Reposted from Q&A
Recently, my urge to own a tablet as an alternative to using a laptop has grown large. I don't video edit or anything extreme anymore, just wanting something bigger for on the go, So I've looked into recently the craze of the rooted Nook Colors
Leaves me a simple question.
Is it worth buying? For $250-ish, I can't seem to go wrong.
I just don't want to waste money however.
But just a few side questions.
1. When rooted, is it good performance wise, or is it sluggish and laggy, that's a big thing for me. I've watched some videos of it online and at 1.1gHz, it seems to run smoothly but I rather make sure.
2. The difficulty of rooting it? Compared to a phone.
2b. If I were to get it, what's the easiest process?
3. Can I tether internet from my phone to it?
4. Is the web browsing choppy or smooth and does pinch to zoom work correctly
5. Do apps scale well?
5b. Is the market able to be installed and functioning properly?
6. I heard there's wifi problems, if so, does it just vary from user to user?
7. Overall, is it worth it?
So any input would be greatly appreciated.
I Am Marino said:
Reposted from Q&A
Recently, my urge to own a tablet as an alternative to using a laptop has grown large. I don't video edit or anything extreme anymore, just wanting something bigger for on the go, So I've looked into recently the craze of the rooted Nook Colors
Leaves me a simple question.
Is it worth buying? For $250-ish, I can't seem to go wrong.
I just don't want to waste money however.
But just a few side questions.
1. When rooted, is it good performance wise, or is it sluggish and laggy, that's a big thing for me. I've watched some videos of it online and at 1.1gHz, it seems to run smoothly but I rather make sure.
2. The difficulty of rooting it? Compared to a phone.
2b. If I were to get it, what's the easiest process?
3. Can I tether internet from my phone to it?
4. Is the web browsing choppy or smooth and does pinch to zoom work correctly
5. Do apps scale well?
5b. Is the market able to be installed and functioning properly?
6. I heard there's wifi problems, if so, does it just vary from user to user?
7. Overall, is it worth it?
So any input would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Yes, it is very smooth,especially at 1.1. Really,like any android device, you risk lag if you download a stupid amount of apps, but that has nothing to do with this device.
2) Yes it is easy to root; just format the SD card with the directions, and you are set. Then you can install different roms, etc.
3) yes you can tether (do it daily with my incredible).
4)Opera mobile is amazing, since it can use the graphics card on the nook to render the web pages, making it VERY smooth.
5) I have no problems with app scaling. Market works fine on all ROMS (BTW, you may want some research, since you have a number of OS choices for the nook).
6) No wifi problems here
7) Amazingly worth it.... best $250 i have spent in a LONG time..
There are so many threads with the same questions... But to answer your questions...
1. When rooted, is it good performance wise, or is it sluggish and laggy, that's a big thing for me. I've watched some videos of it online and at 1.1gHz, it seems to run smoothly but I rather make sure.
Depends on the rom, Honeycomb is incomplete and because of it; it doesn't run every program perfectly.
CM7 is pretty good at a stable build right now, has bluetooth, but some few are unlucky and find that it doesn't always play nice with their nook. Very small amount of people though.
Stock or Eclair (Android 2.1) runs fine and can be overclocked, just doesn't have bluetooth and won't run newer programs such as FPSE (Psx emulator)
2. The difficulty of rooting it? Compared to a phone.
2b. If I were to get it, what's the easiest process?
As easy as following a couple of instructions (burning an image to an sd card and starting the nook... done)
3. Can I tether internet from my phone to it?
Yes, so long as you have an android phone. Some phones may not work though, so let us know which one just in case.
4. Is the web browsing choppy or smooth and does pinch to zoom work correctly
Opera Mobile takes full advantage of GPU acceleration and web browsing is silky smooth. Pinch to zoom works well on even stock browser or dolphin hd.
5. Do apps scale well?
Some do not depending on the rom. But it's rare and not a problem I run into often on CM7.
5b. Is the market able to be installed and functioning properly?
Yes and yes.
6. I heard there's wifi problems, if so, does it just vary from user to user?
Varies completely by user, most don't have problems, myself included. But, some do.
7. Overall, is it worth it?
Depends... If you like android and want something for light browsing, video watching, games, reading and word processing. Then yes. If you want anything more intensive, then wait for better hardware or get a laptop.
Overall I love my nook color though, it makes a great little tv when me and my wife want to be around eachother, but don't want to watch the same thing. It has a lot of good emulators for video games. Some of the programs are very handy, and it has some pretty addictive games that get me through the day. Size factor, 7" is perfect, and really easy to carry around and whip out when I want or need too. Screen is beautiful! And Chisleu has encoded some pretty awesome videos that demonstrate the Gpu card's best points.
