Database Users

[Q] Reasons for Rooting the NC

I have a question that is eating at me to no end. Every android device (this is my 6th) I've rooted. I tried to use the devices without root and hesitated somewhat to do so, but rooting was inevitable with all of them.
I just received (from a lovely wife) a Nook Color for my birthday. I intend to use this solely as an e-reader. In that, I also like to diversify my e-book collection by using multiple providers (you can see where this is going, I'm sure). I would really like to be able to use B&N, Amazon, and Google Books to download content.
However... I've seen that there are a few things that don't work as they should after rooting. I'm not sure I'm willing to live with that.
After all of that said, how many of you have the same intentions I have? How many of you intend to use this as an e-reader and an e-reader only? I ask because I've seen several threads discussing different uses that clearly go beyond what the device was intended to do. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking what you are doing. I'm only trying to find out if these additional functions (I also believe in the beauty of open source;-)) serve as additional incentive for you guys to root. If this is the case, is using it as a multi-provider e-reader enough incentive to root? Is is enough incentive to "suffer" with what does not work after rooting?
Please chime in! Thank you for you input. I would really like to root this thing, but I just want to make sure it's worth the hassle.

93 views and no one has an opinion? Is everyone using this device as everything but an e-reader? At least tell me it is a dumb question if you think that.
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Pretty much everyone here uses the nook as a full android tablet that also reads books. I use CM7 myself and i would have never bought the nook if it didn't have any custom roms. I do not know any negatives to rooting the stock OS as I never used it. I would say go for it and if you don't like it you can go back to stock in <5 minutes.
Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk

I'm probably the only one here that recently changed my configuration.
I've been a NC user with CM7 nightly builds installed to the emmc (that's right a bold user willing to risk a brik).
However, over time I'd had the opportunity to pickup another tab for the geek (HP Touchpad for that oh so low price).
Since the Nook Color is now really being used as a e-reader only again (with a few Apps from the BN app store), I've restored it to stock with the 1.3 update.
No root, nothing except a blank SD card for extra content.
The BN stock Nook reader software is night and day in terms of stability and performance in comparison to the "Nook for Android" application. It doensn't have that cool page turn animation, but why does the "Android" app pale in comparison when both technically are Android apps?
Granted, I don't have Amazon or Google book content access any longer, but I can use them on the other tab if I desire. But I've been finding that I prefer to purchase my books on BN and Amazon/Google vendors have only gotten my "Free" book purchases in the past.
I can also get my enhanced books again.
If BN decides it needs to add some services to help compete with the forth coming Amazon Tab, like video and audio rentals/purchases, you might see official support for NetFlix or Hulu as a counter. Reason is that BN would need to build that infrastructure, but providing NetFlix or Hulu Plus might be good enough to compete with Amazon Prime.
I really do like my NC again on stock. Without another tab to root/mod, I'd still be on CM7 (the beauty is I'm watching the CM7 development for the HP, so soon).

perknite said:
I just received (from a lovely wife) a Nook Color for my birthday. I intend to use this solely as an e-reader. In that, I also like to diversify my e-book collection by using multiple providers (you can see where this is going, I'm sure). I would really like to be able to use B&N, Amazon, and Google Books to download content.
However... I've seen that there are a few things that don't work as they should after rooting. I'm not sure I'm willing to live with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my NC for about six months, and have used rooted stock (versions 1.01, 1.1, and 1.2) and am now almost exclusively using CM7 on the SD card. I use it for a lot more than an e-reader, but I do read a lot on it.
1) The stock reader software is much nicer than any Android reader apps out there. That was why I stuck with the stock software for so long.
2) I don't know of anything that's working on an unrooted Nook that is broken by rooting. Can you elaborate on what you meant by that?
3) If you really want to have an ebook collection that isn't dependent on a single vendor, you should look into Calibre and the tools that are available to strip DRM from books you buy. Then you can buy a book from, say, Amazon, strip the DRM, load it into Calibre, and convert it to any format you wish. This involves a bit of work on the PC side, so you're not able to just download directly to the reader, but it's one way to keep your stock unrooted Nook and still use Google or Amazon to buy books. And it means you'll always be able to read those books, not just when Amazon or Google or B&N decides you can.

