hey guys,
looking to get an inexpensive tablet for the 3 year old for christmas, and found a good price on a refurb nook tablet. just a few simple questions....
1. how easy is it to root?
2. if i don't root, how easy is it to sideload apps?
3. can i install a different launcher (kid friendly)?
4. any tips or concerns giving this to a toddler?
i am pretty confident about the rooting (rooted htc hero, hp touchpad, galaxy nexus) but just wanted to get some opinions and ideas. the price is comparable to one of those cheap chinese tablets, so i figured i would explore this as it will probably be better supported, better constructed, and more durable.
thanks!
Thread moved. Please ensure you post in the correct sections of the forum. All questions belong here in Q&A.
Thanks
AvRS
rootbeer001 said:
hey guys,
looking to get an inexpensive tablet for the 3 year old for christmas, and found a good price on a refurb nook tablet. just a few simple questions....
1. how easy is it to root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty easy if you follow the instructions. I haven't had any issues.
2. if i don't root, how easy is it to sideload apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy if you happen to be on firmware 1.4.0, not so easy on any other firmware.
3. can i install a different launcher (kid friendly)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you root and install the Play Store, sure.
4. any tips or concerns giving this to a toddler?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have more than 1, expect them to fight over it (I have a 4 and 2 year old who want to play on mine constantly)
i am pretty confident about the rooting (rooted htc hero, hp touchpad, galaxy nexus) but just wanted to get some opinions and ideas. the price is comparable to one of those cheap chinese tablets, so i figured i would explore this as it will probably be better supported, better constructed, and more durable.
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought one of the cheap Chinese tablets you're talking about for my son for Christmas. The bonus is that it's pre-rooted, the drawback is there's no other development going on for it, but he won't care. And at $70 (now $80), it was cheaper than anything else.
thanks for the insight, lz.
after doing a little more research, i may just go with the boot off the microsd card for the time being. with that being said, i wanted to know what the most stable rom is right now. cm9 or cm10 and who's build? and the consensus is to go with a sandisk class 4 microsd, right?
again this will be for a toddler who shouldn't notice, but i want to give him something that won't freeze or crash on him every 30 minutes. he'll probably be playing toddler games or netflix.
rootbeer001 said:
thanks for the insight, lz.
after doing a little more research, i may just go with the boot off the microsd card for the time being. with that being said, i wanted to know what the most stable rom is right now. cm9 or cm10 and who's build? and the consensus is to go with a sandisk class 4 microsd, right?
again this will be for a toddler who shouldn't notice, but i want to give him something that won't freeze or crash on him every 30 minutes. he'll probably be playing toddler games or netflix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run AOKP and it's been rock solid for me. Pretty sure that most/all of the newer JB-based builds are going to be really stable.
Suggestion:
For whatever launcher you use, and I recommend something other than the stock B&N one, grab an icon pack (zip file) that includes whatever games/apps you want for your toddler, and use Desktop Visualizer to set up larger shortcuts (mine are 2x2 with 2 at 4x4) for their hands. Seems to work really well.
Games my toddlers love:
Angry Birds (all of them, but I think the Star Wars one won't run unless you upgrade to 5-touch, which means not being able to also run stock)
Where's my Perry?
Where's my Water?
Saving Yello
thanks again for the quick reply. do you know if 5 touch AOKP will boot off of the SD card? will be getting the nt next week and possibly be hitting you up for more answers, if that's alright.
my son loves angry birds as well. he also likes sneezies and paplinko (no real educational value, though). he is usually pretty good with any educational app. loves the variety of being able to do anything.
rootbeer001 said:
thanks again for the quick reply. do you know if 5 touch AOKP will boot off of the SD card? will be getting the nt next week and possibly be hitting you up for more answers, if that's alright.
my son loves angry birds as well. he also likes sneezies and paplinko (no real educational value, though). he is usually pretty good with any educational app. loves the variety of being able to do anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if any of the 5-touch ROMs will run off of SD, but it is possible. I run mine internally, so I've never tried.
A little heads up regarding Star Wars, I'm currently running my NT on Cm7 (I know, right?) and SW is working fine on two touch.
Sent from my Nook Tablet using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 01:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
LZ, in the vein of this conversation, I've been pretty eager to upgrade to CM10, and was wondering if you have any experience with the following apps in your CM10 version...
Tapatalk
Facebook
Temple Run
Modern Combat
Order & Chaos (very important hehe)
Thanks in advance
Sent from my Nook Tablet using Tapatalk
Facebook yes, though not recently. I have it on my phone, so I don't really need to also have it on the tablet.