Buy it. Unless you like ipod better than android, then just go buy a Ipad. =\
Did I mention it also doubles as an ebook reader *hint hint* *wink wink* =D, ezpdf reader makes reading pdf's a breeze on this, and even has a page flipping graphic to draw people in around you. Adobe Reader takes advantage of the GPU though and can easily open the most graphic intensive pdfs. =D
On cm7 all works fine.
I usemine as scull tablet
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
I Am Marino said:
Reposted from Q&A
Recently, my urge to own a tablet as an alternative to using a laptop has grown large. I don't video edit or anything extreme anymore, just wanting something bigger for on the go, So I've looked into recently the craze of the rooted Nook Colors
Leaves me a simple question.
Is it worth buying? For $250-ish, I can't seem to go wrong.
I just don't want to waste money however.
But just a few side questions.
1. When rooted, is it good performance wise, or is it sluggish and laggy, that's a big thing for me. I've watched some videos of it online and at 1.1gHz, it seems to run smoothly but I rather make sure.
2. The difficulty of rooting it? Compared to a phone.
2b. If I were to get it, what's the easiest process?
3. Can I tether internet from my phone to it?
4. Is the web browsing choppy or smooth and does pinch to zoom work correctly
5. Do apps scale well?
5b. Is the market able to be installed and functioning properly?
6. I heard there's wifi problems, if so, does it just vary from user to user?
7. Overall, is it worth it?
So any input would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It depends on what you're doing with it. For basic video viewing and light browsing, its smooth enough on 2.1. Froyo and CM7 (no experience with HC) are smoother than their older sibling, but can't really be considered as truly "smooth" right out of the box. NONE of them are smooth at viewing large PDF files (especially when trying to pinch and zoom), so overclocking is a must if you plan on doing any of that. Honestly, overclocking is a must no matter what you want to do. It simply makes the experience so much more enjoyable. I'm running CM7 overclocked to 1.1 Ghz and I smile every time I pinch and zoom on a website or a PDF. Its that good.
2. A basic root of 2.1 is pretty easy. It will probably take some trial and error, but overall I'd say it requires a moderate level of skill.
2b. If you plan on doing anything other than basic stuff (watching videos and the occasional web surfing), I'd say go CM7 on the internal memory from the get-go. The actual install takes maybe 10 minutes and you're going to get the best functionality and performance without the hassle. CM7 stable lives up to its name.
3. The stock ROM requires an Android phone to tether, but I broadcast from my iPhone 4 with zero issues on Froyo and CM7.
4. See my above gushing about pinching and zooming after overclocking. I use Dolphin HD for my browsing, but Opera Mobile is a nice browser, too.
5. I honestly don't know what this means. If you're asking about how they look on a bigger screen, I have no complaints.
5b. Yes. I've had zero problems with the market on CM7. They even update automatically.
6. WiFi will give you problems sometimes, but refreshing the connection (I have a widget for that) or a quick reboot almost always remedies the problem.
7. Duh. Including the cost of my 32GB SD card, I paid $290 total for mine. It was a little frustrating with the initial struggle of setting it up (WinImage was my problem), but its all good in the hood now, LOL.
So I have to put the image on the SDcard or can I install it somehow to the internal memory?
And for use, it's going to be mostly browsing, app use, moderate use overall, minor video watching, etc.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.
Follow this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1030227
EDIT: A partition program will probably come in handy at some point. I use this: http://download.cnet.com/Easeus-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html?tag=mncol;1
Its free and it works.
I Am Marino said:
So I have to put the image on the SDcard or can I install it somehow to the internal memory?
And for use, it's going to be mostly browsing, app use, moderate use overall, minor video watching, etc.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the "Auto-Nooter" program unlocks the stock Android software. There are also bootable sd card images with CM7 and honeycomb, should you not want to erase the stock software or mess with it at all.
You don't have to nooter the stock nook though if you just want CM7, with 2 sd cards you can load one up with CWM (Clockword Recovery) and then have the other one containing the CM7 stable or nightly release; along with overclock update.
Which is what I did on my second nook.
No real point in staying on stock android unless you like the Barnes and Nobles features.
I have no plan to stay stock if I end up following through, I'll jump into CM7, anything else I need to know or any other input?
If it doesn't work out of box, return it... It's just not worth it, a lot of nooks right now are in store and defective. Some are little tiny bugs that are okay, others are massive. I decided to try to live with a bug in my old one, and it ended up costing me a huge hassle with india to get them to give me another one.
Normally I really don't mind overseas technical support, but I had a woman run me through troubleshooting and my nook turned off mid "fixing" it and she deemed it fixed and tried to hang up. I then told her it wasn't and she said... oh... let me put you on hold... and then she hung up.