I've been running rooted stock 99% of the time since I got the device. I did hammer it very early on (I think I tried installing one of the SD-card targeted froyo builds to emmc) and just so I could at least fiddle, ran the honeycomb off sdcard for a look. I've run cm7 and miui off sdcard, but I've never liked the alternate roms more than I like the stock, enough to flash them to emmc and certainly not enough to run them as daily drivers off of sdcards, since then my sdcard slot is obliged to be full.
I'm not clear on what, in the current rooted stock, isn't working that the OP refers to. For me, all the stock apps work fine, and I have access to Netflix and the free fridays books.
My preferred reader is fbreader - I like true night mode and landcape, and I have no problems with that reader crashing.
I would rather use the Nook for Android app, for the same reason that I like fbreader and for the additional benefit of very simple cross-device sync. I also have an ST, and am using fbsync and fbreader on both in conjunction with Tasker to sync reading positions.
I'm very unimpressed with the 1.3 firmware. In my hands, the device is more sluggish when running it than when running 1.2, but I know there are some folks that it helped to have (networking issues in 1.2.)
But overall, I can't think of anything that doesn't work on rooted stock that does work on vanilla stock, so more input on that would be helpful.

The only thing I'm aware of that doesn't work on rooted stock is the reading now button. I haven't tried the latest enhanced books for 1.3 yet, but everything else I've tested successfully.
My family has 3 nooks - my wife and me, plus my mom. My mom is a voracious reader and has literally read at least 100 books since Mother's Day. I offered to turn it back to stock for her, but she told me that there just a handful of android apps (not available through B&N) that she wants to keep. So she stays rooted.
For my wife, she's a big reader too (not as much as mom) but she has more than a handful of apps she wants, particularly a host of free games from either the market or android appstore, so she stays on rooted stock. Both have zero complaints. Both are also overclocked to 1200 using Dalingrin's OC kernel.
For me, I've been toying with CM7 on sd card for about 2 months now. I love how smooth it runs and I'm extremely satisfied with it. My only knock is the reader. As others have said, the stock nook reader is still the best, although both fbreader and moon reader are very good as well. I'm probably 50/50 on reading vs other stuff on my nook.

Thanks for all of your replies! I saw somewhere (I believe the ManualNooter thread) that there might be crashes with apps that required imei (forgive spelling). I have no idea what apps might require that. I went ahead and took the plunge. So far I like it! I have not figured out how to turn off gmail email sync yet, but I really like being able to access books from all three major providers!
Thank you all for your input!
Sent from my NOOKcolor using xda premium

Perknite, also take a look at using Calibre for book management, and the tools for managing the security of your ebooks discussed at apprenticealf.wordpress.com.
You can read books from each of the vendors both on your computer and in any app you like on the NC, if you configure the tools and have the computer app from the vendor plus a program called Calibre on the PC.
I used to do a lot of this manually, and recently learned that Calibre will do huge amounts of it automatically if it has access to the install data from BN and Amazon.
Information security is a triangle: availability, confidentiality, integrity. DRM breaks your control over availability and integrity in order to deliver confidentiality - not to you, but to the vendor of your files. The tools discussed in the Apprentice Alf blog let you manage the availability and integrity of your data for yourself. You owe it to your ebook vendors to maintain confidentiality -- but you owed them that to start with, and it was in the agreement as you purchased the books.

[Q] Best approach for rooting a 1.3

I have a brand new nook that is running 1.3, and I want to get it rooted (it's a Christmas gift for my son). With 1.4 out now, I'm wondering what my best approach is. Should I wait until I get the 1.4 update and then to the root?
If that is the case, is there a way to force the update to come quicker? If that's not the case and I go ahead and root now, will I eventually get 1.4 (and if so will I have to root again)?

Girevik said:
I have a brand new nook that is running 1.3, and I want to get it rooted (it's a Christmas gift for my son). With 1.4 out now, I'm wondering what my best approach is. Should I wait until I get the 1.4 update and then to the root?
If that is the case, is there a way to force the update to come quicker? If that's not the case and I go ahead and root now, will I eventually get 1.4 (and if so will I have to root again)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming it's a Nook Color since you mention 1.3. You can download the 1.4.1 update today directly from B&N. Root on 1.4.1 doesn't fully work yet. You can't install anything from the Android Market. I suspect that will change very soon, but there's no guarantee it'll be done by Christmas.
The B&N walled garden offered by 1.4.1 is very compelling. The reader is very nice now -- a huge improvement over 1.3 -- and the B&N integration is very nice. 1.4.1 is also required for some of the Conde Nast magazine subscriptions such as Wired. The presentation of these magazines on the B&N firmware is gorgeous, with lots of "post print" interactive features. Presumably other magazines and papers will begin incorporating these features.
The reason I mention this is that you lose these features if you wander off of the B&N firmware, at least today. That said, there are alternate firmwares that make the NC much more of a general purpose tablet. You can run the B&N Nook reader on these, though alternatives such as Aldiko are superior (IMO). You lose the B&N integration and, for now at least, rich content features of the B&N firmware. You gain in ease of access to other applications and features, as well as Amazon, Kobo and other book sources.
On the Nook Tablet I purchased for my wife for Christmas, the 1.4 software is fully rooted, so I've been able to get it set up nicely as a reader focused around the B&N apps, but still with access to others (with a bit of work). As of today (Dec. 14), I can't get to that same level with my Nook Color. Rooted 1.3 is also very clunky (again IMO), so I'm running Cyanogenmod 7.1 (CM) on it.
If your son is after an Android tablet, I'd suggest trying out CM. If he want's the e-reader experience and/or the B&N integration, then 1.4.1 is a winner. If he wants the best of both worlds, we're not quite there yet. I'd suggest running CM off of an SD card and leaving 1.4.1 unrooted for now. That way, he can sample both, and if he prefers the B&N experience, you can always root it later when the details are worked out.

