"Beef-up" B&N NookColor Android Tablet

On April 25, 2011, B&N sent out email to all registered owners about the firmware upgrade from 1.1.0 to 1.2.0.  More importantly, this firmware upgrade includes Android OS upgrade from stock 2.1(Eclair) to 2.2 (Froyo), access to a broad selection of Nook apps, free full-featured email client to access webmail and support for Adobe Flash Player.  I would consider this to be a major upgrade and take NookColor to the next level closer to a tablet.  Since this upgrade would require an unrooted NookColor, I decided to give Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread) and overclock the cpu a try first before I choose the official update.

Android OS 2.3 Upgrade



The OS upgrade is rather simple.  You need a software called Clockwork Mod Recovery which can be downloaded from ( http://legacyschool.us.to/nookdev/clockwork/0.7/ ) .  Be careful to download the correct compressed file correspond to the size of the microSD card you are going to put software on.   You then use 7zip ( http://www.7-zip.org/download.html ) to extract the image file onto your desktop.  Finally, you need another software called Win32Imager( https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Win32DiskImager ) to burn the image onto the microSD card. 

There is a popular Android 2.3 OS called CyanogenMod 7 (CM7) available in a zip file format.  This can be downloaded from here http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/20138-cyanogenmod-7-for-barnes-noble-nook-color-v702-25-april-2011/ .  While you are there, it is also worthwhile to download Google Apps addon, which is also available in zip file format.  After these 2 zip files are downloaded onto your computer, copy them onto the microSD card and it is time to work on the NookColor.

Insert the microSD card into the NookColor and press the power button to boot up the device from the microSD card.  First, you need to wipe out the cache partition followed by Dalvik cache partition.  Next, you want to go back the menu once by pressing the power button.  Here, the NookColor would freeze-up.  DON'T panic, just power down the NookColor and then power up the NookColor again.  On the main menu, scroll down to select install zip from SD card and then select the CM7 zip file to install.  After the CM7 installation is finished, select the Google Apps addon zip file to install.

Lastly, take out the microSD card from the NookColor and restart the tablet and you should have Android OS 2.3 loaded on your NookColor.

Overclock The CPU

The installation of CyanogenMod 7 above already includes 950 MHz overclock from 800 MHz stock speed.  If you want to take it further, you can download the Darlingrin's OC kernel from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=925451 .  This particular kernel will max out the CPU @ 1100 MHz.  When you download the OC kernel, make sure you choose the one correspond to your Android OS.  Once the zip file is downloaded, you would then copy the zip file to the microSD card that you have akready prepared from the step above.  Put the microSD card into the NookColor and power up.  On the main menu, scroll down to install zip from SD card and then select the OC zip file.  Once the installation is complete, take out the microSD card, reboot the NookColor and your are basically done.

In closing, I am pretty much finish with what I start out do with my LG Optimus One and B&N NookColor.  Thank you for tuning-in to my blogs and all the encouragement I've received in the past few weeks.  I think I will take a break for now until I can think of something interesting to write about.

My LG Optimus One Has Transformed Into An "OFF-LINE" Navigation Device

After unlocking my LG Optimus One and constructing a VOIP infrastructure to make free outgoing calls, my next project is to turn this cell phone into a r-e-a-l GPS.  LG Optimus has a built-in gps chip in the cell phone, but the stock gps software - "Navigation" requires a data plan and could become very expensive when you are travelling south to the States.  As I understand it, most cell phone navigation software requires a data plan in order to download the map as you are travelling during your trip.

To accomplish this project, the first app I try is MapDroid which is a free app from the Android Market.  Mapdroid allows you to view maps which can be downloaded free from OpenStreetMap.  OpenStreetMap claims it covers the whole world through collaborative effort from the public at large.  The viewing of the download map using MapDroid is static.  It is not interactive with the user and does not give you any directions to go from point A to point B.  However, I think it is still nice to have a city map on your cell phone that does not cost you anything.  For more information about this app, just follow this link below:

http://www.mapdroyd.com/

The second app I try is called CoPilot Live.  This paid app has different maps of the world and the North America edition would cost about $20 U.S.  If you download the apps from the Android Market, the installation is very simple.  On the other hand, if you install it from the sdcard, you have to make sure "allow installation of non-market applications" is checked under Unknown Sources <- Applications <- Settings. This apps has premium voice-guided turn-by-turn GPS navigation with USA & Canada street maps stored on your phone so you can navigate "offline" without a data connection. CoPilot Live is packed with advanced navigation features including 3D maps, Lane Assist arrows, millions of POIs, multi-stop trip planning and more.  So far, I am very impressed by this apps and the 3.2" display screen of the phone seems quite adequate for this navigation software.

The developer of this navigation software has a video on youtube for your viewing pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LBClgC-Bcg&feature=player_embedded

Before I come to any conclusion, I would like to try out one more app called iGO My Way.  Hopefully, I can do that in the not too distant future when I can get hold of it on the internet.