Another thing, some nooks got OEM chargers, and because of it, they don't work well with the nook. If you put your nook on to charge and find the touch screen acting erratic or not letting you type, return it immediately or demand another wire.
Make sure you get a couple of MicroSD cards, as it's always good to have a CWM bootable laying around, I actually hide it in my phone in case I break something on cm7 while i'm out. I can then easily reflash it and get back to it.
If you've never used android before, get titanium backup (the full version) that way you can easily backup your programs.
Bluetooth works, but not from a far distance. So if you're going for it gaming wise, get a wiimote and a classic controller (with wire) so you can give yourself some distance.
The last thing... CM7 is always in development and because of it, it's very easy to spend your whole day flashing new and newer stuff.
As of right now, CM7 uses the kernel .29 which has some issues with deep sleeping and because of it, when your nook is in standby it's usually going to lose about a percentage or two an hour. Stock gets it down to like .2-.5 an hour, but keep in mind these are resting numbers, not actual use numbers.
At this point Dalingrin (who hence forth will be called the Kernel Master) is testing and continually fixing video on CM7. With MoboPlayer (Software decoding mode) I am currently capable of watching a 720p mkv with subtitles.
And others such as Razir, Medline and Chilseu have been making videos to play and push with hardware accelerated videos.
That's it I think.
I'm well aware how to use Android and rooting and flashing ROMs is nothing new to me anymore.
So before I do anything, I should turn it on normally stock and try to charge it just to make sure nothing is funky with it?
As for kernel, I plan to use Dalingrin's so I can OC.
I Am Marino said:
So before I do anything, I should turn it on normally stock and try to charge it just to make sure nothing is funky with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. And go ahead and create a sign in in case you need to get a RMA one day.
Once you know everything is good, then switch to CM7.
poofyhairguy said:
Yep. And go ahead and create a sign in in case you need to get a RMA one day.
Once you know everything is good, then switch to CM7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Noted. Thanks.
Still looking for any input.
Then I will answer one question more completely.
I Am Marino said:
5. Do apps scale well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better than you would imagine. Since Android phones cover an array of resolutions, most programs scale amazing well on the Nook's screen. There are a few that don't work well- a few games that depend on a static image background, or busy programs like ESPN's Scoreboard that are filled in every inch on a phone so the blank spots on the Nook are obvious.
But most games, and other apps scale well.
The best thing you can do is go after tablet specific stuff. For example, Opera mobile is a tablet specific browser. Sign up for the free Swiftkey beta for a tablet keyboard:
http://www.androidcentral.com/swiftkey-tablet-beta-now-available-vip-forum-members
Use all these cool tablet apps ripped off a Notion Ink:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=934916&highlight=ink
I never want for official tablet apps Honeycomb has, which is good because most are designed to just run on Tegra machines.
If you want videos, Handbrake is the way. Here is a good preset:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12774132&postcount=4
One other thing I will say- think about a screen protector. I think the anti-reflective ones are downright excellent, and they seem to increase touchscreen responsiveness.
I must say, after watching many youtube videos, how capable this tablet is, it's impressive.
I have NC 3 weeks now..
To see if everathing is ok, I personally made a SD card with CM7 stable+Dalingrin OC (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1000957) and boot it from there.
It was my first time rooting anything and all went smoothly first time.
I'm satisfied with this config (quadrant 2000+) and have stock B&N internally, browsing works fine, video&tethering I don't do. Didn't have a problem scaling apps or any wi-fi problem.
I only wish, sleep mode would be improved, as i don't use NC everyday and after 3 days of non-use it drains out.
Other than that - perfect buy to do easy browsing, news&book reading, mail checking, game playing..
Hope this piece of info helps you.
I think I'll look into installing it to memory as I have no use for the stock anything.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.
"@I Am Marino"
One use you didn't mention much was as an eBook reader - I am surprised how much
I am enjoying the NC as my first eBook reader. ePub fromat works well, PDF so-so.
I use FBreader for ePub and Repligo mainly for PDF.
On PC/MAC/Linux end, Calibre an open source eBook library management tool is great.
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Nook is a fun device, because it boots 'first' from a bootable uSD card, you don't have
to worry about bricking device, so less worry about trying new versions of Android
on it too.
Good luck,
Peter
I don't think I'll have any use for it as an e reader as the only reading I do is non books.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.
I definitely recommend this device, it is serving me well.
Related
Been using this last few days and overall am quite impressed. It is pretty fast, has all that froyo goodness....Flash works though video is still slow and jerky
Have following issues:
YouTube- shows but videos don't play in app
Music- my mp3 which play on autonootered 2.1 don't work.
Statusbar shows no service cell reception icon and lockscreen says no service.
Wifi not always reconnecting from sleep without manually turning off/on.
Anyone else have any of these issues? Any fixes?
