Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

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ilovemyjoggler
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by ilovemyjoggler »

gegs wrote:Yes, the Simple Touch Glowlight costs £69... It's edge lighting rather than backlighting and probably not worth the extra dosh.
Yeah, had a look and agree it's not worth the extra. Glowlight had really good reviews but the lighting seemed inadequate to me.
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

Looks like I was partially wrong about the reduced Nooks not being a fire sale. B&N are apparently not producing any more of the Nook Color, HD and HD+ although they will still be producing e-ink readers (if the interweb is to be believed).

Strangely enough, it's the ones they're discontinuing that have the least reduction, although this might be because they have the least mark-up. They've been blown out of the water by the Kindle Fire, even though they're better bits of kit from what I can see.
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hawsey
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by hawsey »

Well my Nook arrived yee haa , what a lovely piece of kit it is too for 30 pound i love it .

I have nood rooted yet as the only micro sdhc adapter i had is now acting as a Raspbmc boot card in a PI at my folks house , silly me ....

Have you got a link for the working KOBO app please ?

Will the rooted Nook this play .mobi files without converting to you know ?
Happy Joggling
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JimbobVFR400
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by JimbobVFR400 »

hawsey wrote:Well my Nook arrived yee haa , what a lovely piece of kit it is too for 30 pound i love it .

I have nood rooted yet as the only micro sdhc adapter i had is now acting as a Raspbmc boot card in a PI at my folks house , silly me ....

Have you got a link for the working KOBO app please ?

Will the rooted Nook this play .mobi files without converting to you know ?
Moon reader certainly will and I believe you cannot install that when rooted
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dwl99
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by dwl99 »

hawsey wrote:Well my Nook arrived yee haa , what a lovely piece of kit it is too for 30 pound i love it .

I have nood rooted yet as the only micro sdhc adapter i had is now acting as a Raspbmc boot card in a PI at my folks house , silly me ....

Have you got a link for the working KOBO app please ?

Will the rooted Nook this play .mobi files without converting to you know ?
Just install Calibre http://calibre-ebook.com/download_windows on your PC & use it to import & convert almost any format you may care to mention. I've converted all my epub library downloads & Kindle purchases into ordinary non-DRM epub files & it's much easier!
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

hawsey wrote:Have you got a link for the working KOBO app please ?
I got the working Kobo app from a link on Youtube. You have to expand the poster's edited comment to see the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mfY9jSdbtw

The direct link to the file is:
https://www.box.com/s/ch70jroih96igz6gggdm

I've also read that the Nook Simple Touch will be getting an upgrade soon that adds a web browser and email functionality to the stock OS.
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tablet-p ... email-apps

This probably means I'll have to root it again because I haven't got a clue how to disable automatic updates.
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hawsey
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by hawsey »

Cheers for that , i have done the dirty deed and rooted using the above method , but not without issue the Amazon marked just says not available in your area, and when trying to get an .apk directly from the browser it just says after it downloads , unable to parse correctly .

Think i need to read a few XDA developers threads..........

Thanks again
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gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

I don't use the Amazon Appstore - some things would download (very few) but I kept getting the error you mentioned.

Try to download Searchmarket from Amazon if you can; if you can't, download it from somewhere as an apk file and install it*. Now install NTGAppsAttack using Nook Manager (which I'm sure you used to root) this will install the Android Market (Google Play). The download and instructions are here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=2086582 - this is also linked to from the web page mentioned in the first post of this thread.

When you've installed the 'Market' you have to use the Searchmarket tool if you want to search for apps. The 'magnifying glass' search facility in Market itself doesn't work, you have to use Searchmarket for this. Browsing apps in Market itself is fine; you can list the 'top free', 'top paid' etc. and install apps that way, only 'search' needs a bit of assistance. You'll probably use Searchmarket most because there are such a limited number of apps that work well on the Nook that search is the easiest way to find them. You will only see apps that are compatible with Android 2.1 although not even all of these will work. Strangely, I can't get the Nook for Android app to work on the Nook itself. It's not really necessary, just a curious exercise, but some people have reported success and like the app because it provides the opportunity to read in landscape mode. Maybe it worked with earlier versions of the Nook OS, I'm not sure.