No for Tapatalk, but the XDA app runs just fine.
Haven't run any of the other ones, but I know at least Temple Run was a part of the focus on getting 5 touch working for us.
Related
This is a placeholder post.
So jazzed to see what is possible with this device!
I'm on board!
Have any dev's commited to developing for Nook Tablet?
Drewmungus said:
Have any dev's commited to developing for Nook Tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering the same thing. I'm looking at purchasing my first tablet and I'm having a hard time choosing between the KF and the NT.
DangKid said:
I'm wondering the same thing. I'm looking at purchasing my first tablet and I'm having a hard time choosing between the KF and the NT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, one of those two is going to be my first tablet. I have no intention of keeping either stock though, so the dev community is going to make or break it for me. I've heard nothing but good things about the original Nook Color community so I'm leaning way more towards a Nook right now.
If the Nook Tablet is anything like a Nook Color, its going to be a modders playground.
the NC was by far the best android tablet on the market for the money. Just needed a bit of tweaks.
If BN took the NC and upgraded some Hardware, its going to be one sweet device.
WTH, where is my ICS port? It's been what.. 3 hours now.
Lazy developers...
(kidding, of course =)
after getting my hands on one today, it really is just new hardware in the same shell. the ui got a little bit of a makeover too but it's still pretty familiar stuff. overall it felt very snappy.
The B&N by our house has them in stock and on sale. I just picked one up. Never having the original Nook color to compare with, I can't comment on that but so far it's a nice little tablet. I really only picked it up for the eventual root and port action.
I'm curious about the K Fire as well, but the lack of SD card slot made me think that rooting, flashing and overall modding would be a pain. I've got 2 weeks before I change my mind and pick that one up instead. Either way, I'm excited!
I am not an Android development expert but....
I have seen that the ICS sourcecode can be built for the Pandaboard which has the same processor of the new Nook Tablet (TI OMAP4430).
Does this mean that the ICS ROM could run on the Nook Tablet as well? What am I missing here?
Thanks!
C.
connor32 said:
I am not an Android development expert but....
I have seen that the ICS sourcecode can be built for the Pandaboard which has the same processor of the new Nook Tablet (TI OMAP4430).
Does this mean that the ICS ROM could run on the Nook Tablet as well? What am I missing here?
Thanks!
C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not just a CPU thing. Every hardware need his own drivers.
Surely soon we will have a full port of ICS for our NookTablets, but now we have still no ROOT, so... just be patient
CM9 will arrive maybe in 2 months, MIUI on middle Dec.
We need Autonooter first.
Seems like the KF has already been rooted.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/16/kindle-fire-gets-rooted-with-one-click-paves-the-way-for-amaz/
Nook Tabled FTW
well im going to buy a Nook Tablet, cuz SD Card Slot and double size Space and RAM is really making the difference between the KF and Nook Tablet. i just hope that enough Developers would see that the same way and buy Nook Tablet so we can get KickASS Custom ROMS and goodies
Drewmungus said:
Have any dev's commited to developing for Nook Tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm tempted to expand my kernel hacking to OMAP - but it's hard to justify when I already have a Samsung 10.1...
Has kernel source been posted yet?
Entropy512 said:
I'm tempted to expand my kernel hacking to OMAP - but it's hard to justify when I already have a Samsung 10.1...
Has kernel source been posted yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do eeeeeeeet!!!
Entropy512 said:
I'm tempted to expand my kernel hacking to OMAP - but it's hard to justify when I already have a Samsung 10.1...
Has kernel source been posted yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt see it being released, but it looks like BN has good attitude towards rooting, as mentioned in other threads.
But yeah, please help us get this thing opened up, this would be an incredible tablet - powerful and small.
It makes me a tad sad to see the KF get rooted already and the NT has had little to no progress. I hope development picks up soon. It's kind of depressing to see Amazon stealing the thunder from the little guy.
____________________________________________________
Sent from NookColor CM7 uSD using Tapatalk
japzone said:
It makes me a tad sad to see the KF get rooted already and the NT has had little to no progress. I hope development picks up soon. It's kind of depressing to see Amazon stealing the thunder from the little guy.
____________________________________________________
Sent from NookColor CM7 uSD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that BN moved up the release date at the last minute.. not every store had them today and the BN.com website still said 11/18..
I'd be surprised if we don't get root before too long.
Yeah, I believe the KF is already officially on sale, while the only NT owners are some lucky preorder customers who managed to get the unit earlier than planned.
