Hey everybody. I was hoping for some educated opinions on this. My sister and brother in law picked up a Touchpad for my niece to be able to use. She is 14 and has cerebral palsy. With her motor controls being diminished somewhat she has never been able use a standard PC very effectively. They had always thought that a touchscreen device would be something she could get used to. So far the Touchpad has been a very good pickup for them as she is able to get some good general entertainment out of is. I was talking to them recently about the option to put Android on it and they were curious about it. They both have Android phones and like them very much. They have a few concerns about hacking the tablet and putting Android on it which I was hoping you all could help with.
They are worried that it won't run as smoothly as it does currently with WebOS on it.
They are worried about loosing the few apps that they have purchased on WebOS (namely read along books).
They are worried about not all of the features working on it.
So give those concerns ... should they go ahead with Android on their HP Touchpad? I am going to send them the link to this thread and it would be great to see some legit opinions. Thank you all!!
NickPDX said:
Hey everybody. I was hoping for some educated opinions on this. My sister and brother in law picked up a Touchpad for my niece to be able to use. She is 14 and has cerebral palsy. With her motor controls being diminished somewhat she has never been able use a standard PC very effectively. They had always thought that a touchscreen device would be something she could get used to. So far the Touchpad has been a very good pickup for them as she is able to get some good general entertainment out of is. I was talking to them recently about the option to put Android on it and they were curious about it. They both have Android phones and like them very much. They have a few concerns about hacking the tablet and putting Android on it which I was hoping you all could help with.
They are worried that it won't run as smoothly as it does currently with WebOS on it.
They are worried about loosing the few apps that they have purchased on WebOS (namely read along books).
They are worried about not all of the features working on it.
So give those concerns ... should they go ahead with Android on their HP Touchpad? I am going to send them the link to this thread and it would be great to see some legit opinions. Thank you all!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you add android (I recommend the unofficial cyanogenmod nightlies, which I use), it won't affect webos at all. That being said, all android ports to the TP are in Alpha, though it runs very well. I would say to go ahead and install android, there's nothing to lose. WebOS is an excellent os, I use it about 50% of the time.
Thanks for the reply. Won't effect WebOS at all? Is it running off the SD or something? I have a HTC HD2 and I used to run Android off an SD and that way I could boot off the ROM or SD ROM and get the best of both worlds. Also, are you experience many issues with the Wifi on those builds? My niece of course likes her Angry Birds, but other than that probably 90% of what she does involves the internet or streaming media ... if the wifi didn't work correctly it would suck for her.
Thanks again!
NickPDX said:
Thanks for the reply. Won't effect WebOS at all? Is it running off the SD or something? I have a HTC HD2 and I used to run Android off an SD and that way I could boot off the ROM or SD ROM and get the best of both worlds. Also, are you experience many issues with the Wifi on those builds? My niece of course likes her Angry Birds, but other than that probably 90% of what she does involves the internet or streaming media ... if the wifi didn't work correctly it would suck for her.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It affected my webos, but only slightly. Just deleted a few apps that I had installed through preware. Don't let this scare you, though, as I believe it was probably user error. Regarding wifi, there is a wide range of opinions. Mine works very well, but others do not. Android does not run off sd card, as touchpad does not have a slot for it. My basic understanding is that it partitions a portion of the hard drive for android and uses the rest as a faux "sdcard".
IMO, you should do it. My second "android" device was also an hd2, so it seems you have the background and know how to do it. As always, be careful to read as much as possible first. Also, there are a few outdated tutorials floating around (I encountered them when I did my touchpad). If you need a list of the current tuts, I'm sure I or another user can give you the links.
dung8604 said:
Regarding wifi, there is a wide range of opinions. Mine works very well, but others do not. Android does not run off sd card, as touchpad does not have a slot for it. My basic understanding is that it partitions a portion of the hard drive for android and uses the rest as a faux "sdcard".
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Click to collapse
Yes, you end up with WebOs, Android, and a shared data area that is called "sdcard" under Android and visible from a PC.
The WiFi issues can usually be overcome if the WiFi router is yours. If you have to connect to an encrypted WiFi network e.g. at school, that could be an issue.
The range of apps for Android is much wider, including some very nice read along (or read to you) books. But switching to Android means they have to be bought again.
I LOVE the look and feel of WebOS, but I'm a die hard android fan. With wifi being spotty at best on android, I'd stick with WebOS for now. But like the previous posts have said, you can dual boot both OS (just set WebOS to the default in moboot)
wifi fix
There is a "fix" for the wifi. Just install Rohan's Mod. It works beautifully. I don't have any wifi issues at all.
There's another thing that "fixes" the Wifi issue. Set your router to use one of the lower channels - I suggest 1-3, but anything below 6 is good. Then reconnect to it with your Touchpad, and you're good. There's been some issues in the upper channels, mainly with the fact that CM can support up to channel 14, but nothing in North America is legally licensed to use those channels. So set your regulatory domain to 11, your router to a lower channel, and you're golden.
They are worried that it won't run as smoothly as it does currently with WebOS on it.
Cm9 Runs extremely smooth
They are worried about loosing the few apps that they have purchased on Web-OS.
They wont lose any apps you can always reboot to web-os
They are worried about not all of the features working on it.
