MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Multi-Boot (Kobo, Kindle, nook, ...) on Android

mgmueller · 11-20-2012, 09:41 PM

From what I've seen so far, Kindle Fire HD, nook HD, Kobo Arc and similar tablet-based readers basically are "crippled" Android tablets: Modified/limited UI, some specialized reader-specific tasks.

Shouldn't it be possible, to implement multi-boot for example on Nexus 7?
Booting either in "normal" Android mode, or in Kindle Fire HD, nook HD and/or Kobo Arc mode?

I'd love to see that.
Of course, the Kindle, nook or Kobo app do a fine job on Android (or iOS as well).
But still, the respective tablets have some special appeal.

So, legal aspects aside:
Would this technically be possible?
Am I missing something? I don't think, there are any "special chips" or buttons on any of those readers/tablets. Their hardware is either identical or even slightly less powerful than the one on "normal" tablets.

Screen Resolution might be an issue. nook HD for example has a slightly higher resolution than Google/Asus Nexus 7. But Kindle Fire HD and Google/Asus Nexus 7 for example are identical. And in the "worst" case, a more powerful Android tablet would be needed than Nexus 7. Nexus 10 or Samsung or any of the other bigger ones.

So, will we see this soon?
Any interest at all?
Technical problems?

11-20-2012, 09:41 PM	#1
mgmueller Member Retired Posts: 3,308 Karma: 13024950 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets	Multi-Boot (Kobo, Kindle, nook, ...) on Android? From what I've seen so far, Kindle Fire HD, nook HD, Kobo Arc and similar tablet-based readers basically are "crippled" Android tablets: Modified/limited UI, some specialized reader-specific tasks. Shouldn't it be possible, to implement multi-boot for example on Nexus 7? Booting either in "normal" Android mode, or in Kindle Fire HD, nook HD and/or Kobo Arc mode? I'd love to see that. Of course, the Kindle, nook or Kobo app do a fine job on Android (or iOS as well). But still, the respective tablets have some special appeal. So, legal aspects aside: Would this technically be possible? Am I missing something? I don't think, there are any "special chips" or buttons on any of those readers/tablets. Their hardware is either identical or even slightly less powerful than the one on "normal" tablets. Screen Resolution might be an issue. nook HD for example has a slightly higher resolution than Google/Asus Nexus 7. But Kindle Fire HD and Google/Asus Nexus 7 for example are identical. And in the "worst" case, a more powerful Android tablet would be needed than Nexus 7. Nexus 10 or Samsung or any of the other bigger ones. So, will we see this soon? Any interest at all? Technical problems? Last edited by mgmueller; 11-20-2012 at 10:06 PM.