What are your pleasant surprises so far?
I think you need to look here.
And here.
BigBadger said:
I think you need to look here.
And here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I guess. Red all the threads and am reporting my issues and seeing if they really unique to me as most I have mentioned are not discussed,....
mp3 the no service message on lockscreen.....
On YouTube, you may want to look at the "HQ" YouTube thread I started here and detailed a tidbit more in my blog (fineoils.blogspot.com).
Takes a careful deleting a stock youtube.apk.
If it won't work (me, I run simply Auto-Nootered and partially tweaked NC with stock A2.1, and HD YouTube is working just fine) then this is your "usability" at this stage.
You fail to mention Flash 10.1 in your list of problems with Nookie Froyo, does it mean you can watch HQ/HD Flash video already?
Don't get me wrong: the move to Froyo is a great development. But so far, it's more of a proof of a concept. For usability, it may take tons of tweaks and optimizations of Cyanogen class, plus backporting the best features and kernels of Android 2.3
aludal said:
On YouTube, you may want to look at the "HQ" YouTube thread I started here and detailed a tidbit more in my blog (fineoils.blogspot.com).
Takes a careful deleting a stock youtube.apk.
If it won't work (me, I run simply Auto-Nootered and partially tweaked NC with stock A2.1, and HD YouTube is working just fine) then this is your "usability" at this stage.
You fail to mention Flash 10.1 in your list of problems with Nookie Froyo, does it mean you can watch HQ/HD Flash video already?
Don't get me wrong: the move to Froyo is a great development. But so far, it's more of a proof of a concept. For usability, it may take tons of tweaks and optimizations of Cyanogen class, plus backporting the best features and kernels of Android 2.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is beyond proof of concept and 90% works as good or better than 2.1
Flash works. But seeing embedded flash video on some sites the video framerate is slow and jerky. Some sites play well. I suspect the 800 MHz processor and no hardware acceleration are the culprits and so OC to 950-1 ghz and hardware access might make it more useable.
So far I seem to ne the only one stating I can't get mp3 music playing so don't know if this is a known problem.
With all the different roms and different versions I'm getting really confused and which roms can do what.
I've tried phiremod v2 and cm7 nightlies and the youtube app doesn't work at all in either. Youtube in the browser I couldn't get to work in phiremod v2. I can watch youtube if I change my user agent to desktop with cm7 nightly but it's choppy.
Can somebody enlighten me as to what I should be running if I want working and smooth flash videos?
This is not an answer to your question -
But if the widespread rumors are correct, then the B&N Stock NC will be updated to 2.2 with Flash by the end of the month, and then if you root that, you will be able to sideload Youtube App for Froyo to that. In fact, the update is supposed to include a B&N Market, and one would expect B&N to have all the Free Google Apps in their Market at startup. (But that's just speculation.)
Flash Player 10.2 working for me
I downloaded Flash Player 10.2 earlier today and it installed and works much better. I am running Phiremod 4.1. I got the APK from: freewarelovers(dot)com/android/app/adobe-flash-player
It's important to remember that Flash is an application framework that can deliver video among MANY other things. If you're looking for a FLV video player, then the performance still is not here: it requires hardware support and we don't have the drivers yet.
BUT, if you want to play games and use interactive websites written in Flash, then try out 10.2. It is WAY more functional.
Interesting. Are you saying that there are no roms with smooth playing flash video? It seems odd to me that everybody is so happy with these roms when they can't watch any flash video smoothly.
flammenwurfer said:
Can somebody enlighten me as to what I should be running if I want working and smooth flash videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To specifically answer your question, smooth video is supported in Eclair (the native Nook rooted ROM) and, I think, it plays acceptably in Froyo; although I could be mistaken.
A lot depends on the size/quality of the video; standard definition (640x480) should play acceptably well in either of those OS versions. Higher definition may stall from time to time.
Gingerbread 2.3 (CM7, etc) still does not have working drivers for the hardware assist features of the chipset, and hardware assist is essential to smooth video playback.
Here are the specs on Nook Color CPU/GPU (from Androidtablets.net):
CPU Processor: ARM Cortex A8-based Ti OMAP 3621 @ 800 MHz (same processor as Droid 2 and Droid X)
GPU Processor: PowerVR SGX530 Graphics Rendering: Open GLES1.1/2.0 Hardware Scaling: 854x480 scaled to 1024x600 Video Formats: .3GP, .MP4, .3G2 ** Video Codecs: H.263, H.264, MPEG-4, ON2 VP7 ** Image Formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP ** (same GPU as Droid 2 and Droid X)
As you can see, the GPU can support a native resolution of 854 x 480 (which is scaled in hardware to 1024 x 600); H.264/MPEG4 video (which FLV is a kind of) can be decoded in the hardware with the appropriate drivers. At present, all the players have to do this through software, which frankly is beyond the capability of the CPU at 800 MHz or even overclocked at 1.1 GHz.