Almost about every works expect for the camera and you could always switch back to web-OS and use the camera.
One thing i think you might find a problem is that Android might be to complex for her
nyamd20 said:
They are worried that it won't run as smoothly as it does currently with WebOS on it.
Cm9 Runs extremely smooth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM9 (at least Alphas/official nightlies without overclock) is far behind the latest WebOS in term of interface smoothness.
OP, Battery drain is rather big, and if you'd allow it to discharge to 0%, you wouldn't be able to charge it from Android until you reboot to webos (which could be tricky) and charge it some time from there. Camera doesn't work, mic doesn't work, there are some force closes here and there, and even reboots sometimes.
Overall, don't think that current state of TP Android is suitable for non-geek person, and, as i understand, your niece is extremely non-geek. Better stick with WebOS for now, or get ready to explain stuff to her.
Yea Def put android on it. You wont lose webos if she doesnt like android. So you can give the child a choice.
Related
I've had my gtab now for over a month and I just installed my first ROM last week. I went with the Calkulin+Clemsyn V6 for the 1.2 BL. So far I have to say I love it but I don't know what it really excels at. Therefore, I thought maybe you guys could help a noob out and at the same time be able to do a bit of bragging about how bad a$$ your tablet is. What I would like to know is:
1. Share with the community about your bad a$$ setup. What do you have? What can it do? What makes it so bad a$$? And what are its cons?
2. What are some of the must have apps? What makes them a must have?
3. Can someone tell me what my ROM really excels at doing? Every ROM is especially good for something? What can mine do other than just being really fast and stable?
Just thought this would be fun for everyone to see what each of us have done with such a powerful blank slate and at the same time maybe get some ideas from each other on how to improve our own setups. Not to mention maybe a bit of bragging, which we all like to do, especially when you have an audience that can appreciate it. I try to brag to my gf about how bad a$$ the gtab is but since she knows nothing about tech toys, it is lost on her. So everyone whip out there metaphorical "you know what" and let's start measuring lol.
Well, speed and stability really is a universal need for you to do anything. I use mine for presentations, showing people autocad sketches, and reading and writing stuff at work. It really is a cheap and light weight way for me to achieve most of the things I'd normally do with a laptop.
My "girlfriend" just finished her graduate degree in something medical (trying to keep a level of anonymity here). She's a tech dummy, so I got her a transformer with a docking station for her to deal daily with her patients.
I use mine for research and school. I use adobe PDF to review lecture notes, I use Droidiris to search the web for pictures of medical $hit I have to learn (and just searching images too, searching "lazers" gave me an hour of solid lolz)
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
I'm running a red&black theme with a red glowing Keyboard, black&white background and black and white app icons. Its a simple mix of black,white,and red that to me is sassy as hell.
I use wiimote controller app to play snes and GBA games with a wiimote through Bluetooth. (Which blows people away when they see it)
I got Netflix, I got hulu and I got xda access, I am in love with this 2lb piece of plastic almost as much
as I am my wife. Luckily my wife has the specific ports needed to mount my other tab and transfer
data to internal SD.
Yes... we have a kid...
That's why that last part is funny.... not just because I said "mount" in a non technical refference but that I referenced her lady bits as internal SD and my genes as data.
Sounds pretty sweet
Mantara said:
I use mine for research and school. I use adobe PDF to review lecture notes, I use Droidiris to search the web for pictures of medical $hit I have to learn (and just searching images too, searching "lazers" gave me an hour of solid lolz)
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
I'm running a red&black theme with a red glowing Keyboard, black&white background and black and white app icons. Its a simple mix of black,white,and red that to me is sassy as hell.
I use wiimote controller app to play snes and GBA games with a wiimote through Bluetooth. (Which blows people away when they see it)
I got Netflix, I got hulu and I got xda access, I am in love with this 2lb piece of plastic almost as much
as I am my wife. Luckily my wife has the specific ports needed to mount my other tab and transfer
data to internal SD.
Yes... we have a kid...
That's why that last part is funny.... not just because I said "mount" in a non technical refference but that I referenced her lady bits as internal SD and my genes as data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your gtab sounds pretty sweet. The Netflix and Hulu are a couple of the things that I would like for mine to do. It may do those things now, but I haven't tried them yet. I like the customization with the colors that you did. It sounds like you have taken yours in a direction similar to where I would like to see mine at some point. I'm trying to learn which ROM does what, and what makes one better than another. Once I get that all figured out, I'll make my customization a bit more permanant. This is awesome. You guys keep posting your own bada$$ gtablet setups and customizations. I look forward to reading about them.
Mantara said:
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a list/remember what you removed?
diablokicks said:
Do you have a list/remember what you removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this as a guide,
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Barebones
It tells you what's safe to remove and what's not from cyanogen mods. It also tells you the free way to remove apps using terminal. I personally use system app uninstaller, it was a buck and is a worthwhile investment. Sets up a slick UI for deleting both system apps and normal apps.
In most cases if you have a favorite browser(I use dolphin 5.1) you can delete stock. Same with keyboard(I use better keyboard 8), launcher(I use VTL), video player(I use FLV player), music player (I use power amp).
Other things like private virtual network or stock live wallpapers that most don't use can go in the bin as well.
