My experience setting up my new Nook Color

[JackOnan]

Just got my nook color a few hours ago and finished rooting. The screen is tremendous and the device feels really solid. Its amazing how thin it is.

Everything worked great out of the box. I did have a few issues with Windows recognizing the device, but I attribute that to using the front USB connectors. Once I switched to the rear connectors, it worked better.

I did register the device with my Google/Youtube linked gmail account. I skipped entering my CC info.

Once that was done, I manually downloaded the 1.0.1 update from the B&N site since I didn't feel like waiting for the device to update itself over wifi.
Note: If you use a MAC filter like I do on your router, you can easily find the MAC of the Nook in the stock settings app from the main menu(up arrow).

Rooting was very easy and went well. I used auto-nooter-2.12.18. This version is nice - you know when its finished since it displays a new boot screen.

I had a few issues with the new USB driver. I had to install it a few times since the serial was not showing up using "adb devices". I eventually deleted the "usb_driver" folder and reinstalled. I may have initially copied the new one over the existing. I was previously using the emulator and its USB driver, so this may have caused the problem.

Now I can install apps through adb and its working perfectly. I'm using Zeam launcher and it works very well. Market and Youtube are both working great.

I've had a few random "ghost presses" on the touch screen, but I haven't calibrated it yet. I will keep an eye on this. Multi-touch does work, but, as expected, only in some apps. Response is very snappy and the device has a very smooth overall feeling.

Overall its a great device. I'm very happy with my choice and would highly recommend it to anyone who is not afraid of some tweaking. I think its the best bang for your buck out there right now.

 

[rico2001]

Nice report. Glad to see people with the NC, and hearing their first hand experience modding the device. Thanks.

Sent from my Nook Color using Android Tablet Forum App

 

[gadgetrants]

Just got my nook color a few hours ago and finished rooting. The screen is tremendous and the device feels really solid. Its amazing how thin it is.

Jack! That's awesome!!! Thanks for the detailed update. Curious which apps are not working with multitouch?...there's supposed to be a fix, which I thought was built in to the more recent rooting process. FYI I had similar problems with USB. I tried a variety of things and it eventually worked (wish I had paid attention).

If you get a chance (and haven't already) I suggest trying Appbrain's Fast Web Installer. It's pretty neat to pick an app on the Appbrain website, click install, and 1 minute later it's running on your phone. A few times I've even done it from work, and arrived home to find the app waiting on the NC for me.

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

Jack! That's awesome!!! Thanks for the detailed update. Curious which apps are not working with multitouch?...there's supposed to be a fix, which I thought was built in to the more recent rooting process. FYI I had similar problems with USB. I tried a variety of things and it eventually worked (wish I had paid attention).

If you get a chance (and haven't already) I suggest trying Appbrain's Fast Web Installer. It's pretty neat to pick an app on the Appbrain website, click install, and 1 minute later it's running on your phone. A few times I've even done it from work, and arrived home to find the app waiting on the NC for me.

-Matt

It is great! I'm really enjoying it. I think the multitouch is not working in some apps because the apps don't support it -such as the built in news reader browser.

I was checking out AppBrain and will try it when I get a chance. Pretty cool installing Apps from work

 

[gadgetrants]

You know darnit you must have jinxed me! I just loaded a bunch of personal photos, and I CAN'T PINCH-ZOOM them in either the Android or the B&N gallery. WTH? Argh...I'm sure it worked yesterday! How'd you do that?

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

You know darnit you must have jinxed me! I just loaded a bunch of personal photos, and I CAN'T PINCH-ZOOM them in either the Android or the B&N gallery. WTH? Argh...I'm sure it worked yesterday! How'd you do that?

-Matt

Oh noes - I didn't do it ;-). Just checked my gallery and have some walls in there I dl'd - pinch zoom is working. But I checked Google maps and no compass or gesture support.

Edit: Does it work with the stock photos? Could it have something to do with the personal photos format/resolution? Try a reboot? I dunno.

 

[gadgetrants]

HAHA! You're RIGHT! Interesting.

- stock vs. download (i.e., resolution) = nope
- reboot = nope

The solution was (of course) there are two galleries: the B&N gallery (flower icon) and the Android gallery (sunset icon). Pinch-zoom WORKS in the first, not in the second.

Interesting.

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

HAHA! You're RIGHT! Interesting.

- stock vs. download (i.e., resolution) = nope
- reboot = nope

The solution was (of course) there are two galleries: the B&N gallery (flower icon) and the Android gallery (sunset icon). Pinch-zoom WORKS in the first, not in the second.

