Official Nook HD/ HD+ Discussion (thoughts, tweaks, and hacks)

Looks like the nook HD and the nook HD + is using a totally different TI OMAP processor, just looked up the specs on it today. Took an army to build the kernels for this nook color for the ICS and the JB builds, will have to wait and see if any developers show an interest in it. That means developers will have to churn out kernels for those devices from scratch for a custom ROM.

Going to still try to push the nook color, it could take months to build kernels for those devices anyway. Not too fond of the B&N walled garden on top of that ICS.

Might get that nook HD though and start using my nook color for more development on that as a secondary device, IDK, just shutter at the thought of going back and using that customized OS that B&N has.

That locked down bootloader B&N is trying to push is going to defeat those new modders, you guys are right on that. Going to keep an eye on that device even though.

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Kind of wonder why the nook tablet proper never took off, the specs on it was not much better than the nook color it seems. Maybe other developers will want to develop on that TI OMAP 4470 dual layer processor with its specs along with the higher PPI screens those nook HDs have.

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Might just have to save up the monies for that samsung tab, with its additional storage and use this nook color for development interests. This nook color I have is showing its age and is just a tad too slow in the spec department for what I want to do with it. Wanting to start using a tablet for more High def video and having to convert movies all the time with handbrake down to a 720 x 400 is getting tiresome.

Also wondering if "cyanogenMod" is even interested in tablet development. Besides the nook color and the HP and one or two cheap tablets not much activity for those other tablets either. Not too sure on what it takes to get their endorsement for a device. Will have to wait and ponder

The nook color took off like it did, because it was (once discovered) so easy to work on, and virtually unbrickable. Not many other devices can entirely bypass their EMMC, and run the OS entirely off the SD card.

The tablet probably WOULD have been as popular, had B&N not locked it down like they did. I know many devs specifically said they would not work on it, as a protest of B&N doing crap like that (frankly, i don't blame them).

I think devs will be interested in the two tablets, but only if they are more open.. i don't see them doing much if they are locked down again..

A Nook HD+/Fire HD 8.9 costs:
$299, 3 months waiting for an unlocked and usable ROM, another 3 months waiting for a smooth ROM
You get:
Mediocre hardware and outdated software half a year later

An ipad3/TF700/note 10.1 costs:
$499
You get:
The best hardware in the world and always up-to-date software

The list price is deceptive.

devine might said:

A Nook HD+/Fire HD 8.9 costs:
$299, 3 months waiting for an unlocked and usable ROM, another 3 months waiting for a smooth ROM
You get:
Mediocre hardware and outdated software half a year later

An ipad3/TF700/note 10.1 costs:
$499
You get:
The best hardware in the world and always up-to-date software

The list price is deceptive.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

An original iPad cost $500 and 3 years later you get an extremely outdated hardware and STILL LOCK AND NO ALTERNATIVE ROM. You are right, the price is very deceptive. I bet that 3 years from now and it's still the same situation +3 wasted years.

I 'm pretty sure I 'll go for the HD+. The screen looks gorgeous and even the software seems decent. I plan to use it primarily for reading and movies, so rooting and a clean rom doesn't mean a lot to me. It'd be nice though to be able to sideload apps.
I guess, we have to wait and see.

meteorrock said:

Looks like the nook HD and the nook HD + is using a totally different TI OMAP processor, just looked up the specs on it today. Took an army to build the kernels for this nook color for the ICS and the JB builds, will have to wait and see if any developers show an interest in it. That means developers will have to churn out kernels for those devices from scratch for a custom ROM.

Going to still try to push the nook color, it could take months to build kernels for those devices anyway. Not too fond of the B&N walled garden on top of that ICS.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hmm isn't the OMAP on the Nook HD+ the same that's on the FireHD? That would allow NookHD+'s devs to piggyback on the FireHD's reducing the time needed to develop a new kernel from scratch, I guess..

fmmsf said:

Hmm isn't the OMAP on the Nook HD+ the same that's on the FireHD? That would allow NookHD+'s devs to piggyback on the FireHD's reducing the time needed to develop a new kernel from scratch, I guess..

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Click to collapse

And how exactly do you plan on signing it? I really don't understand why anyone remotely interested in running a custom rom would want to deal with a locked bootloader, a hardware supplier apparently opposed to your right to run your own software on your own computer, and being locked into a proprietary, what, gingerbread-based ad-contaminated operating system?

Tschumi said:

I 'm pretty sure I 'll go for the HD+. The screen looks gorgeous and even the software seems decent. I plan to use it primarily for reading and movies, so rooting and a clean rom doesn't mean a lot to me. It'd be nice though to be able to sideload apps.
I guess, we have to wait and see.

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Click to collapse

I have my hopes up for the new HD and HD+ models. According to their Developer documentation here (https://nookdeveloper.zendesk.com/entries/21943338-nook-developer-start-up-guide#_Sideloading), sideloading is supported with a simple on-device setting change. So I assume this means anyone can sideload an App to the HD line, if needed.