Hope that helps
As far as customization goes cm7 has a good theming app stock and free themes in the market. Vegan 5.1 has some sweet themes made by GTO777 in the apps and themes thread.
When I was shopping for ROMs GoodIntentions suggested that I might like Calkulin/Clemsym 1.5 V6. He was right. I like it for what I've been able to do with it. I didn't want to start customizing my tab just willy nilly without knowing what my ROM's capability was. Maybe you guys could point me in the right direction if I tell you what I want to do. Then you could tell me if it's even possible to do it with this ROM. I would like to be able to run the dolphin browser but was unable to find it in the market. I would aso like to be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, and various formats of video (Xvid, Avi, Mp4, etc.). The swype keyboard found on my cell phone would also be awesome. I'd like to be able to connect to my cell via bluetooth so that I could put the pictures and video from it on my gtab. This blows my mind why this simply doesn't work out of the box. Finally I would like to tether to my cell via USB. The reason I want it USB is because my phone gets really hot when tethering with wifi, which will cause the phone to shut down. Not to mention it can't be good for it. Please help me out guys and keep posting your setups too. Mantara has some great ideas he used in making his tab personal and it gets me thinking of stuff to do to mine.
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
Netflix only works on cm7 with some slight modifications and vegan 5.1 with a patch that breaks YouTube to get Netflix.
Hulu is available by using a modified flash apk. You can find the most recent modified apk on this thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1077914
you just need to turn flash to always on and user agent to desktop in your browser.
Here is dolphin 4.6, not the newest but its stable and plays well with hulu. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7828279/Dolphin Browser HD_4.6.1.apk
I heard there is a swype designed for tablets. Haven't used it yet but I know there is a thread in apps and themes all about getting swype to work.
That's all I can think of now, I wil edit if I think of anything more
Using Easytether
Mantara said:
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
I've been able to tether my laptop to my phone using Easytether. It works really well eventhough it's a free version. The thing is that requires software to be loaded on both the phone and the laptop. That software on the phone is for Windows so I haven't figured out how to make it work in the gTablet. Is Barnacle different in how it functions? Is there software for both the phone and the tablet? Explain how it works if you don't mind. I would love to figure this out.
As a side note, I would love to see a picture of your tablet homepage and keyboard. Could you get a screen shot? I gotta check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DarkHorse281 said:
Mantara said:
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
I've been able to tether my laptop to my phone using Easytether. It works really well eventhough it's a free version. The thing is that requires software to be loaded on both the phone and the laptop. That software on the phone is for Windows so I haven't figured out how to make it work in the gTablet. Is Barnacle different in how it functions? Is there software for both the phone and the tablet? Explain how it works if you don't mind. I would love to figure this out.
As a side note, I would love to see a picture of your tablet homepage and keyboard. Could you get a screen shot? I gotta check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's some quick shots. Color Is odd because the crap free screen shot app is crap and couldn't get shots of red browser theme or the red and black Google Widgets and powerstrip because said crappy app only allows 3 free screen shots. But you can get the point from the pics I did get.
I see,your phone is win mob, barnacle is for android phones. No software on recipient end, only on parent phone. Works good though, I used to play Xbox 360 online through my barnacle adhoc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, I went back and reread my previous post. I made no sense. I have a Samsung Galaxy Indulge a la MetroPCS. So it is an Android phone. The problem is the software that I suppose I would need to load on the tablet to tether it to the phone. I had to do it to the laptop so it would connect to the phone, so it only make ssense that I should have to do it to the tablet as well. I have Easytether on my phone, no problem. What about software for the tablet? The laptop software is for windows so I can't load it on the tablet, and the software on the phone isn't what I need for the tablet even though they are both android. Seems really confusing, but it's really quite simple. Maybe it would be easier if you told me how you were able to make this connection using a barnacle USB connection. No wifi. Make sense lol?
Nice looking tablet by the way. I looked for some themes or skins for mine but I'm using VTL launcher and everything in the market says it's for ADW launcher. My name must have been Murphy ina previous life lol. Thanks for your help and input.
Most adw themes work in vtl. Vtl is built around adw source.
Barnicle makes a wifi connection available for your gtab to use. It links to your phones wifi and passes on its 3g signal. Only need to have barnacle on the phone. I have never actually "physically" tethered an android so I can't offer any advice on that.
I'm kinda screwed there I guess. I haven't rooted my phone yet, so it won't act like a wifi hot spot. Power control plus will do it but no one can break the wp2 encryption. Therefore I'm limited to the usb tether but those that have rooted their phones report extreme heat coming from it while in wifi tether mode. Not sure what to do about an internet connection since there appears to be no usb software at this moment. Thanks for the help though.
Are there no more cool gtabs out there that you guys would like to share. I can't believe that you guys aren't more proud of your work and that you aren't will ing to share your efforts with the Android community.
I replaced the viewsonic 3 birds logo with a united federation of planets in star trek logo. And for the boot animation, I made my own star trek computer console look-alike animation that says establishing link to main federation database.