XDA-devs is a great place to start for info and modded apps (like a version of Amazon Kindle that is optimized for e-ink). http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1198

If you're installing mods from XDA-devs check whether they will work with the 1.2.x versions of the Nook software (mine had 1.2.1 pre-installed). NookManager recommends version 1.2.1 before rooting but I think some apps on xda-devs mention that they only work with 1.1.x systems.

*if you can't download apk files from the Nook itself, download them to your computer and attach the nook using the USB cable. The nook should show up as two new drives (one for the device and another for the micro SD card). Drag the apk files to the Nook or card, safely disconnect, browse to the files on the Nook and install. Once you've got a working Android Market you'll be able to install the Dropbox app and save stuff there. Choosing an apk from Dropbox on the Nook will open the install dialogue - no more USB cable to install apps.
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

I forgot to mention that once you've registered the Nook to your Google account it will appear in the list of devices when you visit the play.google.com website and log in. It will be labelled "phone" and you can push apps to the Nook that way.
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

Just a heads up that the Nook HD is now down from its already reduced price of £129 to £99 http://uk.nook.com/tablets/nook-hd

If you were thinking of getting a cheap Android tablet, this could be it - the specs are good. See a comparison table with the Kindle Fire HD below:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook-vs ... 379003173/

One big omission for some people is the lack of a camera; another is a crippled microphone. The mic can only be used for a couple of B&N reading apps so no Skype functionality. Kindle Fire HD has a camera and can be used for Skype. B&N have, rather disingenuously, omitted the Fire HD's camera from their product comparison list.
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Leonardo
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by Leonardo »

Hi Gegs today I got my Nook, cannot wait I rooted it and I got a open device!
Considering I paied it 29£ I'm really satisfied!!!
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

Superb! I'm glad you like it. I love mine.

This post was sent using Opera Mobile on the Nook Simple Touch.
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Leonardo
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by Leonardo »

Yes :)
Finally I can read a lot of things I have in PDF but too lazy to read it on the sofa with pc! Today I began to read a Donald Duck comics :D
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

A quick note for anybody that's bought one of these and rooted it:

Android is mainly designed for telephone use and the phone standby function seemed to be using a lot of power for something that's unnecessary on the Simple Touch (sometimes called the Nook 2nd Edition or N2E on the web). Once you can download apps from the Market, download a free file manager that allows read/write root access to the /system/apps folder and change Phone.apk to Phone.old and TelephonyProvider.apk to TelephonyProvider.old.

There's a warning on xda-devs not to do this until after running the setup wizard, which I assume means setting up your Nook account on the stock OS. I think it's better to do this before rooting anyway.
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Leonardo
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by Leonardo »

Hi Gegs, I rooted it after few hours and I must say it became a little bit slower.
Yesterday I did a hardware reset (power on and immediately hold the two below buttons) to factory reset, this restored original OS removing (or disabling) rooting. And yes the speed is better.
I think is not too bad with original stock rom the only "dislike" is the default reader, it's very limited (no zoom, no change directions), I'd really like to have a better reader to replace it. Do you know any way without rooting it?
Cheers, Leo
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

Still rooted and the speed isn't too bad for me. Did you use Nook Manager?

You can disable most of the phone related stuff that runs in the background - Google to see what can safely be disabled. It's probably best to rename any unnecessary files to .old files from .apk rather than delete them (e.g. to Phone.old from Phone.apk). The unnecessary files are in the system/app folder. The easiest way to edit them is by installing the free FX File Explorer and the File Explorer root add-on. This allows you to access system files as read/write. You can also install ES Task Manager and use it to shutdown non-system processes. You can also install the NoFrills CPU Control app to boost or lower the clock speed. I actually lowered the clock speed because battery life was more important to me than operational speed.