We need to be patient; those hardware drivers will come.
Ok, I think I get it now.
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
flammenwurfer said:
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure whether the Froyo rom can play video smoothly. It does on Droid and other phones, so I would guess those drivers have been tried out. I had Froyo on my Nook Color for a while, but frankly can't remember how the video was.
flammenwurfer said:
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on what you need/want. For me, the text handling of Froyo was awful. I have a HTC EVO 4G (with Sense UI on top of native Froyo). On my phone, I can type pretty effectively. The user dictionary is fast and smart and if I make a mistake, I have an arrows-equipped keyboard to move the cursor to the text I want to correct and fix it.
Froyo (Android 2.2) on both my Nook Color and my Viewsonic G-Tablet were nothing like my Evo. The keyboard often got what I typed wrong and when I tried to set a cursor to make a correction, it would end up one letter off. I tried out a bunch of keyboards - some with arrows - and had an OK Froyo-based system, but as soon as a decent Gingerbread-based ROM came along (and Phiremod's is EXCELLENT!), I went with that.
In Gingerbread, you have a much more accurate keyboard and dictionary lookup. The keyboard still doesn't have arrows, but you have a very nice cursor positioning tool, plus the ability to select a little or a lot of text and copy/paste it anywhere throughout the system.
But, as you note, certain of the multimedia features aren't there yet. Since I use my tablets more as very handy computers and less as multimedia entertainment systems, the choice was pretty straightforward for me. I can wait a few weeks for video playback.
And, frankly, the reason a lot of people get excited about roms - and having lots of different roms - is because they are fun in and of themselves. They like to tinker. And with the Nook, if you have a few bucks to buy a couple of micro SD cards, you can have two or three swap-in brains that completely transform your tablet. And take them out and still have a factory fresh Nook reader. It's really kind of awesome when you think about it.
But your mileage will certainly vary. If high definition is a deal breaker for you, you may find the Nook ultimately inadequate even when the Gingerbread drivers (and eventually Honeycomb drivers) come out. There's only so much power under this hood. A tablet based on Tegra 2 (like the Viewsonic G-Tablet or Xoom) may be more what you're looking for. With the right drivers, though, we should get perfectly acceptable 480p playback.
glg
The rom you are looking for is nookiefroyo. I have great YouTube playback in app including high quality. In browser 360p plays fine, but anything above that is choppy.
I also have tested other flash websites. CNN was perfect, as was megavideo.
I purchase my nook a few days ago and thus far nookie froyo looks to be the latest and most complete rom out. That plus the softkey theme I installed and the honeycomb keyboard makes this tablet a force to be reckoned with. I might even have to post a video soon because I'm so amazed atnhow well this thing runs.
I'm on CM7 Android 2.3.3 and am very happy. Not sure if it's the websites I've been on or what, but pretty much all non-HD flash works flawlessly for me. I've OCed my NookColor to 925mhz and have tried probably 5 or 6 different websites (including youtube and zomganime) Certain embeded flash players work better than others I"ve noticed, also, so not sure why that is, but so far I'm very happy. I even was running 3 flash videos (just to test it out) at once the other day, only one was choppy beyond watching. Oh I'd also like to note that it SEEMS to work better with Dolphin Browser, but that could again just be the website(s) I was on.
Sure not having a YouTube app kinda sucks, but the desktop website works fine.
Just a little notice, YouTube app doesn't use Flash for playback, it grabs MP4 version of a video stream, which is meant to play on mobile devices.
JLCollier2005 said:
I'm on CM7 Android 2.3.3 and am very happy. Not sure if it's the websites I've been on or what, but pretty much all non-HD flash works flawlessly for me. I've OCed my NookColor to 925mhz and have tried probably 5 or 6 different websites (including youtube and zomganime) Certain embeded flash players work better than others I"ve noticed, also, so not sure why that is, but so far I'm very happy. I even was running 3 flash videos (just to test it out) at once the other day, only one was choppy beyond watching. Oh I'd also like to note that it SEEMS to work better with Dolphin Browser, but that could again just be the website(s) I was on.
Sure not having a YouTube app kinda sucks, but the desktop website works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As in audio and video actually work smoothly (and are in sync)? What version of CM7 are you on?
I would like to know as well.
I'm on the latest CM7 Nightly and just installed the OC kernel. Youtube videos at 360p are playing ok now, but the audio is out of sync.
I might have to give Nookie Froyo another try. Interesting that the Youtube app works so well for you. I could have sworn that I would just get an error every time I tried to play anything.
flammenwurfer said:
Ok, I think I get it now.