DarkHorse281 said:
Are there no more cool gtabs out there that you guys would like to share. I can't believe that you guys aren't more proud of your work and that you aren't will ing to share your efforts with the Android community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to be a thread crapper, but there are tons of threads here on these forums with apps, etc. For example, there's one which has peoples' home screens. Perhaps you should check those out.
read that thread...not what I'm looking for
TarheelGrad1998 said:
Not to be a thread crapper, but there are tons of threads here on these forums with apps, etc. For example, there's one which has peoples' home screens. Perhaps you should check those out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read through that thread and it only focuses on themes and home page screen shots. I want to know what people have been able to make their tablets do as well as seeing some of the visual stuf they've come up with. An example of what I'm talking about is some have synced their SMS with google voice and are able to use their tables to text. Some are making phone calls, using skype, watching hulu and netflix, and some have even turned their tabs into mobile nostalgia gaming devices. There are tutorials on how to do some of this stuff, but not all of it. I am interested in meeting these people and seeing how well these operations function, and how they did it. The other thread doesn't share this information and rreally doesn't go beyond the visual aspect of the homescreen. I hav noticed one thing for sure in these forum and that is that people love to brag about what they can do with thier tablets. I was merely offering them an opportunity to do so. What can yours do?
Hi, didn't want to clutter the "bad news" thread nontechnical noob questions. If the tablet won't boot from SD
1) Will it still possibly be rootable where I could side load apps? I could live with the stock ROM if I could sideload apks, maybe.
2) Am I right to assume even if it is rootable where I can add apps, it is much more likely that I could brick it somehow?
Dang, just really crappy timing. I actually bought gift cards to get it (so I could get some cash-back deals). I can't return the cards. I guess if this thing isn't worth it, I can use them to get a refurb color.
Very surprised and disappointed they went this route (if they really did).
Damn
Same here, I could live with side-loading. But I think it's a bit early to write off bootable SD. Hopefully it's here relatively soon as I'd like to leave the stock experience in place for family members.
As an aside, I've got the original Nook Color (rooted of course), as well as the Transformer. Even without the benefit of ICS, I found that I still resorted to grabbing the NC for my bedtime reading (Google Reader and articles in RIL, rather than actual books). 7" is perfect, 10" a bit unwieldy for me.
I picked up the NT today and am very happy I did. It's a nail in the coffin for the Transformer, gonna sell it as the NT will meet all my needs. I'm saying this based on the stock experience with the expectation that we'll have ROMs at some point.
But soon enough we'll have a) root and b) ICS on the NT. It's gonna be sweet!
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm yet to see an Android device that XDA geniouses couldn't root.
Including the crazy-ass encrypted Craporola devices.
Rooting might be doable, but if the bootloader is encrypted, then installing a custom ROM like CM7 might be out of the question.
Case and point: look at how much agony the owner of the Motorola Milestone (the GSM version of the Droid) went through. Far as i know, they just got the official Froyo ROM within last few month, and most likely won't get GB, ever.
DarkDvr said:
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm yet to see an Android device that XDA geniouses couldn't root.
Including the crazy-ass encrypted Craporola devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i figured as much but wasn't sure if there was something out there I wasn't aware of. I'm using an Atrix. Despite Motorola's best efforts, the community eventually got into this thing.
gordon1hd1 said:
Rooting might be doable, but if the bootloader is encrypted, then installing a custom ROM like CM7 might be out of the question.
Case and point: look at how much agony the owner of the Motorola Milestone (the GSM version of the Droid) went through. Far as i know, they just got the official Froyo ROM within last few month, and most likely won't get GB, ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would suck but I think I could live with it. I just noticed that some of the nook apps are the tablet version rather than the phone versions. Evernote and Netflix, for example. Root and sideloading would probably suffice, although B&N would lose some goodwill.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
I could honestly care less about custom roms or anything like that. I'm fine with the NT stock experience.
But sideloading would be a very very good thing, just so I can get the few apps I'd like to use onto the thing. I'm only gonna use it to consume media- but I'd like to decide which apps I use to do that.
Rooting will get most users far, but compare to a full blown CM7 rom, there still many short coming with just root.
Example:
1. Tablet soft buttons, the CM7 tablet soft key are vital in making a lot of side loaded application work in NC.
2. Custom keyboard. one of my favorite app on NC is the thumb keyboard, which make typing on the NC in landscape orientation feel natural. With Root, the user can install the keyboard, but won't be able to enable the keyboard, since B&N remove some of the menus settings.
3. Honeycomb and ICS, with the source code for ICS just came out, CM9 is on the horizon, without unlocking the bootloader, NT won't get a taste of either.
So Root is a great start, but for many android hackers and purist, it is not enough.
1. Tablet soft buttons, the CM7 tablet soft key are vital in making a lot of side loaded application work in NC.
I have button savior on my manually rooted NC. Works fine. Am I missing something?
2. Custom keyboard. one of my favorite app on NC is the thumb keyboard, which make typing on the NC in landscape orientation feel natural. With Root, the user can install the keyboard, but won't be able to enable the keyboard, since B&N remove some of the menus settings.
I got the Palm input keyboard working on my rooted NC. Worked great. I forget what I swapped it out for, but it wasn't a problem - you just have to tell the device that your preferred keyboard just happens to be named the same as its preferred keyboard and lives in the same place.
3. Honeycomb and ICS, with the source code for ICS just came out, CM9 is on the horizon, without unlocking the bootloader, NT won't get a taste of either.
This may be for the best.