Remember, right now, technically the NT is still a "pre-launch" device.
My guess is kernel source will show up when the NT support pages go live (they don't exist yet.)
I was able to just walk in to a store and buy one yesterday without a pre-order.. but I suppose I was lucky.
Here's hoping for the kernel source soon.
It's already a really good device after you root and sideload apps. I just don't see the point in the reasoning of "WE CANT HAVE CUSTOM ROMS" I mean we're working on it but for the time being, you can make the tablet pretty freakin' great. I worked on mine and now it looks like it's running honeycomb aside from missing a few important settings that B&N so kindly ripped away from the tablet, we have everything working pretty well and to our liking. We will get custom roms but it might not be ICS but who cares? Anything is better than how our tabs came out of the box. I enjoy it and I despise the original firmware and I can honestly say, I now love this device.
If you keep the Nook Tablet, you're telling B&N you're OK with a locked bootloader.
As a consumer, voting with your wallet is the best way to make corporations listen.
While I do agree you should take a stand against a company, threatening to return something isn't the way to go about it. I think there is more formal methods but I'm not saying you're wrong, just wanting true proper justification for the act.
Indirect said:
It's already a really good device after you root and sideload apps. I just don't see the point in the reasoning of "WE CANT HAVE CUSTOM ROMS" I mean we're working on it but for the time being, you can make the tablet pretty freakin' great. I worked on mine and now it looks like it's running honeycomb aside from missing a few important settings that B&N so kindly ripped away from the tablet, we have everything working pretty well and to our liking. We will get custom roms but it might not be ICS but who cares? Anything is better than how our tabs came out of the box. I enjoy it and I despise the original firmware and I can honestly say, I now love this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you missed the Nook Color and how much fun it was. BN lied outright to me before I bought this device. Most people bought the nook color because they could make it "their own". That will never be possible with a locked bootloader. The NT has great specs, but so does the Droid Bionic and there is 2 developers on it in over 3 months. The kernel sucks so the roms can't improve things much.
I'm just disappointed. I was looking for a dual core, 7-inch tablet that didn't suck. When this came out I thought that it's perfect. I'll just load ICS onto it and it'll be a steal for $259! I guess B&N really ****ed me over this time.
Quite simply: I wouldn't return mine, but then again, I'm not a rebel non-conformist like some people are. I research a device and make sure it fits my needs and is to my liking before I buy it. I'm pretty happy with my little NT.
I don't know where you're getting you "rebel non-conformist" accusation from. Some of us just like the idea of buying cheap hardware and putting a tablet-centric operating system on it. What's wrong with that?
Granted, I should have looked it up sooner and figured out that the bootloader was locked. But that's my fault.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that, sounds great. But there's a saying, I believe it goes: 'You get what you pay for.' ;p I was mostly referring to the bro trying to throw around money to convince people to crack the bootloader or whatever that entails.
The only thing missing that would be supplied by a custom ROM like CM7 is copy/paste, but I suppose I can live without it for now.
I was considering returning the tablet but I've decided to keep it. For my money, it's the best device of it's kind out there and at this point I've tried quite a few. The only reason I was considering returning it is because of the fear that B&N might push out an update that will block the ability to sideload apps. I haven't been successful in my attempts to root the NT yet (still working on it) but now I'm determined to root it, if only to try and block automatic updates. If it wasn't for those updates, I'd happily remain unrooted forever. The ability to sideload apps is more than enough for me and that ability turns a really good tablet into a truly fantastic one.
If B&N closes the loophole, I will still be able to use the NT to read books and comics and watch movies and that will be great. But right now I can do so much more and it would be a shame to lose that ability. And so I continue my attempts to root and then block OTA updates. So far no success, but I'm gonna keep at it. I will do whatever I can do to help the NT remain as fantastic as it has been so far.
I wouldn't return mine. I knew going in the bootloader was locked. Sure, I'd love it if it wasn't, but I'm satisfied with sideloading and rooting. My NT is now pretty much perfect for my needs, and I consider it a steal for the price.
Personally, I'd rather see someone unlock the 11GB or so available internal memory reserved for B&N content. (Or maybe someone's already done that and I missed it, I dunno.) To me it's kind of equivalent to stores locking up RAM in an anti-theft cage - only I've purchased and taken my RAM home, but it's still locked in an anti-theft cage. I can only have it temp-unlocked each time I take it back to the same store and buy data from them.
