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.
The developer of DVD Catalyst 4 is reporting a serious degradation in video playback with the 1.2 update. Anyone else experience this?
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com...-2-FAIL/m-p/981754/message-uid/981754#U981754
If this is the case, and the methods discussed for blocking OTA don't work, looks like I'll be joining the legions of CM7 users. Video playback on the NC is a huge draw for me.
Unfortunately looks like I'll need a crash course. Doing some cross country traveling on May 7 and want to have a fully functional, video playback capable NC on that date.
dsf3g said:
The developer of DVD Catalyst 4 is reporting a serious degradation in video playback with the 1.2 update. Anyone else experience this?
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com...-2-FAIL/m-p/981754/message-uid/981754#U981754
If this is the case, and the methods discussed for blocking OTA don't work, looks like I'll be joining the legions of CM7 users. Video playback on the NC is a huge draw for me.
Unfortunately looks like I'll need a crash course. Doing some cross country traveling on May 7 and want to have a fully functional, video playback capable NC on that date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not really a quality issue, the smoothness of the video playback is affected.
After updating, the videos I already had on my NOOKcolor just looked like frames were being skipped or doubled. Its hard to describe, but they just look "off"
I tried a bunch of different conversion tools and a collection of different settings, and all resulted in similar playback issues, which basically points to an issue with the update rather than the conversion tool used.
I managed to play 3000Kbps h264 video on the NOOKcolor before the update, but now 800Kbps files have playback issues.
Testing youtube produces similar results. While I only played a few trailers from youtube, it appears quality is locked to 360, and even then I get audio sync issues.
I haven't tried the 1.2 update but I did integrate the hardware codecs from 1.2 into to CM7 and saw the same thing. For now I'm sticking with our existing codecs as they perform better.
dalingrin said:
I haven't tried the 1.2 update but I did integrate the hardware codecs from 1.2 into to CM7 and saw the same thing. For now I'm sticking with our existing codecs as they perform better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some people reported that rebooting seem to fix this?
Canadoc said:
some people reported that rebooting seem to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The developer of DVD Catalyst 4 conversion software has posted sample video files that demonstrate the degraded video quality. So I don't think a simple reboot will fix things. If it were that simple, I think he'd have figured it out, since his paychek in part depends upon the Nook Color being a decent platform for watching movies.
Sorry : Wrong Thread.
Mine worked but the selection method is key
My MP4's worked flawlessly with the new update - I ripped them from my own DVD's using DVD Catalyst 4.0 and the setting for Nook Color. BUT, they didn't work using the gallery - I had to select them using the My Files folder in the library app (I have two full length videos on emmc and two on my 8 Gb SD Card (a Transcend Class 6) - either choice worked.
I was looking at the new build.prop just now, and it's specifying a heapsize of 64M.
That seems to be very high to me. If someone's got a rooted 1.2, it might be interesting to see what manipulating the heap does for video playback. I'm still holding off on updating mine.
I was fortunate to get my hands on a Chromecast at my local BestBuy the other day, and after a full day of use it is one of the best $25 (had a $10 reward cert) I have spent since my last trip to Outback Steakhouse .
Getting the dongle up and running in my entertainment center was a bit awkward with the mini USB required for powering the device, but all went smoothly. First time set up was simple, requiring installation of the Chromecast app on my HTC One which was able to pair with the dongle and hook it up to my home WiFi network. Once connected to WiFi, it's ready to use, displaying the "Ready to Cast" home screen.
Google Play Music was the first app I tried out, and I was immediately disappointed to get the error message "Unable to Cast sideloaded content". Hopefully an update for local content will be added to phones and tablets in the near future, since it is only possible within the Chrome browser on your Mac/PC. Music playback through their Unlimited music service worked as advertise though, however the Now Playing interface displayed on the TV could use a bit more polish. It doesn't look awful, but it doesn't look very good either. Every now and then I would get an error when selecting songs saying "Could not stream your selection at this time," where I would have to kill the app from the multitask screen and restart.
Where this device thrives is video playback. Netflix, Youtube, and Google Play Videos are the only content supported so far but they deliver. Watching AMC's The Killing and The Avengers in 1080p by simply "casting" to my TV with my new Nexus 7 is a real treat. And the best part is I can use my tablet while watching for anything I want. Be it games, web browsing, reading, or music; it doesn't effect playback at all since it is being streamed by the dongle, not your phone/tablet/computer. Even better, ChromeCast has minimal effect on battery life of your device. I started an episode of The Killing with 55% battery, after the episode was over about an hour later my battery held at 54%.
I have not been able to try out screen mirroring yet, but will update once I play around with it. Overall I am satisfied with my purchase. The lack of local media support on phones/tablets are preventing it from being a serious threat to AirPlay and the Apple TV, but at the same time being 65% cheaper make it a more than reasonable trade off. The way I see this device: it makes watching Netflix on my TV simpler. Before it was turning on my PS3, navigating to the Netflix app, waiting for it to load, choosing between regular content or kids, and then finally getting to pick what I would like to watch. Now I just switch to the input my Chromecast is hooked up to, fire up the Netflix app on my phone/tablet (whichever is closer), make my selection, and then "cast" to my TV.