I'm looking at Honeycomb now on a 10 incher, and I'm not as happy with what I'm seeing as I'd hoped. ADB is more challenging, and putting files on the device via mass storage device is right out, which means a lot of my tools for managing content on it are gone, too - manually copy over stuff that Calibre used to just take care of? Bleargh.
Honeycomb pretty much requires your real, fast computer talk to your honeycomb device, aka a ****ty slow computer, over a serial link as if it were a peer, rather than just being able to get the storage and write files to it.
And if you use linux, your good, fast computer can't even talk to the ****ty, slow one that google's deliivered because they didn't bothered to warn anyone about this far enough ahead of time for the linux folks to really get working on trying to port over that stupid set of media player commands. Who knew that anyone would all of a sudden decide they were going to pronounce a brain-dead media player communications interface as workable?
Once you unplug and being passively consuming your pr0n again, the tablet's all good and pretty.
http://soledadpenades.com/2011/06/12/honeycomb-mtp-and-linux/
Not to second guess anyone here, but there always OTHER ways of doing things. Witness the Droid X where even with an encrypted bootloader an exploit was found called 2nd Init (http://cvpcs.org/blog/2011-06-14/2nd-init._what_it_is_and_how_it_works) which allowed the Droid X to get custom roms (albeit with the stock kernel) such as CM7 and MIUI.
jhanford said:
Not to second guess anyone here, but there always OTHER ways of doing things. Witness the Droid X where even with an encrypted bootloader an exploit was found called 2nd Init (http://cvpcs.org/blog/2011-06-14/2nd-init._what_it_is_and_how_it_works) which allowed the Droid X to get custom roms (albeit with the stock kernel) such as CM7 and MIUI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I truly hope that it won't be such an involved process for us, but still... very cool to read what the genius devs put together as a workaround on other devices. We just need to hope that they jump on the Nook Tablet like they did the NC.
jhanford said:
Not to second guess anyone here, but there always OTHER ways of doing things. Witness the Droid X where even with an encrypted bootloader an exploit was found called 2nd Init (http://cvpcs.org/blog/2011-06-14/2nd-init._what_it_is_and_how_it_works) which allowed the Droid X to get custom roms (albeit with the stock kernel) such as CM7 and MIUI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Defy, and it need too 2ndInit to start custom rom like CM7/MIUI.
I hope that NT will be no boot-locked, but if it's the sadly truth I think that port 2ndInit will be not too much hard.
well we already figured out how to side load apps. they dont pop up in NT's GUI, but with 2 buttons you can launch Go Launcher and within there you can see everything you installed.
I would actual prefer to have the stock Rom, just rooted. I had CM 7.1 on my NC but removed it because I actually do use the NC as bookreader and that would the primary use for a NT. I have a TF and soon a TF Prime for the full tablet experience, which IMHO really needs a 10 inch or bigger screen.
Hey guys so i just got a shipment notification so I'll be picking up my touchpad tonight.
Where should i start?
Install Android? I'm very comfortable with Android.
install another operating system?
Good apps? Games?
Looking for a good browser.
Basically any recommendations for a touchpad noob I'd appreciate.
Thanks a lot
Congrats!
Honestly, I would try out WebOS for a while. I was surprised how much I liked it. I haven't bothered to install Android (this coming from an Android phone and Nook Color with CM7). For starters, do a system update to get the latest WebOS version. Then, make sure everything works (ie. don't go and void your warranty right away ). There are some free apps you may as well peruse and download in the HP App Catalog.
It's not really necessary anymore since the latest OS update brought a lot of performance improvements, but you may want to check out the Preware patches once you're satisfied with the hardware.
I don't think there are too many other OS options yet aside from CM7. However, ICS, Ubuntu, and Windows 8 are all good possibilities in the future.
FWIW, the stock WebOS browser is so-so. There are a few patches to add some features, but it's still a sore spot compared to all of the options on Android (why can't WebOS get Opera or Dolphin?!). That said, it does handle most pages very well.
Thanks for all the good info!
System updates, are those done via computer or ota?
I assume most software changes such as adding cm7 can be undone for warranty purposes?
I have cm7 on my desire hd so i should be able to use wifi hotspot on my phone and pick it up on the touchpad?
Usually i like to do a bit more research on a device but i got caught up in a $99 black Friday sale so i panicked and bought
The system updates can be done OTA. I believe you can do them through the computer too though if it's easier, or you run into any issues. There is an app/settings pane in the menu to do it.
For the most part -- yeah you should be able to revert to stock if you need to. I'm not sure what breadcrumbs all the patches and CM7, etc, leave behind, but it should be possible. There's something called WebOS Doctor that should be able to restore as well. That said, HP's support has so far seemed incredible for a discontinued product, so it might not even be a problem unless the mods really did break it.
I think wifi tethering should be ok, but I can't say for sure. I think there is a thread somewhere around here about that or ad-hoc networking.
Lol... I know what you mean. I bought mine during the fire sale weekend with barely an idea of what I would do with it.
So i got my new toy last night. Everything is working good. Did the system update on webos ota. Seems like a pretty cool OS. I did find it slightly laggy though while scrolling, surfing, loading programs. I also installed cm7, only took about 10 mins and it's an OS I'm more comfortable working in (plus i needed dolphin browser for proper tabs, i wanted to pull my hair after surfing with the Web OS "tabs"). For being in alpha stages i must say it's very usable.
