why do many apps only work with SD card installed?

RAH · 04-27-2011, 08:16 AM

I've been looking at the apps now available for the unrooted Color Nook. I just bought the Quickoffice app. I had a great amount of trouble with it until I finally realized that it will not function correctly without an SD card.

For example, when you go into the File Manager, there's nothing to look at. And if you start a new document, there's no mechanism to save it anywhere except Dropbox and other Internet sites.

OK, that's fine, now I know what's going on with it, and I installed an SD card and it works very well. But I sure do think they should tell folks about it before a lot of people throw their Nooks against the wall!

But I see reports about ezPDF being the same way - it only works on files that are on the SD card. Soooo, my question is - what's the reason for this? Is it some Android app thing? Something odd about the Nook's internal storage that prevents an app from accessing it? Anyone know?

I don't really consider this a problem, now that I know how it works, but it seems very odd.

wymore · 04-27-2011, 08:47 AM

I think that is a major problem. Why should people be required to buy an SD card when they have plenty of space on their internal memory? Plus, I would imagine there are a lot of less tech savvy Nook owners out there who wouldn't be able to figure out that they need an SD card for these apps to work or might not even know the Nook has an SD card slot.

RAH · 04-27-2011, 09:34 AM

Yes, I guess you could consider it major, especially if they don't make it REALLY clear that this is the way it is working.

But I'm wondering if there is some technical reason why it has to be this way. When I first heard that ezPDF had this problem, I figured it was a bug. But now Quickoffice is the same way. We shall see...

anamardoll · 04-27-2011, 09:43 AM

It would be interesting to know why it's this way.

I have Quick Office for my Captivate phone, and it seems to only be able to access Google Docs (online) or material on my SD card - I don't see an option to access internal memory.

Most Android phones come with an SD card nowadays, so it's possible that Quick Office didn't want to mess with internal memory and just assumed an SD card would always be present. Then they ported everything over to NC without any major changes. The "user only works off of the SD card" assumption MAY be fair for phones, but is definitely not for tablets.

scoreman · 04-27-2011, 10:02 AM

My guess is that since this app was most likely developed for an Android phone platform that it was just ported to the Nook Color without any consideration for the configuration of the Nook platform. Somewhat shoddy development work if you ask me.

The same is true for the EzPDF reader.

These apps were just rushed to be available for the Nook Color app store and not even the Nook Developers validated the software's performance on the nook.

There was no effort to ensure software quality.

RAH · 04-27-2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Most Android phones come with an SD card nowadays, so it's possible that Quick Office didn't want to mess with internal memory and just assumed an SD card would always be present. Then they ported everything over to NC without any major changes. The "user only works off of the SD card" assumption MAY be fair for phones, but is definitely not for tablets.

That's interesting. I do not have a smartphone (or any kind of mobile phone - I'm a dinosaur!), so I wasn't sure how this Nook problem might relate to that. Now I see.

I agree with you and scoreman that they seem to be rushing these apps into production without much thought to the Nook itself. Maybe things will improve.

anamardoll · 04-27-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAH

That's interesting. I do not have a smartphone (or any kind of mobile phone - I'm a dinosaur!), so I wasn't sure how this Nook problem might relate to that. Now I see.

I agree with you and scoreman that they seem to be rushing these apps into production without much thought to the Nook itself. Maybe things will improve.

Probably the best thing to do would be to write the app maker and make them aware of the issue. I've found that most app developers are extremely open to suggestions. Good luck!

jswinden · 04-27-2011, 10:18 AM

I wonder if it is because B&N requires the developers to use SD cards? They might not, but with so little built in memory they might. My NC has 3.18 GB of free memory. I only have a dozen books installed and no apps other than what comes with 1.2.0. The NC was never designed as a tablet and trying to make it into a pseudo-tablet is just stupid. It doesn't have the memory or horsepower, and B&N certainly does not have the firmware development saavy!

CyberSmoke53 · 04-27-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

It would be interesting to know why it's this way.

I have Quick Office for my Captivate phone, and it seems to only be able to access Google Docs (online) or material on my SD card - I don't see an option to access internal memory.

Most Android phones come with an SD card nowadays, so it's possible that Quick Office didn't want to mess with internal memory and just assumed an SD card would always be present. Then they ported everything over to NC without any major changes. The "user only works off of the SD card" assumption MAY be fair for phones, but is definitely not for tablets.

Good comment. I had the same thoughts as the OP. I have an SD card but it seemed really strange that you can't access files on the internal memory. Since I do not have a smart phone - Android, Windows, or Symbian I was totally cluelless as to how the apps function on the smartphone. I have an old Windows mobile based IPAQ whose apps can use various file locations, but the old IPAQ has a File Management system built in. The NookColor does not have a native file manager yet.

Thanks for a little insight!

gtriever · 04-27-2011, 02:53 PM

The reason that an SD card is required for many apps is because they use (or can use) a lot of space for storage, and on some platforms internal memory space is extremely limited. For example, a map/navigation program can easily use over a Gb of space for the map data.

RAH · 04-27-2011, 03:04 PM

Yes, but you would think that the File Manager that comes with QuickOffice would be able to view the internal drive and allow you to open one of the files.

gtriever · 04-27-2011, 03:13 PM

System files are located on the internal memory. One "feature" of the Linux/Android system is that those files are protected and unacessible unless you have Superuser (Administrator) access.

anamardoll · 04-27-2011, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtriever

System files are located on the internal memory. One "feature" of the Linux/Android system is that those files are protected and unacessible unless you have Superuser (Administrator) access.

They're still readable, though, no?

I don't have superuser on my phone, but I can still access the internal memory with certain programs.

Dave_S · 04-28-2011, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I don't have superuser on my phone, but I can still access the internal memory with certain programs.

