1.41 Thoughts here - Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet

Rather than clutter up other threads, such as the blocking 1.41 OTA update thread, I propose we put thoughts/frustrations here. As such, here is what I think:
Upon thinking about this more, this is really just the final wedge that B&N put in place to separate the people here, versus the people who are locked into B&N content.
We/I had been hoping that maybe someday they would change their mind and open up the NT so it would act the way the NC would. But, this is a clear message to consumers on how they want to proceed with their product. There will be no unlocked bootloader in the future. There will be no use of outside apps from other markets.
I can't blame them for trying to make money. They put together a nice piece of hardware, and are probably making little to no profit on the hardware. The real bummer here is, for me at least, I would have likely purchased non-apps(see books) from B&N and used the software originally provided by them to view the books. But now with this update, I am basically forced to do the full bloatware removal, and I will get books through other means.
For me, the NT is more a toy for apps and less for reading. Utilizing the B&N app market, which as others have said, is very limited and often pricey, does not make sense. Could I spend some more money and get a full android tablet? Sure, but if I've learned anything from these forums in my short time here, its that it is fun to work together on tweaking something and making it better than what it was originally intended for.
Your thoughts?

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I think it's only a matter of time before the devs figure out a way around their "block" of nonBN apps. All they did was take out the ease of sideloading out of the box.

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I still haven't gotten a Nook Tablet. I still plan to. I have no doubt that this will be a temporary setback. The locked bootloader is, no doubt, a challenge. Rooting the device after this update, however, shouldn't be nearly as significant an issue, I wouldn't think.
I have the same feelings about the device - it will be a fun toy and useful device and will serve less as an eReader.
For the time being, I will be reading the forums to see what new developments come along in this drama.

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CapsLockKey said:
I think it's only a matter of time before the devs figure out a way around their "block" of nonBN apps. All they did was take out the ease of sideloading out of the box.
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It sounds like they already have, but the point remains that it was a slap in the face to anyone that has been previously side-loading apps and customizing their NT without rooting.

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If you've read some of Indirect's posts before, i believe he debloats most if not all of BN's stuff. Changing the db values worked for the Nook Color, and i assume it's just a matter of hours before one of us work out a quick workaround to rescuing those who got bumped to 1.4.1. I suspect it's gonna be something like this:
1) Using SD card method to restore to 1.4.0
2) Identifying the culprit to push/pull OTA on the NT
3) debloat B&N footprint to minimal so that the NT will be a stable platform to research the bootloader issue.
I'm really surprised so many people start thinking returning their NT because of one minor update. As long as there's one copy of rooted NT among us, i think we'll be able to propogate and beat BN at their game.

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I pulled this from the "How to block B&N 1.41 update" thread.
AdamOutler said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=20502705#post20502705
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Click to collapse
For my fellow XDA noobs, fear not and don't lose faith in the brilliance of this community.
Here is a fine example(see post above): AdamOutler is amazing and comes through for XDA often like so many others.
Watching him and Loglud give NT bootloader the business in the Development thread is impressive even though I don't fully understand. I see though that they are making progress. They prove that there are many ways to crack the NT nut.
Remain calm and keep reading.

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HMG10 said:
It sounds like they already have, but the point remains that it was a slap in the face to anyone that has been previously side-loading apps and customizing their NT without rooting.
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Click to collapse
If I took offense at every manufacturer that has "slapped the face" of their market, I wouldn't own anything. I would live in the woods because the people that made my house cut corners to line their pockets. My shingles wouldn't be prematurely failing. I would have sold my Prius immediately when I found out about the cover-up of some very important safety information. I would start a class-action suit over the burst capacitors on my motherboard due to the manufacturer using questionable sources for their electronics. I would never buy a toy for my kids because most are made in China using questionable labor tactics.
If people choose to take this personally, fine. Return your devices. Please also take stock of what you own and what pains you go through daily because capitalism encourages these behaviors. Then, sit back and ponder how you, as a consumer, contribute to the issue.
Am I unhappy about the decision? Yes. I'd rather thumb my nose at B&N by being patient and using whatever new tricks are up people's sleeves to use the device in a way "I'm not supposed to be able to" than not even buying one. Does this make me a hypocrite by making a rationalization to own a device while still supporting the very practices that perturb me? Perhaps.