Rotten idea, and it's the one I do hope B&N takes flak for- they push the Nook's OOB memory advantage hoping few realize their 16GB tablet is really a 1GB tablet for most uses. That's just a minor difference. Yeah, I know it has an SD slot, but I still want my internal 11GB's back as well.
tamasrepus said:
If you keep the Nook Tablet, you're telling B&N you're OK with a locked bootloader.
As a consumer, voting with your wallet is the best way to make corporations listen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if we are OK with it? Seems to me that most here are satisfied with it as is. I mean, yes I want CM7 or 9 but to be honest, if it never came I certainly wouldn't regret my purchase.
I've owned a lot of tablets and this by far has been the best experience. I even quit buying Kindle books and started buying nook books to support B and N further.
My main reason for supporting them however is that I don't want the last book store I can visit to go under. If that means no CM then so be it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had read about the locked bootloader before buying. I did wait until it was rooted and google market was available. I was watching the rooting thread as it was happening and bought it the next morning.
Pretty happy with my current NT setup right now, with all the apps I had when I had the NC. Only difference is that everything runs so much faster and smoother.
The thing I'm not happy with is the 1GB limit. To have almost 12 GB's sitting there that I have so little access to is beyond ridiculous.
Because we dont know if OTA updates will screw us over
dermotti said:
Because we dont know if OTA updates will screw us over
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize its able to be blocked by a hosts file? We just need the URLs for it
Sent by breaking the sound barrier
Keeping or not keeping the Nook Tablet is a personal choice for each person. There are arguments on each side and having people fighting over them in a thread is just asking for the flaming and stuff to start here to like it is on the rezound forums lol.
I respect a person's choice to keep their tablet, and they should respect my decision to return it if the bootloader isn't unlocked.
As of right now I feel mine was well worth the $250. It does almost everything you could want a Android device to do. The battery life is fantastic too. Also I fell the size is perfect too.
To all the people who want to *****, go over to the Barnes and noble forums and ***** if your going to, you have a much better chance of being heard. All your going to do here is piss off Devs and the other users.
Drewmungus said:
As of right now I feel mine was well worth the $250. It does almost everything you could want a Android device to do. The battery life is fantastic too. Also I fell the size is perfect too.
To all the people who want to *****, go over to the Barnes and noble forums and ***** if your going to, you have a much better chance of being heard. All your going to do here is piss off Devs and the other users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering this isn't the dev section (notice the "Nook Tablet General") section at the top this is EXACTLY the correct spot to complain. If you don't want to see upset people who were lied to complain then don't read the thread that is obviously (from the name "Why would you return the nook tablet") going to contain EXACTLY what you want to avoid.
---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------
tamasrepus said:
If you keep the Nook Tablet, you're telling B&N you're OK with a locked bootloader.
As a consumer, voting with your wallet is the best way to make corporations listen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10 chars
bogatyr said:
What if we are OK with it? Seems to me that most here are satisfied with it as is. I mean, yes I want CM7 or 9 but to be honest, if it never came I certainly wouldn't regret my purchase.
I've owned a lot of tablets and this by far has been the best experience.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you're satisfied. You have a new toy, and right now you're either enjoying features you haven't had before, or are enjoying features you /have/ had before, but on a faster device or new screen size.
Being satisfied now does not equal being satisfied later though. Eventually you will wish you could upgrade your OS without having to buy new hardware, but that may not be possible.
More importantly though, sending the message to OEMs that we accept the restrictions they impose buy buying locked down devices only motivates them to do it again with future devices.
I'm voting with my wallet.
Thing is, if the bootloader was unlocked, I'd buy instantly, and most likely use the device stock for quite a while before installing any ROMs. That would at least allow a chance for me to try out the B&N book store service. By not buying, no chance. Hopefully they consider this and provide a solution.
thatdude90210 said:
The thing I'm not happy with is the 1GB limit. To have almost 12 GB's sitting there that I have so little access to is beyond ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zaptoons said:
Personally, I'd rather see someone unlock the 11GB or so available internal memory reserved for B&N content. (Or maybe someone's already done that and I missed it, I dunno.) To me it's kind of equivalent to stores locking up RAM in an anti-theft cage - only I've purchased and taken my RAM home, but it's still locked in an anti-theft cage. I can only have it temp-unlocked each time I take it back to the same store and buy data from them.
Rotten idea, and it's the one I do hope B&N takes flak for- they push the Nook's OOB memory advantage hoping few realize their 16GB tablet is really a 1GB tablet for most uses. That's just a minor difference. Yeah, I know it has an SD slot, but I still want my internal 11GB's back as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was discovered that rooting the device gave you access to this?
