Couple of Nook Color Questions

[soondai]

I have a couple of questions I haven't seen addressed (might have just missed them)

1) Has B&N dicussed battery replacement? I know it'll last a few years, but have they mentioned how expensive it will be to replace? Will you have to send it in? I guess we'll get an idea shortly when teardown videos hit if it may prove user replaceable (unofficially) after all.

2) Concerning the e-ink Nook rooting/bricking issue from this summer. Did B&N purposely change the device so this would happen or was it a side effect of changes made for other purposes? I worry a little. Rebo made the point on the Nook Color Reviews thread in the News section that B&N is selling this machine at a pretty low margin and will definitely want to lock it down pretty tight and that really bothers me. I think it looks like a great buy, but only if I get to run what I want on it. I'm going to want some other reader software.
The prospect of bricking a 250 machine and having no recourse is a deal killer.

[LoganK]

Originally Posted by soondai

2) Concerning the e-ink Nook rooting/bricking issue from this summer. Did B&N purposely change the device so this would happen or was it a side effect of changes made for other purposes? I worry a little. Rebo made the point on the Nook Color Reviews thread in the News section that B&N is selling this machine at a pretty low margin and will definitely want to lock it down pretty tight and that really bothers me. I think it looks like a great buy, but only if I get to run what I want on it. I'm going to want some other reader software.
The prospect of bricking a 250 machine and having no recourse is a deal killer.

The changes were not made to intentionally break devices that users wanted to modify. New hardware revisions come out all the time, generally to reduce cost, to replace obsolete parts, or to fix known issues. Rooting often requires very specific behavior at a very low level, and the consequences when those assumptions aren't true can sometimes be nasty. (Of course, the reason it is so difficult to recover from such consequences is because the tools to recover are often the same tools that would have made hacking easier in the first place.)

It sounds as though you should wait until stable exploits are found with the Nook Color before purchasing. If you can't perform your own work to recover your device, it is unlikely that someone else will put in the work to help you.

[Rebo]

Originally Posted by soondai

I think it looks like a great buy, but only if I get to run what I want on it. I'm going to want some other reader software.
The prospect of bricking a 250 machine and having no recourse is a deal killer.

I've been following the hacking activities for the Nook Color on the xda-developer forum. So far, they do not have much luck yet. The device was cracked open but it was found all the chips were soldered underneath the metal shield. There is no easy access to the chip and they haven't found a way to boot it in recovery mode. This is not saying that they won't crack it eventually but it looks like it is not an easy task.

People should buy the NC for what it is, instead of fostering the hope to hack it into what it is not. Sure, $250 for a full functional high quality tablet will be the steal of the year but it is clear that B&N is subsidizing the HW so they can sell more e-content. B&N is not in the business of losing money so we shouldn't expect them to give their device away only to have the competitor app installed on it. For people who would prefer other reader app or a more open platform, the Galaxy Tablet seems to be the next best bet in the class.

[stonetools]

+1. Look, Sundai, if you want to install other reader apps on it, then do it honestly and buy an all-purpose high-end tablet. Frankly, I'm afraid that all these hackers are going to f##k it up for us regular consumers who don't give a damn about rooting and other all these android fanboy games.

[soondai]

thanks for the input. sounds like a bad fit for me: I already have (almost) all the reading material I desire and just want a machine that can do all the formats.

the Galaxy seems very pricey to me

probably go w/ the lower end pocketbook IQ or a netbook/tablet hybrid.

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by soondai

thanks for the input. sounds like a bad fit for me: I already have (almost) all the reading material I desire and just want a machine that can do all the formats.

the Galaxy seems very pricey to me

probably go w/ the lower end pocketbook IQ or a netbook/tablet hybrid.

The Pocketbook IQ looks like it is pretty nice. Also consider the Archos 70.

[kconan]

Hi!

A friend is bringing a Nook Color to Europe next week. Do you know if the AC adapter works with 220v?

Will I be able to charge it with the regular USB-AC classic nook?

[LoganK]

I like how you took the "couple of questions" title literally...

Originally Posted by kconan

A friend is bringing a Nook Color to Europe next week. Do you know if the AC adapter works with 220v?

Yes (but you will obviously need an adapter).

Originally Posted by kconan

Will I be able to charge it with the regular USB-AC classic nook?

While I haven't tested it thoroughly, it would appear so. (The device, at least, states "Not Charging" but the percentage did go up after a few minutes.)

Also note that the microUSB cable for the charger is special. In other words, the Nook Color charger won't fast charge with a standard cable (but it appears to slow charge).

The device will also slow charge when connected to a computer.

One of the engineers stated that the nook color will not charge when plugged in to a slow charge solution under heavy use (but at least the battery wouldn't drain).

(Note that these hoops are to deal with the fact that the fast charger provides 1.9 amps (at 5V) and there isn't, as far as I know, a standard for pushing that kind of power across a microUSB connector.)

[sjkevin]

Originally Posted by soondai

Concerning the e-ink Nook rooting/bricking issue from this summer. Did B&N purposely change the device so this would happen or was it a side effect of changes made for other purposes?

The change made the device a bit cheaper to manufacture, that's all.

I think B&N has no problem with people soft-rooting the e-ink device, as long as they're not expected to provide support for it. A soft-rooted nook purchases B&N content just the same as a normal one.

The nook color is probably a different story, though, since it's capable of running the Kindle app. Unlike the e-ink nook, I think B&N will actively try to make the nook color non-rootable. This is probably part of what's motivating the app store, to reduce demand for rooting.

[Tess89]

The one and only app I would love to see on the color nook is Stanza. But there's no way that's going to be allowed. Anything that has the potential to compete with B&N sales isn't likely to make it to the app store. The bottom line is that B&N is under no obligation to turn it into a fully functional tablet. However, I do hope they offer more choices when it comes to improving the reading experience. I'd like to see more text, margin and background options. There is a reason why the nook app is one of the least popular reading apps on apple devices.

[boswd]

Angry Birds, and LookOut mobile I would like

[Cerridwyn]

I was under the impression the Color did not use e-ink but was a regular LCD display.

[boswd]

and your impression is correct. Nook color is an lcd screen and the nook classic is eink

[shadow00198]

It has apparently been found out that the boot sequence of the Nook Color is USB, Memory Card, Internal Flash Memory. This means 2 things. It first means that the ISO image can be loaded onto the Memory Card allowing a simple way to root. Second. It means that the device cannot be bricked because you would just have to take out or replace the image on the card. This is a hardwired problem meaning that no matter how many software updates B&N does on the device it will not solve this loophole. It is just a matter of time before the files are made available.

[soondai]

booya!

where can we follow developments?