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eclair does hardware video decoding but no flash. Froyo and cm7 both do flash and froyo has you tube and video harddware support. However froyo for me at least has buggy wifi and screen of death issues which made it non viable for me. Hope this helps.
From Nook Color dual boot with CM7
That does help. Thanks for the clarification.
I've heard good things about Nookie Froyoa so I will probably give that another try. I find it a little frustrating that there is not a single rom with everything working, but I know that's just the norm for hacking together roms. Oh well... Hopefully the update coming from B&N will help iron out the few issues that are left.
Honestly, most of my time will be spent reading, web browsing and playing a few games. I would just like to be able to pull up a funny video for friends every once in a while. I don't plan on watching movies or anything on it.
flammenwurfer said:
That does help. Thanks for the clarification.
I've heard good things about Nookie Froyoa so I will probably give that another try. I find it a little frustrating that there is not a single rom with everything working, but I know that's just the norm for hacking together roms. Oh well... Hopefully the update coming from B&N will help iron out the few issues that are left.
Honestly, most of my time will be spent reading, web browsing and playing a few games. I would just like to be able to pull up a funny video for friends every once in a while. I don't plan on watching movies or anything on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed I had thought froyo would be best compromise as it was fast had dsp and flash working, but the sleep of death and wifi connection issues led me to rebooting the thing many times/day which was a real pain.
For now I have a dual boot setup (see thread in development forum) So that I boot into eclair or CM7. This way I do most of my activities in or other rom and reboot into the other when I need say to watch a video or use stock B&N reader.....
Another thing I haven't really thought about. How does battery life compare between the roms? I seem to remember comments here and there about CM7 roms having worse battery life than froyo or stock.
I would suggest to those trying Nookie Froyo on eMMC now to try the kernel posted in post #770 of the Dalingrin kernel thread on the development forum. For myself and several others this kernel is solid and yields no wake or wifi issues whatsoever. Until a more stable interactive govenor kernel is developed this is the one I'll stick with.
glgehman said:
And with the Nook, if you have a few bucks to buy a couple of micro SD cards, you can have two or three swap-in brains that completely transform your tablet. And take them out and still have a factory fresh Nook reader. It's really kind of awesome when you think about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. I'm a nooknoob but long time techie and am brimming with questions. Is that quote accurate -- that reverting to "factory fresh" state can be as simply as removing your SD card? (Because that's not the impression I've been getting; I thought you needed to do the 8 failed boots thing and/or reload ROMs.)
Hmm, guess not. I just noticed the thread titled "[HOW-TO] : Restore Nook Color back to stock EASILY".
I believe you can run most of the roms from the sd card without modifying the internal system. I don't know if you can do it without rooting though. You might have to root, then you an try roms on sd card. Someone else will have to confirm that or tell me I'm wrong , as I've not tried any of the sd card versions.
I absolutely love the NookColor. Its got a great design and does way more than it was intended to, thanks to the android community and developers and ofcourse even Barnes&Noble for their official Froyo release.
However, I have had it for a couple of months now. Messed around heaps, tried all the roms and the novelty is running out and I just dont know what to use it for anymore. I never actually used it much apart from for trying out new roms.
The gadgets I find myself using most on a daily basis:
- For calling and texting, I use my HTC Buzz/Wildfire.
- Due to Android's poor music capabilities and the size of the NookColor, I still use my iPod touch for on the go music.
- And I still find myself using my laptop for internet and doing university work.
This is not meant to be a complain-session but I was just wondering what you guys find yourself using your NookColor/tablets mostly for? What makes you go back to using it on a daily basis?
Just trying to find some uses for rejuvenating my interest and actually using the NookColor more on a daily basis.
Do we really need to fill the "gap between the smartphones and laptops"? Does a gap even exist?
Reading a book, watching videos are the soul reason.
Yeah, a lot easier to carry CFD/fluid mechanics/thermodynamics books in pdf format than physical format Also, it's nice for hulu and messing w/android, but I know what you mean. Out of college idk what I'd use it for. Just something around the house to look up something real quick, or to play pewpew2
im a gradstudent and working professional. they both come in handy when you can do textbooks or reference books with the e-reader apps. also, i love my laptops but when im in bed... its a lot easier to use the tablet for web surfing and email than having a really hot laptop to carry.
my gf likes it to play sudoko on a larger screen than a cell phone.
I have 2 of them, one is more or less permanently in my bathroom including charger. It has replaced all the stacks of magazines that used to clutter the place up.
-Portable real internet (BBC News, Hulu, ESPN3, etc.)
-Games (especially emulators controlled with Wiimote)
-Google Maps with Bluetooth GPS
-Creating Word documents
-I use a calculator on it a lot
-Calendar and scheduling
-Facebook and networking
-Getting Amazon's free app a day
What app do you use to create word docs?