Does it seem like they will eventually figure out how to get custom roms and kernels, or is it still up in the air as to if its even possible. And I've read of the possibility of b&n doing an OTA update that would close the door on the current rooting method and side loading of apps, is there any reason to believe they would? Or is that just paranoid speculation.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Skimp Killah said:
Does it seem like they will eventually figure out how to get custom roms and kernels, or is it still up in the air as to if its even possible. And I've read of the possibility of b&n doing an OTA update that would close the door on the current rooting method and side loading of apps, is there any reason to believe they would? Or is that just paranoid speculation.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA updates to the BC broke rooting so I assume a OTA to the NT would do the same. Usually rooting was restored in a few days. Custom kernels are a different issue and currently is unknown.
Kindle has CM7 booting on it. may have to go for the kindle over the nook tablet. Custom roms and kernels are a big selling factor and the kindle seems much closer to that.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
posted in wrong thread.
Yeah, you should got the Kindle route. If CM7 is your main concern, then yes, Kindle is for you.
The NT has been out 2 weeks and its already being written off.
dkb218 said:
The NT has been out 2 weeks and its already being written off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... Sadly, I doubt the higher ups of B&N really care about that small 1% for whom this is a concern. I'm still on the fence myself, but for me it's a NT or just save my money and wait; The lack of uSD kills the KF for me and I don't need/want a tablet enough to justify anything with a higher pricetag.
dkb218 said:
Yeah, you should got the Kindle route. If CM7 is your main concern, then yes, Kindle is for you.
The NT has been out 2 weeks and its already being written off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its a little early to say its being written off. The awesome developers on this forum are still working on it, and probably others too. Even if the fully rooted device is as far as it goes, it is still a great device for the money.
dkb218 said:
Yeah, you should got the Kindle route. If CM7 is your main concern, then yes, Kindle is for you.
The NT has been out 2 weeks and its already being written off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sad but true. Stupid of B&N to lock the bootloader ... hopefully, bad sales will validate the point!
andTab said:
Sad but true. Stupid of B&N to lock the bootloader ... hopefully, bad sales will validate the point!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not likely. Stopped by B&N on the way from class today and saw 3-4 people walk out with the NT during the time(30 min?) I was hanging around talking to the "tech". They're still selling quite well, but time will tell if they can keep it up.
B&N couldn't care less about losing sales to those who aren't buying their low cost eReader to use as intended. There is little to no margin for selling it as a general purpose tablet so they really don't care that those who can't load a custom ROM aren't happy with their device. Lot's of more expensive tablets out there for those who want to do custom development and a Nook app for those who want to buy their online products.
Sent from my NookColor using XDA App
I wonder if the Kindle Fire is actually helping NT sales. The KF sell people on the idea of getting a 7" tablet, but they shop around and finds that the NT has better specs for a little more. They read reviews like Engadget that say the NT plays videos smoother. The NT is suddenly on their radar.
The average person wouldn't care a bit about the bootloader, though they might be disappointed to find out about the 1GB limit for own content.
thatdude90210 said:
I wonder if the Kindle Fire is actually helping NT sales. The KF sell people on the idea of getting a 7" tablet, but they shop around and finds that the NT has better specs for a little more. They read reviews like Engadget that say the NT plays videos smoother. The NT is suddenly on their radar.
The average person wouldn't care a bit about the bootloader, though they might be disappointed to find out about the 1GB limit for own content.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I understand correctly if the Nook is rooted apps install in the 15gb partition so rooted nooks have access to more than 1gb. Of course your average user isn't going to root their device.
GTOJim said:
If I understand correctly if the Nook is rooted apps install in the 15gb partition so rooted nooks have access to more than 1gb. Of course your average user isn't going to root their device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sideloaded apps also. You wanna move files to the B&N partition, you use root file manager to move.
I wouldnt mind buying apps if b&n actually had any in thier market. They dont have crap.
Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk
Atleast for me the NT led to a kindle sale. Custom roms and kernels are a big deal to me, and I'm guessing the kindle is a week or two away from CM7 and most likely CM9 as well. And maybe the devs figure out a way around NTs locked boot loader, but there also seems to be a good chance they don't. It was a simple decision.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Skimp Killah said:
Atleast for me the NT led to a kindle sale. Custom roms and kernels are a big deal to me, and I'm guessing the kindle is a week or two away from CM7 and most likely CM9 as well. And maybe the devs figure out a way around NTs locked boot loader, but there also seems to be a good chance they don't. It was a simple decision.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep reading on various forums that the locked bootloader is a Nook Tab killer. Why?????? Please educate an old man as to why this is such a big deal. Within 3 days and less than an hour of tapping, I was able to sideload Amazon App store the Whole Kindle store, Google and a whole host of other sites that have content and applications for free or for sale. Already there are people who have rooted the tablet. Please tell an ignorant old man WHY it is so important to unlock the bootloader. What would you do/have once you unlocked the bootloader that you can't do without? Is it just because the locked bootloader feels like a slap in the face to developers? I mean what more would you do to it that you can't already do with it locked down?
My Tab does everything and more than I'd ever do with a real tablet so I'm just very curious as to what all the fuss is about.
Custom ROMS and kernels allow you to really extend the life of your device (meaning the device won't seem outdated so quickly). The CPU can be overclocked, the voltage tweaked for better battery life, newer versions of the android OS can be uploaded, etc.
Back to the future
mohawkx said:
... Within 3 days and less than an hour of tapping, I was able to sideload Amazon App store the Whole Kindle store, Google and a whole host of other sites that have content and applications for free or for sale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question: What happens when B&N releases an automatic update (replacing your system and your downloaded apps) and it closes the hole that you used to install additional apps?
Answer: We don't know. Having a way around the bootloader (eg, booting SDcards) gives some assurance that we will be able to root future versions, allowing continued "unauthorized" apps.
mohawkx said:
I keep reading on various forums that the locked bootloader is a Nook Tab killer. Why?????? Please educate an old man as to why this is such a big deal. Within 3 days and less than an hour of tapping, I was able to sideload Amazon App store the Whole Kindle store, Google and a whole host of other sites that have content and applications for free or for sale. Already there are people who have rooted the tablet. Please tell an ignorant old man WHY it is so important to unlock the bootloader. What would you do/have once you unlocked the bootloader that you can't do without? Is it just because the locked bootloader feels like a slap in the face to developers? I mean what more would you do to it that you can't already do with it locked down?
My Tab does everything and more than I'd ever do with a real tablet so I'm just very curious as to what all the fuss is about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's why:
- A regular build of Android is better than the dumbed down version used in the nook tablet line.
- Ice Cream Sandwich is 10x better than Gingerbread.
- A tablet version of Android is better than smartphone version used in the nook.
Thanks everyone for the quick education. I understand much better now. It does appear that with a locked bootloader the customer is at the mercy of the vendor. They control the software, they control the hardware you just bought and paid for. I get it now. Sounds like I just rented a Barnes & Noble portal to their content. They can close the back door to any other apps anytime they choose. Almost doesn't seem fair.
I am thinking of getting a Touchpad and have started doing my research into Android roms and the processes around it. However I am getting a bit confused as to the overall steps, what is available, and how it all works.
So far I have gathered that it will end up being a dual boot. I have seen some mentioning about ClockworkMod, but then I have also seen other posts that say it has issues of some kind.
I guess I need a bit of a basic overview. How does the recovery work? Are all Roms CM7/9 based? How are they installed?
And the biggie, is it worth it? I love the specs and the price (looking at 145 for the 32gb model). But it is unsupported hardware so the question of lifespan comes up in my mind.
Thanks
Ok, I found this thread that helped a bit:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1305891
I am assuming the process is the same for all CM versions. However it mentions ClockworkMod as well, yet does not seem to use it. Is it even needed or is everything managed via the SDK?
calash said:
Ok, I found this thread that helped a bit:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1305891
I am assuming the process is the same for all CM versions. However it mentions ClockworkMod as well, yet does not seem to use it. Is it even needed or is everything managed via the SDK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may find some value in watching a few of my Touchpad videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/reverendkjr?feature=mhee
I explain a lot of the processes in a very easy to follow way.
That is a great tutorial! Thanks for pointing me to it.
It does clear up several questions for me. One thing I am curious about is if future updates after the first time are handled via ClockworkMod or do we have to use the computer to flash roms every time?
I still have to check out your other videos when I get home, they throttle Youtube at work . I know it is a silly question but what are your thoughts on the Touchpad in general? Is it worth the purchase?
calash said:
That is a great tutorial! Thanks for pointing me to it.
It does clear up several questions for me. One thing I am curious about is if future updates after the first time are handled via ClockworkMod or do we have to use the computer to flash roms every time?