bobstro said:
If your son is after an Android tablet, I'd suggest trying out CM. If he want's the e-reader experience and/or the B&N integration, then 1.4.1 is a winner. If he wants the best of both worlds, we're not quite there yet. I'd suggest running CM off of an SD card and leaving 1.4.1 unrooted for now. That way, he can sample both, and if he prefers the B&N experience, you can always root it later when the details are worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's prettyf much exacty what I've settled on. I think for now, he'd mostly want the tablet, but I DO really like the read to me feature. I'll just have to teach him how to boot back and forth if he wants (he's pretty sharp for a mildly autistic 7 year old when it comes to tech). When and if I can just add the market and the apps he wants to stock nook software, I'll look at rooting it then.
Thanks for confirming what I had in mind. I was half afraid a root would be required even to boot off of an SD card.
One more question. Once I do go that route, what happens to apps that I install? Are they saved to the SD card and just dissapear when I boot to the nook? Or do they take up the nook internal memory?

When you dual boot, the two environments remain separate. Anything installed on one is not visible to the other, except maybe storage. I need to check, now that you ask. This is good, in that your BN setup remains pristine, but does require some duplication of effort if you jump back and forth often.
Once everything's installed, you can select which to boot by holding down the big 'n' key as you power on the device. No need to flip the SD slot door open and eject.
I'm hoping the 1.4.1 reader functionality comes to the BN Android Nook app. It's pretty slick, and I'd like to have those features regardless of what platform I'm using at any given moment.

[Q] Direct me to a good place to root nook with 1.4.1

My mom has asked me if i can root her nook. It is currently on 1.4.1 and as I have browsed through the many threads im left without an idea on which method i should use to root. I have rooted my phone several times so I am somewhat familiar with the process i would just hope that someone can point me in the right direction so i can get a good stable rom, and method to root the device. thank you.

To put a custom rom on there follow the guide linked to in my sig. (I recommend this)
To root the stock firmware follow the instructions here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438212
I am not sure how stable the 1.4.1 root is.
Sent from space

The first question you need to answer is whether she'll need or want the B&N content. Here are the "B&N required features" from the Target Audience portion of the howto koopakid pointed you to:
Read to me (mostly children's book)
Enhanced content (e.g. Conde Nast magazines such as Wired, New Yorker, though some of these are becoming available via 3rd party sources.)
Newpaper or magazine subscriptions (auto-update)
B&N Free in-store reading
Support from friends with stock Nooks or B&N (conditional upon being rooted)
The B&N reader experience and shell. The B&N Android Nook app is not the same thing as their firmware experience, at least not yet. Someday, they may update the B&N Nook Android app, but it is pretty poor right now. If you want to read B&N stuff, then 1.4.1 is a big deal.
Keep in mind that, if you root, she may have a hard time getting support at her local B&N. Unless you are prepared to be her full-time support, that may be a big deal. Does she really need root for what she wants?
If you decide she will actually benefit from root, the guide should get you set up. I've been running rooted 1.4.1 for a month now with few issues. My NC works like any other as far as B&N is concerned, though I know some of the employees raise a stink if they figure out you've rooted. I get infrequent Sleeps of Death, though I also got those with CM. Battery life is pretty good. I can leave it unused for a couple of days and do some casual reading. If I really bang on it, it uses about 10% per hour, so a solid day of reading and watching movies is possible.
If none of these factors apply, then there's little reason to stick with B&N firmware. Loading other firmware will give her more "tablet" functionality than B&N's. Koopakid's got a good summary on the various non-B&N options. For a non-B&N user, I'd recommend eyeballer's guide to installing to eMMC, and use CM 7.2 RC0 Mirage. It's very stable, despite being based on a nightly. Set her up with Aldiko for reading and Overdrive for library books and she'll be in good shape.
Ask her a few more questions about why she wants to root before doing anything dramatic. I've been in the "family tech support" mode for years, and it can be a real hassle if they get in over their heads.