DubiousPig said:
What app do you use to create word docs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Quickoffice HD from the notion ink apps. There is also documents to go, and a few others...
Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App
Portable real internet indeed - handy for recipes!!
NPR news app (much easier to read).
I tend to use my phone for music, but the NC is better with Winamp (my ipod touch is in the hands of my kid now).
Youtube videos for gaming (been using for Lost Odyssey on the 360 to find treasure I missed)
Gamefaqs
checking email
Facebook once in a while
A lot of this I can't stand to do on a phone...but works great on the NC.
Making router / firewall /etc changes or grabbing the network password when someone needs it - DD-WRT router - handy and saves booting up a computer to do it.
Bank application / paypal app to check balances.
I would say #1 would be ebooks - but I read mostly on my e-ink Nook.
Killing time on the couch while the kids are watching Dora or whatever.
The Nook Color is my prefered way to surf the web. I love that I can sit back on the couch and hold it like a book while surfing.
I also read books, watch movies and play games on it. The last few meetings I've had I've used it to take a few notes.
Since getting the Nook Color I've hardly touched my netbook, and since getting the netbook I've hardly touched my laptop. My desktop is a whole different animal, however.
I honastly see no benifit of using the ipod music player over the android one. Coverflow looks nice but takes forever to get anywhere. I suppose the music u might lik erl is nice but I never touched it
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
dpakrr said:
This is not meant to be a complain-session but I was just wondering what you guys find yourself using your NookColor/tablets mostly for? What makes you go back to using it on a daily basis?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, I use it probably 70% of the time to read books. My state library (NH) has an e-book program. I have 2 weeks with each book before it self-deletes, so this kind of forces me a little to use it more as an e-reader.
However, I like having it to surf the web quickly. It's also a great planner and to-do list manager (I use the Get Things Done method with Evernote). so I find it really useful for quickly jotting down notes and tasks.
the rest of my time is used watching tv shows that I always said I wanted to watch but never had the motivation to go find them (Breaking Bad and Sunny in Philadelphia being the two I'm watching now).
Could I do this all on a laptop? probably, but I find this size tablet to be much more ergonomically friendly for when I want to use electronic media (bed... at the breakfast table... on a plane).
There's no shame in not finding a use between phone and laptop for another device. If the nook or tablets aren't for you... don't worry about it. the good thing is you can probably sell your nook for about what you bought it for. experiment over.
I got to read the news and magazines. I watch alot of movies on it. Use it every day while my wife jogs.
Sent from a super smooth captivate running andromeda
I wan to keep on topic but this is a noob question. Those that are using google maps with Bluetooth GPS. What is the GPS for? Meaning are you actually using it in your car kind of like a Garmin? I'm assuming google maps can be used without the GPS part to simply scroll around the maps.
Also is there any way to use a Bluetooth headset to make Skype calls?
klaiii said:
I use Quickoffice HD from the notion ink apps. There is also documents to go, and a few others...
Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you find selecting text to be difficult? About 90% of the time I can't get that little slider to slide.
s52m3 said:
I wan to keep on topic but this is a noob question. Those that are using google maps with Bluetooth GPS. What is the GPS for? Meaning are you actually using it in your car kind of like a Garmin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. It is fun to have such a large GPS in the car.
I use mine mostly for:
1) Browsing ...
2) Email / FacebookMail
3) Gaming (but am a bit frustrated with the lack of scaling in a lot of games)
4) Getting a license to each daily Amazon free app (I could use my phone, but don't, since I don't mind cluttering up my Nook) ... never know when I might go back and actually use one of them.
I find it most useful in the car/airplane but also just as a capable carry-along device with decent screen.
I have a Samsung Captivate (which I do use more for music) ... but when able I definitely use my Nook over it for things like browsing and email. I also have a very nice ultra-portable Win7 notebook (HP 2710p) ... which when my Nook is charged I basically never use unless I need to do something over my work's VPN.
The more I use my Nook, well, the more I use my Nook. I use it enough I'm just about convinced to plunk down more $ for a "real" tablet (camera, WiFi, GPS) later this year when the 3rd gen tablets start hitting the market.
The only thing I wish for is something like the iPad case with built-in keyboard, as I would like better typing.
When home, like I am now, I still use my desktop PC almost all the time and don't see it changing. But otherwise I'm surprisingly happy to pull out my Nook.