I still have to check out your other videos when I get home, they throttle Youtube at work . I know it is a silly question but what are your thoughts on the Touchpad in general? Is it worth the purchase?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Touchpad is a wonderful piece of equipment. I would never have bought a tablet if I hadn't gotten this one so cheaply. Yes, future updates should be applied by ClockworkMod. I have a video on that as well. I think you will be convinced of it's awesomeness once you watch more of them. Be sure to subscribe so you get notified when I add more. I do a new video about once a week.
calash said:
And the biggie, is it worth it? I love the specs and the price (looking at 145 for the 32gb model). But it is unsupported hardware so the question of lifespan comes up in my mind.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are you seeing the 32GB Touchpad for $145? Just curios.
Ron
bluedogtouchpad said:
Where are you seeing the 32GB Touchpad for $145? Just curios.
Ron
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Click to collapse
Work. From what I can tell my company is selling off their stock at the same prices as the firesale. The 16gb are long gone but they have some 32gb still floating around. Thinking of getting one as a Christmas gift..to myself
Edit: That was before tax and shipping but still a great deal. Wife just payed for it as a Christmas gift. Cannot wait.
calash said:
Work. From what I can tell my company is selling off their stock at the same prices as the firesale. The 16gb are long gone but they have some 32gb still floating around. Thinking of getting one as a Christmas gift..to myself
Edit: That was before tax and shipping but still a great deal. Wife just payed for it as a Christmas gift. Cannot wait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you get anymore for that price? I have Pay-Pal....
Good price for sure
If you are able to fetch it off ebay or craiglist for the cheaper prices (under $200) then go get it! You won't be able to find a ~10 incher for under $250 which has reasonable specs and does not suck.
The touchpad over all in my opinion is not bad at all. Webos will be opensourced soon by HP which means that even more work will be done on this tablet. The only major gripe with WEBOS currently is that it does not have much apps due to not being very popular, but hopefully opensourcing webos will result in some more activity.
Then comes android, specifically CM7. There are two versions out, the normal Cyanogen android OS and a "Xronified" version, which is the same as cyanogen but has lots of tweaks to get the cyanogen version running better on your tablet. Simply poo, XRON is CM7 but lots of tweaks and additions to get android going nicely on your tablet. Both versions are "alpha 3" but very usable, especially the XRON version.
One gripe about all of this is that the tablet scene is not very mature, meaning that WEBOS has barely any apps but very functional OS, while CM7/xron has many apps (all android apps) but still buggy here and there. Nothing is so bad that it is unusable, just that you might run into a bug or problem here and there, but none of it is unfix-able without checking XDA more.
Oh yeah, you can overclock this sucker to 1.5 Ghz from the stock 1.2 Ghz (I think it is 1.2) and run it fully stable. Some even got it to 1.9 Ghz, all of which gives the tablet very noticeable speed boosts.
In my situation, webos did not want to update, so I had to work with a thing called webosdoctor, and from then on I had no problems getting webos to update, overclocking it, and installing android. I just got the touchpad yesterday night, and I was able to get webos fully updated, overclocked, and set up a homebrew environment on the tablet within an hour. After that I got android on the touchpad, which took me maybe an hour too, but most of that time was spent downloading the rom (Xron is 190 MB or so), waiting for android to install on the touchpad, and realizing I did not plug in the usb cable into the touchpad all the way. It was very very easy, and no problems for me at all!
I used this guide for getting started with everything:
http://forums.webosnation.com/hp-touchpad/293028-new-touchpad-heres-your-get-started-guide.html
And then this guide for getting android onto the touchpad:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1305891 <-- CM7
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1321335 <-- xron
I first installed CM7 and then Xron, turns out you can just use the xron thread but I did CM7 and then Xron to make it easier for me.
Good luck with deciding to get a touchpad or not, if you do, it is rather fun!
It's worth getting the TP just to have fun flashing ROMs and keeping your hobbies up to date. Having gone through the flashing scenario with Dell x51v I found myself wanting more fun through custom ROMs than the regular Ipad stock crowd. I picked up the NI Adam and loved that too but to tell you the truth the TP rocks with android and this keeps me going in terms of keeping up to date with mobile hardware/software scene. If you can get one...get one, you won't regret it.
Thank you everybody for the good guidance. I saw the MIUI rom go up the other day as well so there are plenty of options.
I have been hacking phone since my old Kyocera 6035 so this type of stuff is just fun for me. This will be my first tablet, cannot wait. Shipping is due on the 19 but my wife wont let me have it until Xmas day. You can bet it will be booting Android before we go out to visit the family
A question on overclocking: I read the thread for overclocking in WebOS but I was not sure if this had any impact on the android side of things. I am very familiar with SetCPU, are the kernels we get with the roms setup to overclock in Android?
