Upgrading

[karpomatic]

Okay, I've been a Nook Classic user and lover since it came out. I have been resisting getting a Color but I'm 99% positive that I'll be getting one for Christmas. So, I have a few questions I wanted to pose to the already using Nook Color crowd.

1- One of the things I'm really worried about not having is the 3G network for books. How often has it become a problem? I really like not needing a Wifi connection.

2- I've read here that the battery life sucks. Does anybody have any tricks other than airplane mode?

[geertm]

Originally Posted by karpomatic

Okay, I've been a Nook Classic user and lover since it came out. I have been resisting getting a Color but I'm 99% positive that I'll be getting one for Christmas. So, I have a few questions I wanted to pose to the already using Nook Color crowd.

1- One of the things I'm really worried about not having is the 3G network for books. How often has it become a problem? I really like not needing a Wifi connection.

2- I've read here that the battery life sucks. Does anybody have any tricks other than airplane mode?

1. I have 133 books on my NC that I have yet to read. I do not need 3G to immediately download another book when I am not at home.

2. 8 Hours is a a very good battery life for an LCD tablet. You cannot compare e-ink and LCD battery life. . Even the Kindle fire has an 8 hours battery life. And most cheap Android tablets have ony 3 to 4 hours.

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by karpomatic

Does anybody have any tricks other than airplane mode?

You can use "night" setting for book display (light text/black screen) to reduce battery discharge; turn the unit off overnight; and yes, use airplane mode (radio off) whenever your reading a book.

Personally I think 3G is a waste. I have a "smartphone" with Verizon 3G and the page loads are worse than dialup. I prefer wi-fi when it's available.

Now if there was a 4G option...

[Care]

I never have use of needing 3G, but if I ever did I guess I could just use my phone to set up a hotspot. I have many books I have never read on it, and I am usually near wifi (actually I mostly use my NC at home so it always has wifi).

I usually charge my NC every night when I charge my phone. I never turn my wifi off as I like to look things up or just pop on to Good reads while reading. I do keep the brightness almost all the way down and even during the day (if inside) I always have the night setting on as I find it too bright otherwise. On a normal day of browsing and reading my NC is only at 85-60%, so I generally still have a lot battery left.

It is totally different than an eink reader, but I am sure you will love it!

[karpomatic]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I guess I'll find out on Christmas!

[tubemonkey]

3G on a tablet is going to cost you money in the form of a monthly data plan. It's not worth it in my opinion. Free wifi is readily available when traveling and always available at home.

I don't read books on my NC. I rooted mine and use it as a tablet.

[karpomatic]

I am so afraid of rooting. I dont want to brick the unit and be out hundreds of dollars.

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by karpomatic

I am so afraid of rooting. I dont want to brick the unit and be out hundreds of dollars.

Nook Color is pretty idiot proof as far as bricking it goes. I think that is part of why it's been so popular. You have tons on the forums whom would walk you through it. Someone was nice enough to walk me through rooting mine the first time..

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by karpomatic

I am so afraid of rooting. I dont want to brick the unit and be out hundreds of dollars.

Like you, I too was afraid, but the members here on MobileRead helped me with my questions - and I'm sure they were so basic as to be embarrassing.

I used a micro SD card because, like you, I didn't want to do something classified as 'foolish.' (Keep in mind, however, that I live here in Peru and resetting/registering the nook is way too troublesome.)

Take courage in knowing that there are great members here who will walk you through the process.



Don

[NoName]

I rooted in the beginning with autonooter, but I just ran across some sites that sell the micro sd cards with everything already on them. Seems like an easy way to do it. I haven't tried either one, but I'm thinking of getting a Root My Nook card to try. Anyway, check them out since it seems pretty painless and goofless. (Coundn't think of a better word)

http://www.rootmynookcolor.com/

http://www.n2acards.com/

[karpomatic]

I'll check it out come Christmas. Thanks everybody.

[wymore]

One last thing that hasn't been mentioned is the different type of screen. If you are used to reading on an e-ink screen, the LCD is going to be different. I have never had any issues and love to be able to read in the dark, but it hurt my eyes too much and she ended up getting a Touch instead. If you have a chance to try one out before buying, I highly recommend it.

[Richard443]

I purchased the N2A card. It works really well. Some will say do it yourself but this takes all the pain out having Nook Color run as an Android Tablet. the company provides excellent instructions, and excellent help. I can't wait till they issue an Ice Cream update.

There is also a forum for users of the N2A. Very useful.

[taosaur]

The only advice I'd give is, unless retail comes down drastically, get a refurb. Paying $250 for the NC this late in the production cycle, especially if you intend to root it or use a custom ROM, would be madness, and there is literally no downside to the refurbs. They're generally indistinguishable from a new model (for all intents and purposes, they are new models), they're fully warrantied, and right now they're sitting at $150. Hopefully retail will come down as the holidays approach, but the cost of refurbs will fall right alongside it.

As far as modifications, check out the link in my sig--it provides a decent overview with links to the methods you'd use, so you can decide for yourself if it looks like too much for you.

Originally Posted by taosaur

The only advice I'd give is, unless retail comes down drastically, get a refurb. Paying $250 for the NC this late in the production cycle, especially if you intend to root it or use a custom ROM, would be madness, and there is literally no downside to the refurbs. They're generally indistinguishable from a new model (for all intents and purposes, they are new models), they're fully warrantied, and right now they're sitting at $150. Hopefully retail will come down as the holidays approach, but the cost of refurbs will fall right alongside it.

As far as modifications, check out the link in my sig--it provides a decent overview with links to the methods you'd use, so you can decide for yourself if it looks like too much for you.

So I purchased a refurbished Nook Color partly for when I want to read ebooks for which color is needed, but mainly to use as a tablet computer. I went the SD card route for route using an ordinary ScanDisk 8 GB card and followed the instructions given here. Running CyanogenMod 7 from SD (Nook Color): Simplified Instructions Much appreciation due to Taosaur for that. The Android OS installation went without a hitch. The problem I am stuck on the moment is after installing the CM7 Google Apps package. That install went just fine, but on starting the device and being prompted to set up a Google account I have reached a frustrating barrier. I have an existing account, and the Nook Color wi-fi connection is setup (my home DSL/wi-fi), but during the attempt to complete the Google account setup the wi-fi connection keeps dropping, I have noticed that the wi-fi connection goes in and out, never staying connected for more than 10-30 seconds. This does not happen to the wi-fi connection when I have booted into the original Nook Color OS. Since losing the wi-fi connection during the setup forces me back to reentry of my Google account name and password it is at the moment a endless loop. Any helpful suggestions?