Personally I ordered my next model:
Chinese N101
Hardware is everything I need
- 10 inch IPS panel, 1280x800
- Dual core 1.6ghz, 4 core vga, 1gb ram, 32gb internal space
- Bt, Wi-Fi, OTG usb, hdmi
- Android 4,1 Jellybean
- back and front camera
- Dual stereo speakers
- 7200 mah battery

All above at 175 Euro with free shipping

Powered by my IceCold 8.6.1 DHD

klamation said:

I have my hopes up for the new HD and HD+ models. According to their Developer documentation here (https://nookdeveloper.zendesk.com/entries/21943338-nook-developer-start-up-guide#_Sideloading), sideloading is supported with a simple on-device setting change. So I assume this means anyone can sideload an App to the HD line, if needed.

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So ADB/sideloading will work on the new nook HDs, That is a steep in the right direction but does not equate to an unlocked bootloader.
I'd love to see the new HDs boot setup just like the nook color but I don't expect it.

The HD+ has everything I need from a hardware standpoint with the best price but if the bootloader is locked the next best one I could find would be the out of my budget Transformer 300.

fmmsf said:

Hmm isn't the OMAP on the Nook HD+ the same that's on the FireHD? That would allow NookHD+'s devs to piggyback on the FireHD's reducing the time needed to develop a new kernel from scratch, I guess..

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Click to collapse

Really? lol , that might work. Thanks for that tip! *squeals for joy*

Someone should check and see if the binary drivers are the same between those two devices, if not your looking at allot of work to port that over. I have not checked but those binary drivers can be different even between a small indication like the OMAP TI 4460 and the OMAP TI 4470.

I just checked out the specs on the Kindle Fire HD, the kindle fire HD has the TI OMAP 4460. Really close huh? I noticed they MIGHT have kernels up and going for the kindle fire HD too in this thread here. http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1886177&page=2

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If the binary drivers are the same all the devs would have to do is crack that bootloader on the nook tablet HDs and you guys would be ready to port. Some smart cracker will have that bootloader defeated within a few days of that device being out. As long as its a locked down bootloader and not encrypted.

Now we are looking at a matter of WEEKS instead of months for a custom ROM on those Nook Tablet HD's, assuming the binary drivers are still the same. Lots of assumptions at this point.

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It will take some work; but I can not help it guys, that PPI screen resolution on those upcoming nook color HD tablets is what is going to sway me to get one, along with that additional storage for an micro SD card on it, as long as we are going to get cyanogenMod ROM support on it that is.

I was considering on getting that nexus tablet but I just can not do it, that limited storage space on it is not going to do.It will seriously cramp my style. Sorry <fattire> lol.


UPDATE: Looks like this guy up in the kindle fire has kernels for that kindle fire HD as posted in this link here. Note box #1651 http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=31563656

Going to post a request about those drivers up in those threads up there.

Still leaning towards nexus 7 :d

When I saw the Nook+ the 1.5 GHz processor attracted me. But considering that the Nook lacks:

1. Camera
2. A Stock ROM with PURE Android
3. High Development Support

The Nexus 7 won over Nook.
P.S: I hate myself for buying a Nook Color. Out of all the Nooks, Nook Color is way worse with small amounts of RAM, a Slow Processor and an outdated Kernel.
That 249 dollars would've been much better spent on a 16 GB Nexus 7.

Alvin

add12364 said:

When I saw the Nook+ the 1.5 GHz processor attracted me. But considering that the Nook lacks:

1. Camera
2. A Stock ROM with PURE Android
3. High Development Support

The Nexus 7 won over Nook.
P.S: I hate myself for buying a Nook Color. Out of all the Nooks, Nook Color is way worse with small amounts of RAM, a Slow Processor and an outdated Kernel.
That 249 dollars would've been much better spent on a 16 GB Nexus 7.

Alvin

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I 've never used a camera on a tablet. Any tablet. I have my phone and my point-and-shoot is never far away.
The stock rom is very tempting, but the larger screen and the sdcard is more important for my purpose (mainly reading and video.
Also, the Nook Color was a real deal when it first came out - almost two years ago, when there was not even though of a Nexus 7, and most of the "real" tables easily sold for $300-400. It was my first android tablet, and with CM7 it is fast enough so I don't feel the need for an immediate replacement

And I got my NC for $150 brand new. I wouldn't be shocked to see one closer to $100 by the end of the year.

fmmsf said:

Hmm isn't the OMAP on the Nook HD+ the same that's on the FireHD? That would allow NookHD+'s devs to piggyback on the FireHD's reducing the time needed to develop a new kernel from scratch, I guess..