Just got mine. Have to wait for Christmas too. Ratts!!!!!
calash said:
A question on overclocking: I read the thread for overclocking in WebOS but I was not sure if this had any impact on the android side of things. I am very familiar with SetCPU, are the kernels we get with the roms setup to overclock in Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. The two OS's are completely independent. Get Antutu CPU Master (free) to OC in Android.
Since most of us are excited to get this tablet in our hands, I was wondering what everyone plans on actually doing with it when they first get it. As someone who has never owned a tablet before I was curious how most people plan on using it day to day, and what apps they are looking forward to trying out on it.
uhh uhh uhh... turn it on?
First thing?...hit the wall? Stupid question and another stupid topic.....:facepalm:
the first thing i'm going to do is solve the national deficit problem with my asus transformer prime using the calculator app.
donlegacyx said:
the first thing i'm going to do is solve the national deficit problem with my asus transformer prime using the calculator app.
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Click to collapse
I don't think even the Tegra 3 can work with numbers that big!
I have a list of about 16 apps (so far) that I KNOW I want to download asap. I'm taking advantage of all the 10ยข apps lately. In downloading them to my phone and then when I get the prime ill already have them on my Google account
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Well this is a Xmas present to myself so assuming that I can pick it up on the 19th from Gamestop, I am going to wrap it up unopened and put it under my tree. It's gonna be hard not to open it but I think I can make it a week. I'm just as excited as Xmas in 1989 when my mom bought me a NES with mario and dunk hunt on the same cartridge!
thetruth1983 said:
Well this is a Xmas present to myself so assuming that I can pick it up on the 19th from Gamestop, I am going to wrap it up unopened and put it under my tree. It's gonna be hard not to open it but I think I can make it a week. I'm just as excited as Xmas in 1989 when my mom bought me a NES with mario and dunk hunt on the same cartridge!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I FREAKING LOVED THAT GAME... just saying
---------- Post added at 09:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 PM ----------
d1ez3 said:
Since most of us are excited to get this tablet in our hands, I was wondering what everyone plans on actually doing with it when they first get it. As someone who has never owned a tablet before I was curious how most people plan on using it day to day, and what apps they are looking forward to trying out on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna find the Higgs Boson
Sex- err.......I mean show it off to my friends
mibo666 said:
First thing?...hit the wall? Stupid question and another stupid topic.....:facepalm:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know what I mean, just wanted to see different ways that people will be using it and what tablet apps they are looking forward to try out.
mibo666 said:
First thing?...hit the wall? Stupid question and another stupid topic.....:facepalm:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this forum is for adults, not facepalming children.
its a valid question, and why do you care?
After a full charge and setup I will test the WiFi duh! Whether others will admit it or not WiFi will be tested by everyone on this site pretty quickly, followed by GPS! Just saying!
I'm going to get an ps1 and n64 emulator.
shown here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESzbbLGfiqc
I'm going to check out and download 100000 apps while having a smoke.
learn everything about my device and android.
watch my youtubes, surf forums.
I'm going to make the 64GB hard-drive cry by loading it up with all my music and apps! Muahahaha
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
First thing root it. Then do a Titanium backup off all my apps and clean up system apps that I do not want. Then Rom manager/CWM and do a nandroid backup of my stock rooted rom. Browse the web and watch Hulu through DroidLu app from market.
After charging it and turning it on, not necessarily in that order. I'm going to test the WiFi, BT, cameras, and then curl up with it, and watch a movie on it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
d1ez3 said:
Since most of us are excited to get this tablet in our hands, I was wondering what everyone plans on actually doing with it when they first get it. As someone who has never owned a tablet before I was curious how most people plan on using it day to day, and what apps they are looking forward to trying out on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to end world hunger and the green house effect. And that's just the first hour. I'll rest for 23 hour and then start solving other world problems with it. So I think it's safe to say that I should get this first if anyone should get one.
Root, Figure out how to unlock Bootloader, install CWM Recovery, wait on CM9
nxp3 said:
I'm going to end world hunger and the green house effect. And that's just the first hour. I'll rest for 23 hour and then start solving other world problems with it. So I think it's safe to say that I should get this first if anyone should get one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well your doing all that sissy stuff. I'm going to use it to build a giant lazor capable of destroying mankind unless all my demands are MET!
My first demand!!!!...... I Want it before YOU!