What are some reasonable expectations on battery life? Webos or Android, standby or "heavy" use?
All in I'm quite happy with my initial testing, especially for the price!
brad808 said:
So i got my new toy last night. Everything is working good. Did the system update on webos ota. Seems like a pretty cool OS. I did find it slightly laggy though while scrolling, surfing, loading programs. I also installed cm7, only took about 10 mins and it's an OS I'm more comfortable working in (plus i needed dolphin browser for proper tabs, i wanted to pull my hair after surfing with the Web OS "tabs"). For being in alpha stages i must say it's very usable.
What are some reasonable expectations on battery life? Webos or Android, standby or "heavy" use?
All in I'm quite happy with my initial testing, especially for the price!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really about 7 - 8 hours on android and webos
Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk
I think I'm going to wait awhile on mine. I'm beginning to see others having certain issues that a n00by like me would probably not enjoy All & all I'm happy with my rooted 1.40 Nook. I may just wait for the SD card version of CM7 to play with it. I sure do admire these guys that know how to work with this code and develop OS systems Sure wish I knew how to do this stuff.
I'm perfectly content with the way I currently have my NT set up. Rooted, OTA-blocked, using an alternate launcher, and having a shortcut to the default launcher if I want to read something or browse the Nook Store.
Now if CM9 becomes available on the NT, I might have to give that a shot.
I think some of the main features that a custom ROM such as CM7 can provide are bluetooth and multi-touch (which isn't available yet but currently under development). I'm not sure that's available for a rooted stock ROM. I saw some video of someone using a PS3 controller to play emulated games on their Nook Color so I can imagine that would be a great freature to add on.
I'm going to wait until they do further testing with CM7, at least until they get to a beta stage but I think it's the way to go for me.
I'm just waiting for a sure way to access the nook library. I have some magazine subscriptions that I don't wanna give up.
One of the main reasons I got the Nook Tab is because I saw that people were working on getting CM7/9 going on it. I had a $250 gift card from work to B&N, so it was a winning situation for me. I doubt I would have bought it if CM7 hadn't been on the horizon. I've actually never used it stock, I had it rooted and all B&N stuff stripped off within hours of buying it.
I definitely recommend flashing CM7 unless you are completely married to the stock B&N Stuff, then wait for the SD install method. Flashing CM7 is easier than most of the steps required to root, side load, fix unreadable menu's, etc, all the dumb crap I had to d to make this thing usable.
Almost everything is available in the market. No sideloading, no finding apps with your browser and tricking the market, almost everything works. All my important apps and favorite games have worked with no issues.
Menu's are all standardized, everything is readable, all options are open, just fantastic having all those little pieces working in every app with no fuss or hacks.
Rebooting is so much faster, not sure if it was all the apps I had or what but my reboots took forever with my stock rooted, now are 3 times quicker.
The thing just feels snappier, not sure if it is a placebo effect or not, but definitely feels faster.
Overall it feels like a tablet instead of a hacked e-reader. There may be some bugs that surface and a few things are being looking to, but so far so good
CM7 was the reason why I'm going to get a NOOK... well and the books lol
I installed the B & N app from the market and everything works great. I have been able to use my existing account to purchase books i have been able to move books over onto the Sd card in .epub format and read them. Make sure to fix permissions andcormate cache anddevlick cache if you are updating from first CM7 alpha.
Yeah i love cm7
I was nervouse when i first did it but it turned out all right in the end. Now ive got CWM and titaniumbsckup functionality and i can flash any rom or anything. Not only is cm7 a great new version of the OS but it opens the door to all the other roms that you could ever want to install. Only complaint is that the HD youtube videos lag, but the devs know about it and are fixing it. Id highly recommend it. Hope you take the plunge!
-Silente
Sent from my CM7 Nook Tablet
the only thing that worries me is that I have 1 week left to decide if i want to buy the 2 year warranty. what would happen if i need to send in for repairs if it has cm7?
Lined up all the tools I might need if disaster were to strike. Stuck the zip onto an SD card & went for it. I'm not looking back. Warranty? I won't be needing no stinkin' warranty.
The Lord has indeed Blessed me this day!
Swyped from my BNTV250 CM7-2a using Tapatalk
Greatness83 said:
the only thing that worries me is that I have 1 week left to decide if i want to buy the 2 year warranty. what would happen if i need to send in for repairs if it has cm7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be a big VOID if they could tell. If it won't boot up not much chance of that
pepi4 said:
That would be a big VOID if they could tell. If it won't boot up not much chance of that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed CM7 and messed around with it for a day or so. It worked great - with the exception of streaming video. Where HULU and Vulkano (slingbox-like DVR that works with my Directv) were smooth as silk with rooted NT on CWM, the CM7 vers. video would briefly "hang/stutter" from time to time - a bit annoying. Others have reported this same issue, and I know that the Devs are working on this.
Also, I lost all of my B&N stuff - not a huge loss - but think I may wait for the SD card version which, if I understand correctly, will allow me to hang on to that.
That said, I reverted back to the stock 1.4.0 using the "magiccard" method, and then re-rooted with Albert's SD card method (vers 4.50). So, assuming the unit keeps working (will boot,) does anyone know if there is a way for B&N to tell that a unit has ever been on CM7/rooted? I thought the magiccard method basically wiped the partitions and put the stock rom back on.