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I'm not a dev nor I ever play one on TV(I don't think I ever been on TV for anything for that matter). In fact my understanding of programming is even more limited. But I doubt it would be as easy as you make it sound. I mean I played with many Linux distro b4, from RedHat, Mandrake(driva), Ubuntu/Debian, CentOS, and even Gentoo. So yes, I have at least experienced building kernel for the x86 hardware. Just because some devices shares certain similarity of hardware, that alone doesn't make building a kernel easy, at least not a stable one. Sharing the same OMAP chip on 2 devices is like 2 complete different boxes that have the same motherboard and CPU, and ignoring the rest of the hardware. In fact I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of standardize ARM platform so people don't brick their device so easy. I mean at least for most of us, we know how to reinstall OS on the x86 box when thing ain't working right. In fact even on some broken device that can't boot off from anything other than harddrive we still know a way to work around it and load up the OS from other working system and move the harddrive back later. When is the day we gonna see that sort of set hardware platform on the ARM and its mobile world? I very want to see that in the near future. We aren't just talking about people bricking their own device for some foolish stuff here, but also ability to re-purpose the device especially the the device is long past the manufacturer support life.

They really seem to have improved the case too, which is good because the Color wasn't exactly "solid", and the tablet had only a few improvements IMO

I hated that the N7 didn't come with a SD slot, but I hate the OMAP 4460 on the new Nooks even more. Let's be honest, its an old SoC from a company (TI) which is showing signs of abandoning the ARM SoC market

A quad at this price might be too much to ask for (well, before the N7 launched that is) but a dual S4 would have been so much better than this thing...

The lack of a camera does bother me a bit since hangouts is a really great app and I would rather use a tablet than my laptop when I'm on the couch. Not a dealbreaker, the SoC did that.

And then there's the bootloader, the only reason why I didn't trade my Color for a Tablet, I been a console modder for years but TBH I only do that because the level of lockdown in consoles is egregious, but with tablets I have the alternative of buying one with an unlocked bootloader and do whatever I want.

At the end of the day it seems to me that the lower price of the new Nooks barely compensates the pain in the ass process of getting what you want on the tablet. Sure you don't have to open it and solder stuff like with a X360, but still you have to find a way through the bootloader and that's easier said than done.

BTW @meteorrock: if storage is your problem and you don't mind that OMAP there's the archos G9 with a 250GB HDD built-in, plus SD slot. Last time I checked it was $330 I think.

Thanks MGREX. ^^

Still no response from that one developer up in the kindle fire HD thread about those drivers. I just think he got ahead of himself with that one post in that link I gave above. And even then it would take a small army to stabilize that code on the nook HDs as mentioned by <someone0> above.

Right now I am just going to take a wait and see response on following up on that. Looks like the nook tablet HDs are going to be more of a hassle than what it is worth without the other developers wanting to develop on that device and I do not see much enthusiasm for it at the moment. A few more weeks until Nov 1st for the release of that device and we will see if it has a bootloader on it. If it does.............ugggh, I know others hate that.

Looks like Jelly bean is going to stabilize FINALLY on the nook color any-ho and I am getting excited for my nook color all over again. LOL, also spent all of my monies on other stuff anyway and it will be a few months before I could save up for any other device for myself. Just love how the other developers are now trying to get the JB builds debugged and it looks good. Just got done building the last manifest for the NC and it feels like its already in beta mode.

MGREX said:

BTW @meteorrock: if storage is your problem and you don't mind that OMAP there's the archos G9 with a 250GB HDD built-in, plus SD slot. Last time I checked it was $330 I think.

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And you will just be trading high res screen for it. Kindle HD and Nook HD+ are pretty much the first gen of Android tablets with decent spec and high res screen, meaning full HD, at a decent price.

I am going to go ahead and ask up in this thread here for you guys on the driver for the upcoming nook HDs for anyone interested. Not too sure if TI is releasing kernels for their devices, checked over their site and there are kernels listed for android. Not sure if that is googles source code or TIs code for their processors, they don't say. Probably googles since TI is stingy with releasing code for their drivers.

Have to spend some time looking over the site again real carefully. Here is the link for the OMAP 4 forums up there. I am sure some developer would be interested, if that driver for that device is not already leaked. If it was the other developers are keeping very quiet about it. Its all in fun anyway. BTW my troll name is "jerry smith in there" lol. http://e2e.ti.com/support/omap/f/849.aspx

If I get ahold of the wlan driver for that device I will post it in this thread here.

meteorrock said:

I am going to go ahead and ask up in this thread here for you guys on the driver for the upcoming nook HDs for anyone interested. Not too sure if TI is releasing kernels for their devices, checked over their site and there are kernels listed for android. Have to spend some time looking over the site again real carefully. Here is the link for the OMAP 4 forums up there. I am sure some developer would be interested, if that driver for that device is not already leaked. If it was the other developers are keeping very quiet about it. Its all in fun anyway. BTW my troll name is "jerry smith in there" lol. http://e2e.ti.com/support/omap/f/849.aspx

If I get ahold of the processor driver for that device I will post it in this thread here.

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I don't know what the processor driver means, but source code is found here for the Nook Colors and here for the Nook Tablet. Scroll down to "OSS Release" links in blue.

I don't think the HD and HD+ are out yet, so there's no obligation to provide source for those, but if you want the code, including kernel code and stuff for what's out being sold now, there ya go.

Incidentally, both the NC and NT code have been significantly updated as CM 10 is building for both.