Nook Color General Discussion Thread

[gadgetrants]

^I agree, I'd rather have a small auto hide softkey setup.

Holy crap. IT IS SoftKeys. Turns out one of the things SoftKeys includes is a teeny-weeny always-on-top button that brings up the menu:



I went back and stared hard at the Youtube video, and there it was. Really well-designed utility. Lots of nice options. I am loving it.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Matt can it autohide?

 

[gadgetrants]

Here's the functionality:

(1) Virtual Home button
- always on top
- drag to reposition
- pulls up SoftKey button set
- adjusts to screen rotation

(2) Notification Bar/SoftKeys Button Set
- autohide (disappear after selection)
- including Back/Home/Menu/etc.
- drag to reposition Button Set

(3) Lots of options
- Bring up notification bar with double-press of "n" button (preserves original home function)
- 3 sizes of virtual home button
- adjust transparency of virtual home and SoftKey buttons
- optional Recent Apps list

Let me know if you give it a try!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Give softkeys a try; doesn't seem to work too well for me. The size and autohide work well but the only functioning soft key is the home key, and only take me back to the stock NC launcher.

 

[gadgetrants]

Give softkeys a try; doesn't seem to work too well for me. The size and autohide work well but the only functioning soft key is the home key, and only take me back to the stock NC launcher.

I noticed the same thing. I assume "Back" and "Cancel" work, right? In the midst of doing something it requested root (maybe try playing with the buttons). After allowing root access, "Menu" and "Search" now work for me.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Nope only the "home" and "cancel" key works, the other two don't.

 

[rico2001]

Pretty neat tip.

 

[gadgetrants]

Very neat! One of the things that really grabbed my attention as I was playing with the NC at BestBuy was how gorgeous magazines (well, one issue of National Geographic and one of Popular Photography!) are. I really like that there is a 14-day trial subscription (but remember to cancel if you don't want to pay!). But it seems like the subscription prices are not so competitive, yet...

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Yea me too, the mag and web sharpness is outstanding and my words don't do it justice. You really have to go down to B&N or BB and play with one. I don't know for sure, but IMHO the NC has the best screen on the market (for tabs). And even if you are not a rooter, the NC is worth the money to run stock. Out of the box, it will: read books, mags, newspapers both bought and loaded from SD card, play videos, play music, view loaded photos, browse the web. For us geeks, we may want more but for many people, the NC stock is more than enough. With the 2.2 and limited B&N market coming, which should have some good apps, the sky is the limit for this device.

 

[gadgetrants]

Holy carp I'm a senior member. When did that happen? Better go get my white cane...

RE:screen quality...I am still kind of on the hunt for cases, and stopped in the local Verizon store to check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories (almost none, it sucks!). I've played with the Galaxy several times before, but now with the NC in my pocket, the Galaxy felt a bit smaller...cuter...just a bit more well-built. But the screen...WHAT IS UP WITH THAT screen? Not sure why, but it felt...cartoonish. It's like the Galaxy is the tab for kids and the NC is for adults. I'm not talking about the UI, which seems to reinforce the impression. Over and over I'm really happy with the NC.

(Very glad I didn't get the eLocity A7...but kinda curious what's up with that Viewsonic...maybe I need to go to Sears...)

I am REALLY looking forward to Q1 2011 (not Q2, because I don't like waiting). I wonder how 2.2 will improve the game.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Anyone else on ATnet buy a NC yet? or plan to?

 

[rico2001]

So what is new today Matt? I'm fighting the good NC fight over on xda. Some are not sold on the NC yet. I think I'll try to download some books today.

 

[gadgetrants]

Here's a little discovery: using Root Explorer, I figured out how to copy an entire folder of epubs from the sdcard, and drop them in a media folder in the internal memory (I think it's /system/media/books...you need to enable R/W access). They don't show up on the NC native homepage (probably DRM issue), but they DO SHOW UP in the NC's internal library.

Maybe not a big deal, but now my wife doesn't have to navigate to the sdcard to find a book (yeah, I could have created a shelf, but this is easier). One less headache for me!

I know what you mean about "not being sold." There is suddenly a lot of "competition" (maybe "noise" is a better word) all of a sudden. I'm not happy thinking "well, this can be our little secret." I'd like to see a larger, more active owner's community (even 15-20 here would be great). I think the increase of youtube videos suggests the owner base is expanding.

-Matt

 

[gadgetrants]

So what is new today Matt? I'm fighting the good NC fight over on xda. Some are not sold on the NC yet. I think I'll try to download some books today.

Oh, another tip that brought a smile to my face: I copied the droid.ogg (you know, "DDDDRRROOOOIIIIDDD!") from my phone over to the NC, and then in GMail set it as the system sound for incoming messages (I hated the native sound). I love it when my phone and the NC go off at almost the same time.

-Matt

 

[Bootstrap Bill]

Anyone else on ATnet buy a NC yet? or plan to?

I decided to wait until after the CES show to decide. I heard there may be a few new tablets with Android 3.0.

I'd recommend anyone else do the same if they can. It's only a couple weeks a way.