Thanks
Well thanks guys, ill have to dig in a little bit more. I feel kind of spoiled with the simpleness and ease of the rooting process with my evo, who would of thought the NC would involve so much to root. But im going to give it a shot
thanks.

If she wants the basic Nook Color just with a couple of apps that B&N doesn't have, a manual noot is pretty straightforward. I used the TeamWin Recovery Project image, copied the manualnooter from the Nook Color Android Development thread on "[NC][1.2][1.3] ManualNooter 4.6.16", page 175, post 1745. I installed that and it was rooted with no apparent problems.
Follow the main instructions at the opening post in "[NC][1.2][1.3] ManualNooter 4.6.16" to use NookColorTools to select install third party packages ~ do a search for Zeam, run it from search, use the apps widget to get to the full range of apps available ~ and then run the Android Market to download Nook Color App Manager to put apps downloaded from the Android Market into the stock Home pages.
The caution on the stock++ approach is to be careful of updates ~ don't let Android Market update apps that are actually from B&N, for example.

I rooted my nc with manual nooter 5.1.12.20 or something like that. I cant remember the version but it starts with 5 and ends in 20 I flashed ics on it with no problems
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smurphdogg said:
I rooted my nc with manual nooter 5.1.12.20 or something like that. I cant remember the version but it starts with 5 and ends in 20 I flashed ics on it with no problems
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed ICS on it, then why would you need to root your device?

I recommend using verygreens installer for sd card with cm7 so you can easily go back if she doesn't like it. Easy to find in the development thread.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

I'd suggest burning clockwork mod recovery to an SD and flashing cm7,that is, assuming she is sure she wants to stick with that rom. Just beware of the blue dot, i rooted my blue dot 1.4.1 nc this way and had a few issues.

Help with Nook simple touch

Hey everyone, going to get one of these soon since its very cheap right now 80-60$ and comes with android 2.1! (already have a kindle keyboard 3g) this is pretty cool considering its a e-ink eBook reader (wish kindle paperwhite came with it otherwise i would buy that instead) now i have already checked up on xda and youtube and others on what its able to do and pretty much what i want is to root it, (link plox) i see some people can get a sort of android home looking screen i would like a link to that also and get some emulators i see there's this thing called norefresh to stop it from refreshing i would like a link to this since i cant find any of these Thanks guys!

[Q] Is it possible to read visual novels on Nook Simple Touch?

I'm going to buy a Nook Simple Touch in a month's time and I really love how better software can be hacked onto the device. I would just like to ask if there is any way to read translated japanese visual novels on the Nook Simple Touch. I'm asking this because they are programs created for Windows. Or would this be the same as trying to run Windows apps on Linux?

That is a good question. I know you cannot run windows apps. Even java applets will probably not work. However, there are other comic viewers and they may be able to display your manga.
I have not yet rooted, so I thought I would try my Barnes and noble books.
Vampire hunter d works okay, but it to s zoomed odd and you cannot zoom in per frame.
Death note (which is a nook comic) will not load on the stock reader.
Good luck.
~Leko
Go forth and work toward your salvation with diligence.

Thank you for the quick answer, but I wasn't actually thinking of manga. I heard about Perfect viewer, which is said to be a great app for comics, but I was actually thinking of visual novels. I asked this question because I know that yo need to run a .exe file to "read" these, so I was hoping that there was possibly some way that I could convert these into a format that the nook could run.

Oh, I now get it. Okay. So then bad news is that some visual novels don't just need supporting exe files, they are programs in and of themselves. So, there are two ways to run them on android.
Buy them from the market or amazon (I had a few a while ago but I do not remember what they were.
Take yours and port them.
The latter is going to be difficult and beyond my expertise.
However, after some research, I found this thread.
http://forums.fuwanovel.org/index.p...isual-novel-lets-play-visual-novel-on-the-go/
The app is still in the market and it is only 1.99 in the US.
In order to run an app on the nst, a few conditions need to be met...
You need to root.
The app needs to be made for SDK 7 which is pretty old, but there are sometimes ways around that involving tricking the app to think it needs a lower SDK.
You the app needs to be compatible with the nst hardware.
After you root, I suggest you try. good luck. The Net that I ordered does not have working touch so I am awaiting my replacement.
~Leko
Go forth and work toward your salvation with diligence.

Holy frak, I actually started this to confirm my fear that it is impossible. And I actually bought this app a long time ago, but it was rather uncomfortable on my galaxy mini. I'm grateful for this, thank you very much!