The rooted applications are a bit slower because they run from the SD card but if I launch to the stock B&N interface everything is fine. The rooted apps are only there for occasional use and I like the default reader because I want it for text reading, not magazines or comics. I think it's a pretty good ePub reader. I'm not sure what you mean when you say the default reader has "no change directions"; you can go forward or backward but I don't know if there's the capability to read Manga in "back-to-front" mode. I do find the Relaunch loader a bit slower than others. I like the ADW Launcher and find it faster but I only get the option to load it from boot; when I press the Home button it only offers the options of ReLaunch and the default interface. I can open ADW Launcher as an app from ReLaunch but that kind of defeats the purpose.

There is no other reader available for the Nook without rooting. I think you should maybe try again but optimize the system and only install the bare minimum of stuff. I don't know how slow your Nook was but e-ink readers are hardly the fastest of tech - screen refresh being an annoyance for some people. I find that ReLaunch itself and app launching can be fairly slow on the Nook but once an app is launched it runs fairly well. The convenience of running Kobo, Kindle, Nook, Cool Reader, FB Reader and others on one e-ink device more than makes up for any lack of speed. It's also great to be able to change the reading orientation to landscape - especially for reading PDFs. I don't think you can switch to landscape on an unrooted Nook.
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Leonardo
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by Leonardo »

Hi Gegs, thanks for answer!
I'll do another try, yes I used Nook Manager.
I used the wrong term, not "direction", I meant "orientation" (landscape/portrate, not that important).
The best for me is to have the possibility to zoom!
I'll try to re-root it again and disable all the apk you suggested. I just wanted to be sure there's no way to install another viewer without rooting Nook!
Cheers, Leo
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

Leonardo wrote:...The best for me is to have the possibility to zoom!
Hi Leonardo, you mention that you were reading comics in an earlier post - Do want to zoom into comic panels or do you want to increase text sizes for books? I don't think e-ink devices are great for comics due to the slow screen refresh, but... I can display pages in landscape mode* and zoom into comic panels with Perfect Viewer by tapping the screen, although the default zoom amount of 5% is much too low; I changed zoom to the maximum 20%. Perfect Viewer also allows you to change reading direction from right to left for Manga. Having said that, if I was a big comics fan I would have bought a colour Android tablet instead.

Changing text sizes and line-spacing is easy with the default reader if you just want to make books easier to read.

*I find landscape the only comfortable way to read comics on the Nook. The width is usually enough to read a full page width without zooming (except for double panels) and it's easier to read "top half/bottom half" than to read through pages in a Z shape, i.e. "top left/top right/bottom left/bottom right". You will probably have to adjust the brightness and contrast to read your comics comfortably (at least I did to read the legendary 2000AD Judge Dredd series, 'The Cursed Earth').
Last edited by gegs on Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
gegs
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by gegs »

I've found a method that greatly speeds up the Nook for rooted apps. Don't use the ReLaunch launcher installed by Nook Manager; I find it v..e..r..y s..l..o..w

Install Button Savior and ADW Launcher. After installing, when you start the Nook you may have the option to boot directly into ADW Launcher; it will be easy to understand for anyone who has used an Android phone. If using the Barnes & Noble default interface and you want to switch to ADW Launcher, click on the small arrow to the right of the screen, which opens the Button Savior icons. Touch the 'Home' icon and you will see a list of the launchers you have installed. Choose ADW Launcher and I'm sure you will be amazed at how much faster it is than ReLaunch. If you find any better launchers, let us know.

I can also recommend installing the Farlex Free Dictionary; it works offline and in several languages. RealCalc is also very useful and turns your Nook into a big button scientific calculator.
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Leonardo
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Re: Nook Simple Touch - a cheap hackable e-reader

Post by Leonardo »

gegs wrote:
Leonardo wrote:...The best for me is to have the possibility to zoom!
Hi Leonardo, you mention that you were reading comics in an earlier post - Do want to zoom into comic panels or do you want to increase text sizes for books? I
Hi Gegs, I mean zooming the PDF not only the text size. Pdfs I have are only comics scans, so they are jpg or whatever later transformed in a pdf.
AFAICS tapping on the display (non rooted version) doesn't do anything (just opens the bottom menu with contents, find, go to, text and more), but no way at the moment to zoom a image.
As I said at the moment I'm using the default viewer and not others, did you install "Perfect Viewer" on a rooted device or you were able to install on the original rom?
Thanks, Leo
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