "reading experience" using Aldiko or the nook app on a rooted device with CM7 installed.
I find Aldiko to be an equal experience to the full reader on stock - so no need for stock for me. I don't read any magazines, which i think stock may be better for.
Cheers,
bclark1000 said:
I just ordered a Nookcolor. Is there any reason to dual boot (using stock and cm7) other than invalidating the warranty? I have rooted and put custom ROMS on several phones, so I am not afraid of the process. I was wondering if perhaps their was any difference between the quality of the ereader (I love the eink technology on my wife's old b&w nook) on stock and the nook app on android. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find stock to be pretty worthless, but then the Nook App isn't very good either. I got sick of the stock OS pretty quickly, so I flashed a CM7 Nightly and installed Moon+ Reader for epubs. It's pretty easy to remove the copy protection from B&N epubs. Personally I think Moon+ is far superior to either the stock Nook Color rom or the android Nook app. I even prefer it to the kindle app.
caramelzappa said:
I find stock to be pretty worthless, but then the Nook App isn't very good either. I got sick of the stock OS pretty quickly, so I flashed a CM7 Nightly and installed Moon+ Reader for epubs. It's pretty easy to remove the copy protection from B&N epubs. Personally I think Moon+ is far superior to either the stock Nook Color rom or the android Nook app. I even prefer it to the kindle app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like aldiko myself. Love the brightness gesture area on the side and it works great with the library ebook system.
I can't stand stock personally, and the nook app sucks.
To be honest, the rooted stock OS is pretty bad. You'll figure that out for yourself. If you plan on using the NC to read, primarily the magazines because they more or less require the stock OS, then there is no real need for CM7.
Though if you plan on using it as a tablet, which it does very well at this point, Then you probably don't want to dual-boot. My main reason is storage. I know 1gig of system memory seems like a lot. I know I can't be considered the norm, but I only have 110Megs left for app storage. With it cut in half by dual-booting I can foresee storage issues. If you want another reason, in all reality you'll end up just being on the CM7 boot. It's really nice once you have her setup the way you like.
In the end it'll come down to you for the first month or so flashing a lot of different roms / fixing things you break, figuring out what works for you. Don't worry about 'bricking' the NC, it's pretty much unbreakable via flashing roms. If it's able to be screwed up I can guarantee you that there's been a couple threads on it. It only takes a little forum surfing.