PS. One thing that got me using the Nook MUCH MUCH more was this case (I modded mine with a leather punch to open up holes behind the speaker ... if you do this just do a circlular pattern in the center as you'll start hitting magnet/metal out to the far left/right of the speaker area). It works great in easel mode both for in-lap use as well as a VERY convenient way to rest it over my hands when holding it up.
i got it because i wanted an e-reader...the fact that it's also a tablet is just an extra perk...that being said, the only thing i really use it for in that capacity is e-mail and light web surfing...but i think it will come in especially handy when traveling and i won't have to pack several books or laptop just for i-net access
75% reading books
10% news+email
5% few games
5% youtube+IMDB movie trailers
5% other tasks
I don't have an Android phone (still working on my previous generation of 'feature phone'), mostly because I can't use one during most of the waking hours.
So the nook suffices as an android surrogate. What's it do? Probably every thing you do on a phone, but on a bigger screen and only in the confines of my wifi bubble at home.
Because I dual boot between an android OS and the nook stock experience, I spend about 50/50 in each. When I'm in nook mode, it's to read. When I'm in AndroidOS mode, it's to get real time information (weather, news, calendar/agenda, etc).
I'm running CM7.0.2 from SD and everything is running great. All my apps are working well, etc, the only app that really sucks for me, ironically is the nook app.
The library is just ungodly slow (I have about 200 nook books). It's constantly syncing and pausing and just generally acting confused. When I open a book the reader functions great but the library is so bad it's almost unusable, I'm pretty sure it's the retarded thumbnail view/scrolling. Anyone have any tweaks/advice?
I archived a bunch of books to bring the number of titles down to 100 or so but it's still just stupid slow and klunky interface-wise.
Same here - exactly the same setup ( stock 1.2 and dual-boot with CM7.0.2, 925Hz kernel on uSD ) and NOOK reader is useless with 100+ books....
Aldiko would be a worthy contender if v2 didn't completely bork the layout (missing bold/italics/centering, etc.).
Rodney
rhester72 said:
Aldiko would be a worthy contender if v2 didn't completely bork the layout (missing bold/italics/centering, etc.).
Rodney
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm currently splitting time between Aldiko and the nook app, but almost all my ebooks are from B&N so I'd just as soon not bother with firing up one app to download them (nook) and then a second app to import them all the time and as you noted, Aldiko screws up some of the nook books in terms of format.
At least it's not just me. the native 1.2 ROM works well with the library, but 95% of the time I'm in CM7 for the apps and such, so rebooting to read is even clunkier. I mostly just reboot 1.2 for kids books when my kids want to read on the nook.
Hopefully B&N will continue to improve performance on the app. Since it seems tied to it constantly hitting the Wifi and/or thumbnail scrolling, I'm not even sure if using an OC kernel will help. I'm on the standard CM7 kernel with the max clock speed right now. but haven't OC'd due to battery life and laziness on my part.
Ungodly slooooooooooow... opening a book takes something on the order of two minutes. Works great thereafter, but really, it's unacceptably slow.
I agree that the latest version of the nook app is unbearably slow. I actually deleted it and installed an older version of the app (ver 2.5) and it seems faster. You do lose the ability to read newspapers and magazine, but I think it is at least usable for books...
chumpster said:
I agree that the latest version of the nook app is unbearably slow. I actually deleted it and installed an older version of the app (ver 2.5) and it seems faster. You do lose the ability to read newspapers and magazine, but I think it is at least usable for books...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but I need my Economist subscription. Actually, the irony is that my magazines open Waaaay quicker than books.
Wonderful, an enforced library size limit
CastellFaber said:
Wonderful, an enforced library size limit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, pretty ironic, since I assume they want us to buy as much stuff as possible.
have they fixed the sync issue that's been around since it's release?
Ok so I am on FireKat v11 and it is amazing, of course.
Just wondering what all I am missing out on? As far as tweaks/mods and even cool apps that I am unaware of.
I use my phone quite a bit, Mostly for browsing the web and also watching movies and listening to music, So maybe anything that would enhance my experience doing those things?
This thread may seem kind of odd but I am fairly new to all of this and am just looking to expand my knowledge and enjoyment of this phone. Any idea's would be much appreciated!!
SonOfAnarchy0210 said:
Ok so I am on FireKat v11 and it is amazing, of course.
Just wondering what all I am missing out on? As far as tweaks/mods and even cool apps that I am unaware of.
I use my phone quite a bit, Mostly for browsing the web and also watching movies and listening to music, So maybe anything that would enhance my experience doing those things?
This thread may seem kind of odd but I am fairly new to all of this and am just looking to expand my knowledge and enjoyment of this phone. Any idea's would be much appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely check out Viper for a serious boost in audio quality if you haven't already. The app is built into firekat but you need to install the audio driver from inside the app. There's an updated version here
I use Plex to stream movies/tv shows/etc from my computer to my note...the setup for that is kind of a pain since you have to install and configure plex on your computer but I use it across my note 3 note 10.1 and nexus 10 and it has full stop/resume support so if you've got a lot of movies on your computer it might be worth checking out