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Moved my thoughts from the other thread:
I think B&N is going to be surprised at the number of returned NT's- I'm betting far beyond their 3% estimate. 3% is probably people like on this site, average/above average tech users. Well beyond that are many others who buy NTs based on a recommend from the 3%, who then just follow the instructions for sideloading/rooting.
Personally, I've recommended the NT to about 4 other people who bought as Christmas presents. If there will be a constant worry for them about sneaky updates wrecking their NT's, my only advice will be to return while they can and get something else. I recommended based on the NT's ONLY real advantages- that it can be rooted and sideloaded. It sucks, and now I regret recommending this, and from now on I won't. I don't mind being responsible for the NT I bought my wife for Christmas, but not anyone else's.
In the end, B&N and others who go this crazy locked down route will lose- more and more people are tech savvy enough to know they're getting the shaft. B&N needs to develop a better app store, like Amazon. People willingly put Amazon's app store on their devices, including the Nook. I wonder how many KF users willingly put B&N crap on their devices?
They think they can just force people into a crappy walled garden like they are Apple, but with a subpar app store, charging even for otherwise free apps. It's not gonna work, and unfortunately the NT will eventually sink in a sea of better tablets that aren't locked down.

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I'm not so sure that people will be returning their NTs with this update. Most of us have had ours far past the two week return period. Even if we returned them, it would be for store credit.

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sonicdh said:
I'm not so sure that people will be returning their NTs with this update. Most of us have had ours far past the two week return period. Even if we returned them, it would be for store credit.
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return window for "holiday" purchases has been extended to 01/31/12 if purchased between 11/14 and 12/31.

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is it really worth returning it for a little reason like this? Heck, even Amazon have done the same thing in the past couple days. Granted you have the option of flashing a new ROM onto the KF but what about the people who have just bought it and it comes with the new FW or they haven't seen the post on the new FW?
I agree with most saying that B&N are doing what is best for them, which makes sense in a business aspect and everyone who bought this for a cheap colour e-reader have no concept about it. We get upset, someone finds a way to fix it, we move on to something else.
I too considered returning mine but A) it won't do me any good B ) Other "cheaper" tablet developers seem to be doing the same thing.
Final thought - Might as well keep it and patiently wait for something to change from here.

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Being a total noob to all things android and not a very adept at computers, I was so happy to compare the Nook Tablet and the kindle fire side by side. I picked the nook tab because I saw that I could side load all the kindle book store and Amazon apps to the Tab. Also because of the hardware improvements.
Now I feel like I've been baited and switched. I do believe that I will be returning the Nook Tablet I have purchased. Before I do, I have a few questions. Please excuse my ignorance.
1. where do I go to buy the refurbished nook colors for 130.00 ?
2. If I buy an upgraded nook color, will I be able to load the kindle bookstore and my kindle books on to it?
3. Will I have access to sideloading all the things I want on the nook color?
4. How do I save the content I now have to move over to the nook color?
5. Will the 16gig SD card I bought for the nook tablet work on the nook color?
If all these things can be done with the nook color, then I must vote with my wallet and return my tablet if for no other reason than principle. I purchased a product from a company that performed a certain way and I wake up and find they have disabled the functions that mattered to me the most. I didn't rent or lease the product. I purchased it. It should be mine to use or modify as I please.
With my needs, it appears that the nook color will do me just fine. I don't plan on watching movies or TV on it.

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As others have noted, my frustration is this... I bought (3 in total) and recommended several others buy over things like the Fire because one could sideload without rooting.
I'll be the first to state that I am perfectly content rooting my own NT (as I did for my NC previously), but I have two other NTs in my household as well. It is neither practical nor desirable to have to root all three and maintain all three for less savvy users who want software not available in the BN store.
The capability to sideload made the selection of the NT an easy choice. Blocking sideloading without rooting makes the choice to return two - if not all three - an easy choice as well.

