Working apps for Nook Color

[gadgetrants]

I realize I misspoke. I think what I meant is the installation is large (and that was before apps2sd), and that it ate up a lot of space on the Droid. But maybe that's different now too.

So out of curiosity (my wife and kids were going to NYC) I decided to run it on my quad-core Win7 machine, and it was laggy. So I used caveman logic and reasoned "I bet it's even worse on the Droid." (Even knowing they are different OS's!) Call it guilt by association. Is your Evo copy the latest? If so...SEE that's what I hate about the state of Android apk's right now: there's no good way to keep track of versions of things! I wish a store would pop up and do better version tracking.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Na it's no biggie. Android apks are fine. We are working with a NC with a modified version of Android 2.1. I don't expect every app to work on the NC like they do on my phone. Have patience, do what you can for now and wait it out for full roms, full market access and app auto updating.

 

[rico2001]

Update working:

Tv.com apk - com.rhythmnewmedia.tvdotcom.apk
(works ok, some videos are not properly sized)

E! Online apk - com.rhythmnewmedia.android.e.apk

 

[jamedved]

I've been poking around not knowing what adb is, it appears I need to set up SDK for adb to work?

 

[gadgetrants]

I've been poking around not knowing what adb is, it appears I need to set up SDK for adb to work?

Yep, ADB = Android Debug Bridge. It's an .exe that comes with the SDK (Software Development Kit...I know you know...just mentioning for later noobs!) and runs in a command shell. If you've got USB set up so ADB recognizes the NC (takes a minor tweak or two), the NC will show up as an Android device, and then it's a simple matter of using commands like:

- install: to install apk's on the NC (also: uninstall)
- push: to move system files over to NC
- pull: to copy system files off the NC

ADB is also useful once you've rooted your NC and have superuser access. Provides a convenient way to poke around and get to know the filesystem better. I also like to use busybox (a package of commands that are familiar to Linux people).

Let us know if you have any questions or want more info!

-Matt

PS Just realized you planted the phrase "poke around" in my head!

 

[rico2001]

I've been poking around not knowing what adb is, it appears I need to set up SDK for adb to work?

Try not to get caught out with all the abbreviations. SDK stands for software develpment kit and it's used by developers to make changes, modification and customer roms. Adb stands for android debug bridge and it's just a tool which we use to communicate with an android device through your pc. You use a dos-like program in windows call command prompt (cmd), to type manual commands to your NC. You do not need sdk to enable or use adb. Right now we are using adb to sideload apps manually (once you install ASTRO, it's no longer necessary) and push other commands/changes. Once more development is down on the already released and upcoming sdk, smarter more user friendly windows or web tool will become available. I know on the smartphone side of things, adb is hardly ever used by most normal app/theme/custom rom users.

 

[jamedved]

Thanks guys for helping the clueless! NC arrives this week, I'll play a little while and decide when to move forward. I should try to learn more before I cook the nook.

 

[gadgetrants]

Thanks guys for helping the clueless! NC arrives this week, I'll play a little while and decide when to move forward. I should try to learn more before I cook the nook.

If you get a chance, try to come back and post your first impressions. It pumps us up!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Google Streets (street view) works well on the NC

-Works in Google Maps (of course) so have it installed first

 

[gadgetrants]

Hey wait, is that you on the bike??!?!?! Man Google is good.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

^ I wish. I don't ride on the road anymore, stick to mountain biking.

 

[gadgetrants]

^ I wish. I don't ride on the road anymore, stick to mountain biking.

Probably for the best. I imagine that guy got squished the next block up...no bike lane!

Ah, but now you're making me remember my famous "grad-school-had-to-be-airlifted-mountain-biking-accident." What did I learn from that? When you land face-first, biking helmets don't help much.

OK, now I'm back on topic!

I AM AMAZED how fast and smooth Google Maps is, and in particular, how well Street View updates. Maybe even better than my Droid.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Well my NC is already faster than my Evo. My Evo is fat and bloated ; it’s full of apps and I don’t have much room left on it. I really need to uninstall some apps and let the phone breath again.

The Google Street View is smooth on the NC like if you were using it on a PC. Unlike pc, where you use the directional arrows to move up and down the street; with the android version, you pick up the little yellow man at the left corner and set him down in another area of the view (like down the street), then the view moves to that location.

 

[gadgetrants]

Unlike pc, where you use the directional arrows to move up and down the street; with the android version, you pick up the little yellow man at the left corner and set him down in another area of the view (like down the street), then the view moves to that location.

I love the whoooosh. I do a teeny-weeny bit of image processing, and I'm really amazed at how the marker gets smaller and changes orientation as you move it into the scene. I wonder if they marked locations in the image stream (in the "van" I mean) with location data, so that Street View has a 3D estimate of where the marker is in the scene. The other strategy would be to decompose the scene into surfaces and then try to reconstruct depth, which is a lot harder.

But then, have you tried the latest trick (two-finger drag down) on your Evo? You have to be at the point where city buildings are 3D, and it changes the viewing angle. THEY MUST have 3D models of each building surface to do that!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Tip for NC owners using Zeam launcher and Softkeys:
-all buttons work if you use Softkeys v2.0, not 2.0.2 (latest version)

Sent from my Nook Color using Android Tablet Forum App