Thanks! Bob
pepi4 said:
I think I'm going to wait awhile on mine. I'm beginning to see others having certain issues that a n00by like me would probably not enjoy All & all I'm happy with my rooted 1.40 Nook. I may just wait for the SD card version of CM7 to play with it. I sure do admire these guys that know how to work with this code and develop OS systems Sure wish I knew how to do this stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purchased my nook tab specifically to tinker with and have no investment in BnN ecosystem. So far I've have some really frustrating problems that took a week or two of research and tinkering to work out. It has been a great learning experience. I now know a little about the inner workings of the Android OS and have a functional tablet to play with while the wife watches Netflix. Getting CM 7 working gave me a real sense of accomplishment. Before getting the tab for xmas I only had experience rooting my Droid 3 (one click method at that), So I am a real n00b too. I just went into this wanting to tackle my own problems. My advice, if you like what you've got, don't fix what ain't broke. - yes I am a hillbilly thankyaverymuch!
2nd post in xda sent from nook tab CM7
I'll try it out if/when an SD bootable version comes out. I read and buy a lot of graphic novels and comic collections that are only viewable via the built-in reader.
For awhile I was just following on the developments and waiting till a stable version was released of CM7 because I was able to do what was needed with stock + root. The other day I decided to do some catching up in the NT scene and figured the CM7 Alpha12 looked pretty stable, so I gave it a shot. I am really glad that I did this, the NT just runs so much better than it did using the stock firmware + root. I am loving CM7 Alpha12 so far. If you were skeptical about installing CM7 due to it's Alpha status and possible bugs, as long as you haven't invested a ton of money into the B&N Store or stream a lot of video content. I think you should give it a shot because TEAM-B has been doing a great job.
Changed my mind and glad I did! !!! Loving CM7
I think I am going to wait for the SD version.
I think after a stable method to root/ block/ flash comes out that us non-devs can execute with consistent success I will try CM7. I am rooted - Thanks Indirect! - but I also had problems with the last time I tried CM7. At this point it's just not worth the extra work to try and fix a borked NT. Having said that, Veronica's ROM here:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1512373 is pretty awesome looking and I can't wait to try it out.
Post removed
I'm terrifically sorry - I've committed the noob crime of failing to search....and posting (inadvertently) in a thread that was already dead. I found the answer to my question. Sorry for the nuisance.
- Computerslayer
While cleaning the garage, I found my wife's old nook BNTV250. She said I could have it. So, I've been trying to get a custom rom on there.
I have experience with custom roms. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 running Philz and Lollipop as well as a Note 10.1 running TWRP and Kitkat. So, I have experience with successfully installing recoveries and flashing custom roms to devices.
This one isn't as easy for some reason.
I can get a rooted stock rom by following the directions here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyfWpBJpiE
but no matter what I try, I can't get any further than that.
When I tried to sign in with the google play store, I am told my password is bad (which it isn't). Then I get an email from google in my gmail account telling me that someone (which was me) has tried to sign in to my account but was denied because the device they were using is way too old. So, getting anything on to my device via the play store that I need, such as a terminal emulator, TWRP install, etc, is apparently out of the questions.
gapps won't flash without errors, so that is out of the question, too.
the included es file explorer won't see the internal SD card for a reason I haven't been able to figure out (yes, it has root access), so copying apk files over and installing them from there is out.
When I boot off of ann sd card, and attempt to flash custom recoveries from the internal storage, I am also unsuccessful. With TWRP, I get errors. With CWM, it says it was successful, but it isn't.
So, every road I go down to get CM on this thing is blocked.
Am I missing something, or did I just miss my window by not doing this two years ago?
xflbret said:
While cleaning the garage, I found my wife's old nook BNTV250. She said I could have it. So, I've been trying to get a custom rom on there.
Am I missing something, or did I just miss my window by not doing this two years ago?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try:
1. A factory reset
2. The instructions here---they worked for me as a noob.
That could leave you with CM 10.2. If you'd like something higher, this post might send you in the right direction after you succeed with CM 10.x, but it does become more complicated. Or you can just try to get there directly.
It can't be too late:fingers-crossed: There's life in that tablet yet!
Edit: I see that the CM 10.2 build is no longer posted over at Cyanogenmod. If you want to try it, let me know. I have the zip file.
Sorry, I haven't posted my update yet. I managed to find a solution to the problem with the included es file explorer. That allowed me to install some apk's like terminal emulator which allowed me to get TWRP on, and then the figurative flood gates were open from there.
I am disappointed. I flashed both liquid smooth kitkat, and a lollipop build. Neither are very responsive, and both seem to have great difficulties awakening from a sleeping state (the lollipop one was worse). I looked around, but couldn't find a kernel to flash. Is there a kernel we should be using to speed up these roms? If not, I think I will give up because I stand stand the slowness.
xflbret said:
Sorry, I haven't posted my update yet. I managed to find a solution to the problem with the included es file explorer. That allowed me to install some apk's like terminal emulator which allowed me to get TWRP on, and then the figurative flood gates were open from there.