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I hope this helps with your questions.
1. where do I go to buy the refurbished nook colors for 130.00 ?
Ebay
Google Search
2. If I buy an upgraded nook color, will I be able to load the kindle bookstore and my kindle books on to it?
No. It has 1.41.
Go to the "Nook Tablet Android Development - [Stock Firmware]Restore Barnes & Nobel Nook 1.4.0 from SDCard" to understand how to undo.
3. Will I have access to sideloading all the things I want on the nook color?
Only with a rooted 1.4 or custom rom. Unsure how 1.41 might impact a custom rom or if this would even be an issue for custom rom.
4. How do I save the content I now have to move over to the nook color?
SD card and/or Dropbox or some other way to access later.
5. Will the 16gig SD card I bought for the nook tablet work on the nook color?
Yes from what I have read.

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PlacidCat said:
I still haven't gotten a Nook Tablet. I still plan to. I have no doubt that this will be a temporary setback. The locked bootloader is, no doubt, a challenge. Rooting the device after this update, however, shouldn't be nearly as significant an issue, I wouldn't think.
I have the same feelings about the device - it will be a fun toy and useful device and will serve less as an eReader.
For the time being, I will be reading the forums to see what new developments come along in this drama.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This update demonstrates that B&N is openly hostile to the dev community. Most manufacturers (even Apple!) take a laissez faire approach to outside development - they don't go out of their way to help, but they also don't go out of their way to break things. Kindle Fire updates, for instance, are a minor inconvenience for rooters, and rerooting is very easy.
A lot of people were willing to live with the locked bootloader because, in the end, you can still achieve most of what you want simply through sideloading. All the bootloader really curtails are those ugly themes that rom chefs seem to love so much. But stopping sideloading? Ugh, no way.
By doing this, B&N has proven that they are not happy with sideloading and I believe it is within their power to disable it permanently. And even if it is always possible to circumvent, you'll see the community here get smaller and smaller until there aren't enough people willing to bother.
So I would say do not get a Nook Tablet if you are not happy with using the pure stock experience without sideloading.

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Gotta vent too. Blocking sideloading is a total f u in our faces. We also can't root it with ZergRush. What do we have left? Total waste of hardware if you lock it down like this. Might as well get the simple touch ereader. You can't call it a tablet if it can't do tablet things!

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If it's going to affect their revenue stream, they're going to look for a way to block it. there's no getting around it. they don't have the ecosystem that Amazon has, so they can't afford to have people go elsewhere for some of the more mainstream apps that they have in their store.
the solution to that it that B&N needs to aggressively expand their app store and price at least close to the Android Market prices.
at least then, there's a reasonable retort, despite how we may feel. still, I paid for the device, I shouldn't have them decide how I should be able to use it.

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Mama Luigi said:
<SNIP>
So I would say do not get a Nook Tablet if you are not happy with using the pure stock experience without sideloading.
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As I said, I'm waiting and watching. My "plan to" is not 100% firm. I'll leave it to the devs to decide if they want to stick with this or not and base my decision on their progress, not what people are saying now in frustration. There are still ways around the issue and OTA updates appear to be (hopefully) already circumvented if people installed Gapps as part of the basic root procedure outlined on this forum.
To simply say "do not get... unless you want stock" is quite premature. Again, I have bigger worries on my mind - if Toyota was late on reporting a safety issue that could have affected my life and my family members', I have far more reason to turn away in disgust. Will I turn away from a reading device that STILL offers a tablet experience if people follow directions just because of B&N's asshattery? No.

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JoeM01 said:
If it's going to affect their revenue stream, they're going to look for a way to block it. there's no getting around it. they don't have the ecosystem that Amazon has, so they can't afford to have people go elsewhere for some of the more mainstream apps that they have in their store.
the solution to that it that B&N needs to aggressively expand their app store and price at least close to the Android Market prices.
at least then, there's a reasonable retort, despite how we may feel. still, I paid for the device, I shouldn't have them decide how I should be able to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I don't like being locked into a B&N app store. For my next tablet/phone/android device, it won't necessarily be a nook, but it will run android, therefore google market is still the best bet. Google market is there and established. B&N should focus on making profits via ebooks, magazines and other media.

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Is the extended return policy specific to purchases at the B&N stores? I purchased mine at Best Buy.