Interesting.

-Matt

I can't seem to find the sunset gallery - I don't think I have it. I only have the flowery one At any rate, must be a software issue with the Android gallery - maybe its been removed?

 

[gadgetrants]

Yeah, I just realized at some point I manually installed the Android image viewer!

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

Just noticed a stuck pixel

Edit: actually, it might be a speck of dust on the inside of the glass, just about dead center horizontally and an inch below vertically in portrait. Ah well, not a perfect world. On the plus side, my free memory hasnt gone below 150MB yet, which is very nice.

I installed AppBrain. I like it. It returns more results than Market.

Sent from my LogicPD Zoom2 using Android Tablet Forum App

 

[gadgetrants]

AppBrain: has a sister app called Fast Web Installer. When you use the AppBrain app, your NC syncs its list of apps with AppBrain. You can then browse the AppBrain website, and on your PC/Mac you'll see an "install" button on each apps info page. If you're also running FWB, just click on Install and voila, it loads on your device. Seems to completely sidestep the Market (though the new app will show up in your list of Market apps). It was "killed" by Google for a bit, but seems to be OK again!

RE: memory, is this your first Android device? There is a long, long debate about how Android handles memory management on droidforums.net, but the short story is Android tries to fill RAM with apps (although most are not using CPU) and then dynamically swap in anticipation of your needs. So don't fret if over time your free memory suspiciously dwindles, and apps you just killed seem to pop back up. Here's a useful thread:

Task Killers... The Answer from Google & Developers. - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

Darn that dust!

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

Thanks for the tips. I am using the sync option from AppBrain - but it still takes me to the market on the NC to download the app. I'll look into the Fast Web Installer.

This is my first Android device but I was aware of the memory mangement. My iPhone works in a similar manner. Regardless of the memory mangement attempts on these devices, when memory gets low they can slow down, so having a good amount free can be helpful. Although killing tasks can also cause slowdowns when opening them again because they are no longer cached. I mostly remarked on the large amount of free memory since I've seen videos of the Archos70 where it was below 30MB free and lagging, so its nice to have 512MB. I was under the impression that Android 2.1 could only access 256MB of RAM, but I notice my free memory on the NC is sometimes over 300MB.

 

[gadgetrants]

Jack, one thing I suck at is gauging other people's level of knowledge, so sorry for the RAM speech! You're not the first here to get it.

Yeah, our beloved sub-forum moderator has noted that with the arrival of 2.2, the OS will get access to all 512. So I'm not entirely sure why the system would report a total of 512 when it can only access half of it.

I know what you mean about slow-downs. My Droid has 256 MB native (right?) and needs a good firm reboot every 4-5 days. I haven't noticed anything similar with the NC yet. But of course, the NC isn't running camera, phone, and GPS services. It's maintained a very zippy disposition.

-Matt

 

[JackOnan]

Jack, one thing I suck at is gauging other people's level of knowledge, so sorry for the RAM speech! You're not the first here to get it.

Yeah, our beloved sub-forum moderator has noted that with the arrival of 2.2, the OS will get access to all 512. So I'm not entirely sure why the system would report a total of 512 when it can only access half of it.

I know what you mean about slow-downs. My Droid has 256 MB native (right?) and needs a good firm reboot every 4-5 days. I haven't noticed anything similar with the NC yet. But of course, the NC isn't running camera, phone, and GPS services. It's maintained a very zippy disposition.

-Matt

No worries - its always good to discuss these things, if not for ourselves then others may find it useful

My iPhone only has 128MB so I am always fighting low memory on it but the NC is indeed consistently zippy which is very nice.

The 300MB+ free was reported by Task Killer, so maybe its not correct. I'll try another method for checking free RAM.

On another note, I discovered the source of the "ghost presses" I was experiencing - seems to be coming from my thumb squeezing the side while holding it doh! lol. Noticed a little creaking there, so have a slight build quality issue. Maybe someone will come out with a handle mod for the NC. If not, maybe I'll just weld one on lol.

 

[gadgetrants]

Yeah, I noticed no one responded to my picture of the slight bulge near the "n" button. But I think overall build is excellent.

On a random note, I'm 99.9% close to where I want things (which is ironic because I'm wiping soon). The last bit of conquest was implementing the ad hoc wireless fix:

[FIX] AdHoc Wifi support on the NC! - xda-developers

I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't get the NC to see my Droid when it tethered wifi. But the fix was quick and painless, and now I have 3G (more or less) on the NC anywhere my phone is. EDIT: I guess technically it's wifi on the NC!

-Matt