I am disappointed. I flashed both liquid smooth kitkat, and a lollipop build. Neither are very responsive, and both seem to have great difficulties awakening from a sleeping state (the lollipop one was worse). I looked around, but couldn't find a kernel to flash. Is there a kernel we should be using to speed up these roms? If not, I think I will give up because I stand stand the slowness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read through some CM11 threads and was amazed at the different experiences people had, ranging from "works great" to "really sluggish". Speaking only from a logical perspective it seems to me that the more advanced OS you try to shoe-horn into an older device, the more likely you will exhaust (or at least severely task) its hardware resources. Like trying to install Windows 10 on a machine designed for XP with hardware that just barely meets the minimum requirements of Win 10.
All I can say is that CM 10.2 works "great" on my NT. I've yet to encounter an app that I wanted which would not run (of course, my wants may not match yours). I can read the newspaper, listen to music, Kodi runs great--I can even stream a video from the NT to my TV (which has an old laptop connected) using VLCDirect. So lots of life in the thing from my perspective. CM 10.2 does get cranky once in awhile, but a reboot sorts that out. I expect many newer tablets are the same in that respect.
Let me know if you change your mind and want to try CM10.2
nmyshkin said:
I read through some CM11 threads and was amazed at the different experiences people had, ranging from "works great" to "really sluggish". Speaking only from a logical perspective it seems to me that the more advanced OS you try to shoe-horn into an older device, the more likely you will exhaust (or at least severely task) its hardware resources. Like trying to install Windows 10 on a machine designed for XP with hardware that just barely meets the minimum requirements of Win 10.
All I can say is that CM 10.2 works "great" on my NT. I've yet to encounter an app that I wanted which would not run (of course, my wants may not match yours). I can read the newspaper, listen to music, Kodi runs great--I can even stream a video from the NT to my TV (which has an old laptop connected) using VLCDirect. So lots of life in the thing from my perspective. CM 10.2 does get cranky once in awhile, but a reboot sorts that out. I expect many newer tablets are the same in that respect.
Let me know if you change your mind and want to try CM10.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You talked me into it. I'll give 10.2 a shot. I'm assuming that's based on Jellybean. I think every app I want to use will still work on Jellybean.
Any recommended builds? Any recommended gapps?
xflbret said:
You talked me into it. I'll give 10.2 a shot. I'm assuming that's based on Jellybean. I think every app I want to use will still work on Jellybean.
Any recommended builds? Any recommended gapps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally located the 10.x downloads here. I'm using the last stable build, 10.2.1 (Android equivalent 4.3.1). You should use the gapps package that is listed for 10.2 build here.
Like I said in an earlier post, I followed the excellent directions from digixmax here and while the initial boot was kind of confusing, things did sort themselves out. But that method assumes you are starting from stock. If you can't get back to there you'll need to try something else.
Once in a blue moon some app in the PlayStore will be listed as incompatible, I guess because Google can't quite figure out what to make of these modded tablets, even though the Android version is well within reach of CM 10.2. That happened recently to me with my local newspaper app. I just used this site to download the app outside the PlayStore and then side-loaded it. It installed and works just fine.
Good luck! I hope this all works to your satisfaction
Well, I installed CM 10.2. Everything works, albiet VERY slowly. I'm going to go google for a kernel now so I can do some overclocking. If I can't find one, then I'm afraid I'll have to let this go. It is just too slow and unresponsive the way it is to be productive.
xflbret said:
Well, I installed CM 10.2. Everything works, albiet VERY slowly. I'm going to go google for a kernel now so I can do some overclocking. If I can't find one, then I'm afraid I'll have to let this go. It is just too slow and unresponsive the way it is to be productive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry it didn't work out well for you. It's obvious to say, but either there is a hardware issue or something did not go right in the flashing. Otherwise no one would bother with these things.
You've probably already looked at this, but just in case, under Settings/Performance/Processor I show a resting CPU freq. of 300 MHz, the governor set at "interactive, and a max. CPU freq. of 1008 MHz. Theoretically you could try playing with those if you have the same figures, but I'm not sure where that would take you.
The only custom kernel I could find for this was for KitKat, so I reflashed with that. I clocked both the minimum and the maximum to 1200 MHz. Even at that, my Antutu benchmarks score was just under 14k, or less than half of the score for my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. I never got "great" results with this device so far, but the KK with the custom kernel is the best I have got so far. I'm tempted to try this KK kernel with the lollipop build to see what happens. If I do that, I'll report my results.
This device is over four years old now. Add to this that, at the time, it wasn't exactly designed to break any speed records. All it was intended to do is read ebooks, and play a few other select apps. No GPS, no bluetooth. I guess asking it to run today's resource intense apps like Facebook may be asking too much of it. But, for some weird reason, I can't let this go now. It is kind of like an electronic pet to me. I keep it by my easy chair, and I pick it up and start doing something with it quite often.
Yeah, I was just getting ready to point you toward the kernal for CM 11 but you got there without my direction.
It's really puzzling to me that your system seems so slow. Maybe mine is too! I've never owned a tablet before (I don't count my much-modded NST e-ink reader!) and this one running CM 10.2 seems just fine to me, certainly no worse than laptops I often work with. I have an inexpensive LG smartphone I just bought to use as an mp3 player after my much-loved Insignia Pilot finally died. It runs KitKat and seems about as responsive as my Nook Tablet, maybe slightly better, so I guess a lot is what we are used to.