I don’t consider myself a technology geek, but I do consider myself a power user. I like technology, but I’m not typically the guy who goes rooting around in the assembly of an operating system.
Recently I’ve been thinking, out loud, about getting an Android tablet. I’ve also been bemoaning the fact that I’ve never rooted an Android device. I’ve thought about rooting my Droid, but haven’t done it. I’ve also toyed with the idea of purchasing a Barnes & Noble Nook Color just so I could root it.
Well, my awesome wife and kids heard my rumblings and bought me a Nook Color for Father’s Day for the sole purpose of rooting it. That’s pretty darn cool.
Here’s the poem my kids wrote me that was attached to the box. They made me read it before I could open the gift and asked me if I caught the hint. I did.
Dad,
Today is a day made just for you,
To honor and celebrate all that you do.
We love you with all of our hearts,
Even when you let loose a fart.
We hope that made you smile,
Because it took us quite a while.
You’ve given us strong roots to help us grow,
And now a gift we will bestow,
Upon this day, we love you so.
Now take this gift and root it well,
We hope you think it’s very swell.
We wish you luck on this task.
If you need help just ask,
Because you have two brilliant daughters,
Who will always look up to their one great father.
Now this is getting much to long,
So take this gift and be gone.
Love,
Mikaela and Josslyn
Rooting the Nook Color turned out to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. I had version 1.2 of the Nook software which is apparently designed to make rooting the device harder. Mission accomplished.
Fortunately there are a lot of really smart people in the world and they like tinkering with things a whole lot more than I do.
The first time I rooted the device I used this YouTube Video to get the job done. The kid in the video walked me through the rooting process step by step. It worked perfectly, but I was only able to layer Android Gingerbread on top of the Nook Color software. It was kind of cool, but I had a lot of trouble accessing the Android Market so I decided to jump in with both feet and burn the sucker to the ground and start over. Sounded great in theory, but it gave me some headaches and a little heartburn. I ended up turning my Nook Color into a doorstop for a few hours, but was finally able to get a complete Android Gingerbread v. 2.3.4 installed on my Nook Color, or should I say my new Android Tablet; dubbed FrankenNook by my brother, Robert.
Why did I chose Gingerbread over the other versions? Good question. I did quite a bit of research before starting the process at Gingerbread appeared to be one of the simpler installations as well as one of the most stable.
Thanks to the ladies and gentlemen at xdadevelopers for all their hard work and for putting the information up on the internet for all to enjoy. And thanks to my lovely wife and incredible girls for the gift.
Oh, the rooted Nook Color makes a great 7-inch Android Tablet. My wife asked me if I still wanted an “Android tablet†off the shelf, i.e. a Galaxy tablet or Xoom. The honest answer is no, not at this time. At the moment I’m enjoying the device immensely. When I get tired of it I’ll just re-flash it with Honeycomb. Just sayin’.
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