Froyo, Honeycomb hacks for Nook Color available on eBay

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Since its debut last October, the Nook Color has received a lot of attention among modding communities. Hackers were quick to root the device's native Android environment, allowing users to run a standard version of Android 2.2 Froyo and 3.0 Honeycomb. Costing only $249, that poses an interesting value proposition for resourceful individuals looking to buy an entry-level Android slate.

For less than $250, a Nook Color running Honeycomb serves as a full-featured, albeit slower alternative to devices like the Xoom, which is currently available through Verizon for $800 contract-free. Naturally, that savings doesn't come without a catch. Getting Froyo or Honeycomb to run on the Nook Color requires some elbow grease and that typically intimidates inexperienced users.

Some modders have decided to cash in on that apprehension by selling microSD cards preloaded with everything you need to get a full version of Android on your Nook Color. Pricing depends on the capacity of the card and Android release. For instance, Android 2.2 is available on 2GB or 16GB cards for $30 and $80, while Android 3.0 comes on 4GB and 8GB cards for $60 and $100.

That's quite a tax over blank microSD cards, so a handful of modders are profiting on information freely available online. That's ticked off some Android enthusiasts such as Will Shanklin over at Android Police. Hoping to discourage people from buying the cards on eBay, Shanklin has provided a four-step procedure to create the same microSD cards being sold for $100 (Mac instructions):

1. Download nookhoney04.img.zip
2. Unzip the image onto your computer using WinRAR
3. Get an SD card, at least 4GB. Using an SD card reader, insert it into your computer.
4. Download WinImage, and under 'Disk' choose "Restore Virtual Image to Physical Drive." Choose your SD card reader's drive. Change the files shown at the bottom to "all files" and select the file.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/42714-froyo-honeycomb-hacks-for-nook-color-available-on-ebay.html

 

[whiteandnerdy]

My friend did this and it is sweet. honeycomb runs really well on it.

 

[princeton]

Lol. Then google gets the auctions pulled because they violate the GPL.

 

[Kibaruk]

Is it worth it to buy one of this and do something like putting android on one to have a portable device to check mail and surf the web?

 

[DokkRokken]

I'm very tempted to buy one of these and install Honeycomb. $250 would be what I'm willing to pay for a tablet, and all I'd really use it for is browsing, and viewing PDF's of shop manuals in the garage. If it gets a bit dinged or greasy, no big deal.

 

[Guest]

I've got a NC, and it's great. But if all you want is a device to look at pdfs and browse some basic internet, you might do better with just a cheap laptop with a larger screen. You can get used laptops for $200 easy. Besides, I don't think greasy shop fingers and a touchscreen would play well together.

 

[matrix86]

Yup, it's official. I'm buying a NookColor, overclocking it, and running this joker on it. Though not sure if I want to run it from the SD card, or if I want to root the actual device. After all, you can root it and then just download the nook (and kindle) software and still use it as an e-reader. I just don't know how to do the overclocking with Android on it...still got time till tax refund comes in, so there's time to learn and decide what to do.

 

[Jibberish18]

I won't lie. This is really tempting me to get a Nook. I don't like Android but Android 3.0 looks pretty cool and all for $250? Bump this thing up to 1 Ghz if possible and the deal seems even sweeter.

 

[matrix86]

Jibberish18 said:
I won't lie. This is really tempting me to get a Nook. I don't like Android but Android 3.0 looks pretty cool and all for $250? Bump this thing up to 1 Ghz if possible and the deal seems even sweeter.

You can overclock the Nook to 1.1ghz

 

[Jibberish18]

Well hello good lookin.

 

[Raswan]

Jibberish18 said:
I won't lie. This is really tempting me to get a Nook. I don't like Android but Android 3.0 looks pretty cool and all for $250? Bump this thing up to 1 Ghz if possible and the deal seems even sweeter.

I'm with you. It's almost so tempting, I'm tempted to be suspicious of why it is so tempting.

But seriously, how much "slower" are we talking? And really, full-featured? Can someone post a link to some pics (if it's legal? ) or some detailed comments? I don't know anyone who's done it, but at $250 that is JUST the right price for something that does internet, pdfs, ereading, and other simple things (does the rooted or hacked NC allow you access to Android's app store? If so, can the stock cpu or occ'ed cpu handle running them *fine*?