I think that what you are seeing in the internal memory is the folder titled emmc that I see when examining internal memory with MyPhoneExplorer. That is the container folder for all folders of user media files. There are other partitions and folders that are hidden and protected like the OP mentioned.

Even with the April upgrade the Nook is only using Android 2.2 (Froyo) which is NOT a tablet OS. Applications written to the Android smartphone OS standards are highly unlikely to be looking for media storage that is not in a smartphone, so they will search for media only on the SD storage. So, I guess the question is, does B&N have enough clout with developers to get them to modify apps to take advantage of Nook peculiarities, like 5 Gigabytes of internal media storage?

RAH · 04-28-2011, 07:13 AM

So Dave, as I understand it, you are saying it is an operating system issue, not the fault of lazy app developers - i.e. the Android 2.2 OS doesn't permit them access to the Nook's internal memory. I don't doubt what you are saying at all. If this is the case, of course, it would mean that we'd have to wait till the Nook gets a higher or different version of Android before this was fixed.

It's not really a big deal, at least for me, although I do wish I could, for example, use ezPDF for internal PDFs and also use the File manager for internal file manipulation. They really need to TELL people about this, however.

(Please folks, let's keep this thread about the non-rooted Nook; we all know you could help this situation with rooting)

04-27-2011, 08:16 AM	#1
RAH Guru Posts: 611 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Color Nook; Nook Touch	why do many apps only work with SD card installed? I've been looking at the apps now available for the unrooted Color Nook. I just bought the Quickoffice app. I had a great amount of trouble with it until I finally realized that it will not function correctly without an SD card. For example, when you go into the File Manager, there's nothing to look at. And if you start a new document, there's no mechanism to save it anywhere except Dropbox and other Internet sites. OK, that's fine, now I know what's going on with it, and I installed an SD card and it works very well. But I sure do think they should tell folks about it before a lot of people throw their Nooks against the wall! But I see reports about ezPDF being the same way - it only works on files that are on the SD card. Soooo, my question is - what's the reason for this? Is it some Android app thing? Something odd about the Nook's internal storage that prevents an app from accessing it? Anyone know? I don't really consider this a problem, now that I know how it works, but it seems very odd.

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04-27-2011, 08:47 AM	#2
wymore Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 16 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	I think that is a major problem. Why should people be required to buy an SD card when they have plenty of space on their internal memory? Plus, I would imagine there are a lot of less tech savvy Nook owners out there who wouldn't be able to figure out that they need an SD card for these apps to work or might not even know the Nook has an SD card slot.

04-27-2011, 09:34 AM	#3
RAH Guru Posts: 611 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Color Nook; Nook Touch	Yes, I guess you could consider it major, especially if they don't make it REALLY clear that this is the way it is working. But I'm wondering if there is some technical reason why it has to be this way. When I first heard that ezPDF had this problem, I figured it was a bug. But now Quickoffice is the same way. We shall see...

04-27-2011, 09:43 AM	#4
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	It would be interesting to know why it's this way. I have Quick Office for my Captivate phone, and it seems to only be able to access Google Docs (online) or material on my SD card - I don't see an option to access internal memory. Most Android phones come with an SD card nowadays, so it's possible that Quick Office didn't want to mess with internal memory and just assumed an SD card would always be present. Then they ported everything over to NC without any major changes. The "user only works off of the SD card" assumption MAY be fair for phones, but is definitely not for tablets.

04-27-2011, 10:02 AM	#5
scoreman Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 48 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Tucson, AZ Device: Nook Color	My guess is that since this app was most likely developed for an Android phone platform that it was just ported to the Nook Color without any consideration for the configuration of the Nook platform. Somewhat shoddy development work if you ask me. The same is true for the EzPDF reader. These apps were just rushed to be available for the Nook Color app store and not even the Nook Developers validated the software's performance on the nook. There was no effort to ensure software quality.

04-27-2011, 10:18 AM	#8
jswinden Nameless Being	I wonder if it is because B&N requires the developers to use SD cards? They might not, but with so little built in memory they might. My NC has 3.18 GB of free memory. I only have a dozen books installed and no apps other than what comes with 1.2.0. The NC was never designed as a tablet and trying to make it into a pseudo-tablet is just stupid. It doesn't have the memory or horsepower, and B&N certainly does not have the firmware development saavy!

04-27-2011, 02:53 PM	#10
gtriever Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	The reason that an SD card is required for many apps is because they use (or can use) a lot of space for storage, and on some platforms internal memory space is extremely limited. For example, a map/navigation program can easily use over a Gb of space for the map data.

04-27-2011, 03:04 PM	#11
RAH Guru Posts: 611 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Color Nook; Nook Touch	Yes, but you would think that the File Manager that comes with QuickOffice would be able to view the internal drive and allow you to open one of the files.

04-27-2011, 03:13 PM	#12
gtriever Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	System files are located on the internal memory. One "feature" of the Linux/Android system is that those files are protected and unacessible unless you have Superuser (Administrator) access.

04-28-2011, 07:13 AM	#15
RAH Guru Posts: 611 Karma: 575652 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hampton, NH Device: Color Nook; Nook Touch	So Dave, as I understand it, you are saying it is an operating system issue, not the fault of lazy app developers - i.e. the Android 2.2 OS doesn't permit them access to the Nook's internal memory. I don't doubt what you are saying at all. If this is the case, of course, it would mean that we'd have to wait till the Nook gets a higher or different version of Android before this was fixed. It's not really a big deal, at least for me, although I do wish I could, for example, use ezPDF for internal PDFs and also use the File manager for internal file manipulation. They really need to TELL people about this, however. (Please folks, let's keep this thread about the non-rooted Nook; we all know you could help this situation with rooting)