If you are looking for a fast simple way to watch Netflix, YouTube, and movie rentals through Google Play this device is for you. If you are expecting an Airplay/Apple TV killer, well this device isn't for you...yet. With its open API for future dev support, it is just a matter of time for local files and more streaming sites such as HBO GO and Hulu to be supported.
The oneinfour score: 7.5/10 - lack of local content playback and wacky music playback issues hold back an otherwise solid streamer.
interesting read.
I think we may be waiting a bit for Hulu to get on board. They're a bit quirky regarding the various contract and licensing agreements. To me, they should just view this as HDMI out on the Hulu app, but who knows. Sometimes they're just obtuse because one can just hook up a PC to the TV and have all content available.
It's early, so to some degree, we're going to see a lot of growing pains as the product matures. I look forward to trying it out myself when I eventually get one.
Chromecasting a chrome tab on your desktop allows HBO go (and others I presume) to work with your chromecast. I was even able to drag and drop a local mkv file into the active chrome tab and it played on my TV just fine. Some pixelation and artifacting, but mostly negligible. Audio synced up fine too. Here's a video of it in action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT2XUI-yZxE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Chromecast messes with AdBlocker
You can't expect it to be compatible with every third party app. Adblocker needs to fix on their end.
As far as Chromecast.. I went to buy one and it is sold out every where.
What would be amazing would be a device that would allow us to send screen to TV for gaming, etc.. With the higher res this would be awesome on my 1080 Bravia!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
oneinfour said:
The way I see this device: it makes watching Netflix on my TV simpler. Before it was turning on my PS3, navigating to the Netflix app, waiting for it to load, choosing between regular content or kids, and then finally getting to pick what I would like to watch. Now I just switch to the input my Chromecast is hooked up to, fire up the Netflix app on my phone/tablet (whichever is closer), make my selection, and then "cast" to my TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what makes it a potentially killer app. I own a roku, a wdtv, an htpc (out of commission because of fan noise), and I have had multiple cable boxes. In terms of interfaces, nothing has gotten it right. Interfaces are either time consuming to get working, slow, unpolished, or difficult to navigate. Worse, sometimes they rely on unstable hacks that are destroyed by API changes. The difference with chromecast is that most of the apps on your tablet and phone are fairly polished, speedy, and easy to navigate. Most importantly, the video is separated from the UI, meaning you don't stop what you're doing to look at something else. There are a lot of great ways that this can be used: Playing a movie automatically brings up more information about that movie on the tablet; it could tell you the names of the actors on the screen (I think amazon has something like this). Song lyrics could be displayed on the tablet. Sky is the limit in that respect.
Yes, screen mirroring would be nice, but I doubt it will ever work as well as we want it to on this device. Google has not released an API for windows or mac os so speed may never be something we see on the desktop. We will see though.
It would depend on the screen it was being mirrored too and would not be perfect but it would be awesome.
Ideally instead of having to stay media info chrome I would just like to my screen on the TV. That would be a huge selling point for Google.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Why do you think direct local streaming was not included? Just seems like no brainer to me... Anyway I think ill probably go pick one up once Skype gets on board with suppprt.
Great review, I agree with everything you wrote. I am loving mine so far too. If Amazon wakes up and adds support, this will be a killer little dongle. Though, if they don't, then I will just starting buying my TV shows and Movies from Google's store instead =)
I too would like to see the ability to stream local content soon, and also from the cloud services like Dropbox/Box/Drive/etc. The developers have already proven it to be possible, with great results ... it is really up to Google now to allow it to happen. The fact that they released the Chromecast without local file support has me a little worried. But I am hoping this was more a scheduling decision to get it out the door to beat the competition to the punch and get people talking.
This cheap little gadget has the potential to shake up the media industry in a big way.
I've searched multiple forums and attempted to work with Samsung support (they want me to send tablet to them).
If I try to load a video (not take on this device) from Google Photos app, the video preview comes up but the loading circle just keeps spinning. The same video through Photos app on my android phone on the same wifi connection doesn't have any problem and loads instantly.
I've tried some replacement apps and they seem to do the same or similar thing.
I have a fairly new SM-T810 (only a few months old) and this issue has always been this way...just haven't dug into the problem until now..
Overall, internet browsing on the table is relatively quick and if I go to a site like ESPN within Chrome and play a video on the page it loads fine.
I am currently using DHCP to my router, though I have tried manual setup. I am using a 192.168.1.XXX setup.
Through forums and Samsung, I've tried the normal clear cache/data, uninstall updates, restart tablet, factory reset tablet.....and nothing seems to resolve the issue.
If anyone has a suggestion, I'm certainly open to it. If more information is needed I can certainly make it available.
Thank you in advance.
The photos app is able to stream it direct from google servers, however I think it's only a preview and not full quality or it will play the local version.
3rd party apps will play it, but will download it first.
Samsung keeps saying the only way to fix this is to send them the device. I just find it hard to believe this is a hardware issue.
Seems like it's a software issue with the tablet itself or at least it's integration of handling videos. Smaller videos seem to load after a while (loading instantly on my android phone)...but large videos never load at all (after waiting minutes). Again, start playing within a second or so on my android phone.