How BN Nook Color Becomes BN Android Tablet

Barnes & Noble Nook Color

Rooting is my first project in turning the Barnes & Nobel Nook Color into an Android Tablet. Without any modification, Nook Color is just an ordinary color eBook reader offered by Barnes & Noble. However, with a little bit of work, you can easily turn this device into an Android tablet which would normally cost about $500. Given the vast amount of information available on the internet, it's only a matter of time before you know how to do it.


What you need for this project is a micro sdhc card and an Auto-Nooter 2.12.25 rom image for your Nook Color. The rom image varies depending on the firmware version of your Nook (i.e. 1.0.0, 1.0.1 or 1.1.0). You also need a Win32DiscImager software to burn the auto-nooter rom image onto the micro sdhc card using your computer


  

Nook Color Before Rooting

After this is done, next you put that micro sdhc card into your Nook Color and connect that to your computer. After several minutes, the NC would power on by itself. You then touch the Android icon in the middle of the screen to begin the initial setup.

Nook Color After Rooting

After pressing the "Skip The Introduction", you will come to Google sign-in screen. Put in your username and password and then press "Done". If you come back to the Google account sign-in screen again without any error messages, that means you have succesfully sign-in to your Google
accout. Now press "back" icon will return you to Google Account set up screen. Since you have already sign in, just press the "Skip" button and you will end up in "Use Google Location" screen. Press "Next" and then "Home" will take you to the normal Home screen

Lastly, power down the device and take out the micro sdhc card and you are done.






So, after all these steps, what have you really gained? The Android Market. With access to Android Market, you can download all the apps you need and install onto this devise to make it a truly tablet.

I Love My LG Optimus One

I recently purchased a smartphone.  Smartphone is something that I love to have and play with, but can't really justify its expensive price tag.  Fortunately, through redflagdeals I found an excellent deal on LG Optimus One offered by KOODO.  It was excellent because there was no 3 years contract to sign, no data plan required and it only costed $50 ($150-$100 gift card).

After unlocking the phone at a cost of $10, my first project was how to make free phone calls ( I'm cheap, I know).  I can't remember how many hours I've spent searching and reading on the internet to accomplish this, here is my write-up which I hope can help those in need.

What you need to make free VOIP calls from Android phones

1.        Google Voice (GV) is a free service that allows you to route calls from a Google provided U.S. phone # to another phone # on top of a rich voicemail system which is only available in the U.S.;

2.       HotSpot Shield is a program that gets you a U.S. IP upon execution.  This can be used to fool GV that you are applying a GV phone # from the U.S. instead of Canada;

3.       Ipcomms.net is a service that allows for free incoming calls to a VOIP phone.  The VOIP phone # is provided by them upon registration and is randomly chosen from any one of the 48 States in the U.S.  Username and password (both are 10 digits) will be sent to you separately by email;

4.       SIPDroid is a VOIP phone for Android phones from the Market;

5.       GV Dialer is a paid program ($1.99) for Android phones that allows you to make outgoing calls using GV.  It is available from the Android Market.  This program allows you to have GV call your VOIP phone (GV call forward feature),  then connects you to the number to connect to.  This makes it appear as an incoming (free) call to Ipcomms.

Setup Procedures

1.       Open SIPDroid and go to Menu -> Settings -> SIP Account (Line 1), enter username and password using the 10-digits numbers provided by Ipcomms;  put in sipconnect.ipcomms.net for Server or Proxy;  scroll down and select WLAN with a green checkmark.  If it is working, you’ll see a green light in the notification bar at top.

2.       On your computer, go to http://www.google.com/voice and login with your GV credentials.  Then go to voice settings (upper right corner) and select Phone tab.  Under the section “Forward calls to:”, click “Add another phone” and enter your 10-digit ipcomms D.I.D. phone #.  Then click call to verify.  You will get a call on the sipdroid app, slide to answer and enter the 2-digit code provided by GV on your web browser.  Once this is done and your phone is added, calls to your GV account by GV Dialer are set to forward calls to your ipcomms D.I.D. phone number.

3.       Finally, open GV Dialer, login and go to its settings; click “default phone to ring”; after a moment you will be given the option to select your ipcomms #, click that and your are done.

To make a call with VOIP

1.       The green light appears in the notification area indicates SIPDroid is running;

2.       Open GV Dialer on your mobile phone and dial the number you want;

3.       Click “Connect with google voice”, wait for the internet to tell GV to call your ipcomms # back; answer it; you will then hear the call connecting and starting to ring.

How to obtain Google Voice account from Canada

1.       Open HotSpot shield so you get a U.S. IP address;

2.       Go to http://www.google.com/voice and sign up for google voice account.  Do not attach this account to your existing google account.  Create a new google account and set “United States” as your location in the registration process;

3.       Follow the on-screen instructions up until the point where you are asked to put a number in that your GV number will forward to.  Use the 10-digit ipcomms D.I.D. phone number.