 

[Jibberish18]

raswan said:

Jibberish18 said:
I won't lie. This is really tempting me to get a Nook. I don't like Android but Android 3.0 looks pretty cool and all for $250? Bump this thing up to 1 Ghz if possible and the deal seems even sweeter.

I'm with you. It's almost so tempting, I'm tempted to be suspicious of why it is so tempting.

LOL

The CPU and GPU are decent so overclocked to 1Ghz should be great. Not like Tegra 2 great but beggers can't be choosers. If by some chance in hell I DO do this, I'll keep you posted.

 

[Raswan]

Sounds good Jibberish, gracias. I am very tempted myself. In reality, this doesn't seem that different (to my noobtastic sensibilities) from the first-gen iPad. How much RAM does this thing have? I would probably be even more tempted were it the Kindle Color, since Amazon seems to be kicking B & N around like a droopy, armless schoolchild (thanks for that one coked-up, methed-out, 139lb Charlie Sheen )

 

[Jibberish18]

raswan said:
Sounds good Jibberish, gracias. I am very tempted myself. In reality, this doesn't seem that different (to my noobtastic sensibilities) from the first-gen iPad. How much RAM does this thing have? I would probably be even more tempted were it the Kindle Color, since Amazon seems to be kicking B & N around like a droopy, armless schoolchild (thanks for that one coked-up, methed-out, 139lb Charlie Sheen )

All you seek is here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nook_Color

BTW, if you search, you can find plenty of stuff on people's experience with Rooting the Nook Color. Videos on Youtube, I'm sure, are plentiful. They always are. Personally I can't wait to get home and check this out.

 

[mcmurphy12]

matrix86 said:

Jibberish18 said:
I won't lie. This is really tempting me to get a Nook. I don't like Android but Android 3.0 looks pretty cool and all for $250? Bump this thing up to 1 Ghz if possible and the deal seems even sweeter.

You can overclock the Nook to 1.1ghz

Do you have any links showing how to do this? I am also very tempted to try this, haha.

 

[matrix86]

I haven't found any "how-to" videos on it yet, but there are videos on youtube of people who have overclocked their NCs while also running Android 3.0. You just have to do some searching. Youtube and Google are your best friends, lol.

 

[mados123]

I'm getting the same feeling I did as when I found out the AppleTV 2 could be jailbroken and installed with XBMC! I don't really *need* this technology but when the price and functionality are so attractive, it might be the time to jump in!

 

[princeton]

matrix86 said:
I haven't found any "how-to" videos on it yet, but there are videos on youtube of people who have overclocked their NCs while also running Android 3.0. You just have to do some searching. Youtube and Google are your best friends, lol.

You'll have to install a kernel with overclocking support then use setCPU to set the frequency and scaling.

 

[bonniesmith]

Maybe honeycomb runs well but Froyo does NOT! I got a nook and decided to try looking Android 2.2 and it was a nightmare, slow as heck and practically useless in terms of proving me with a proper OS.

 

[matrix86]

Deeperblue from the XDA Developers forums is doing a lot. He's working on an OCing kernal for Honeycomb (they had one but it was fritzy so they took it down to work on it) and apparently he's also working on constantly improving honeycomb kernals for the nook.

XDA
This is for the OCing kernal...for if you already have Froyo or Honeycomb (and others) installed. Don't ask me any more questions...i'm just posting what i've found, lol. The only thing is, if you're going to start digging around in the XDA Developers forums, you better know what the hell you're doing. There's a lot of stuff in there. You need to know what you do and don't need. But like I said, youtube and google are helpful places. Some youtube videos will have links to what you need. Just always know how to reset your nook back to factory settings in case something goes wrong. And you especially need to know in case something happens to your nook (because once you root that sucker, you void the warranty...and unless you reset it before sending it in for repairs, they're gonna send it back and say "sorry...can't do anything for you...you voided the warranty.") Do all of this stuff at your own risk. No one but you is responsible for what happens.