Amazon Kindle Fire, the 7-inch sub-$200 Android tablet (Update) | Android and Me

So, what does that mean to the Android world in general? On the surface, probably nothing. Even though the Kindle Fire is based on Android, we probably shouldn't see it as a real Android device. Indeed, judging from the news, what Amazon seems to change the underlying Android OS a lot more than what B&N did on the Nook Color. That being said, in the long run, it probably will provide more incentive for developers to create Android apps. The fact is, the Kindle Fire is close enough to a generic Android tablet that it makes little sense for a developer not to develop for both platforms. If the Kindle Fire does well, what could happen is that developers might develop Android apps for it first (due to its relatively fixed hardware, it will be easier to target), then open the apps to other Android tablets. So, even though the Kindle Fire may not contribute directly to Android's growth, it could potentially help indirectly. Amazon Kindle Fire, the 7-inch sub-$200 Android tablet (Update) | Android and Me

Nook Color becomes an unintentional rival of the iPad, with sales to match

If Electonista's source is correct, then Apple may have find its unexpected rival in the form of an e-reader. According to the suppliers of Barnes & Noble, the book seller may have sold 3 millions Nook Color since it launched in the fall. To put the number in perspective, Apple sold about 15 millions iPad worldwide since its launch, with 7.5 millions sold in the fall. On the other hand, the Nook Color is only available in the US. No matter how you look at it, 3 millions of Nook Color in the US alone versus 7.5 millions of iPad worldwide is a sales number that Barnes & Noble should be very proud of.

Of course, one might argue that the Nook Color isn't even a tablet, but as demonstrated by numerous people, including myself, it can become a very capable tablet with very little effort:





Nook Color may have hit 3m units, 50% of tablets in US | Electronista: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

[UPDATE] Nook Color (Honeycomb) as a GPS Navigation Device - HD

How to turn your Nook Color into a GPS

What do you need:

1. An Android phone that's capable of Wifi tethering
2. A rooted Nook Color that can make use of your wifi-tethering phone's network. The easiest way to achieve this is to get a custom ROM. CM7, Honeycomb, etc. I am using the Honeycomb Preview.
3. An app called TetherGPS
   

Prepare your Android phone

1. You must have an Android phone. An iPhone, or any other smartphone won't work. 3G modems won't work neither.
2. You *must* have a rooted phone (preferrably w/ a custom ROM. I use CyanogenMod 7 on my Droid Original.)
3. Install Wireless Tether for Root Users (FREE) to your phone.
4. Install TetherGPS to your phone.
   It's not free. However, there's a free version that will work for 5 minutes. You can re-use it by turning it off and on again.
5. Add the TetherGPS Server widget to your home screen

Prepare your Nook Color

1. You *must* have a rooted Nook Color (preferrably w/ a custom ROM. I use the Honeycomb preview.)
2. Install Adhoc Wifi Support to your Nook Color.
3. Install TetherGPS on your Nook Color
4. Add the TetherGPS Client widget to your home screen

Tethering

1. Launch the Wireless Tether app on your phone. Then click the big icon to activate tethering
2. From your Nook Color's wireless setting, connect to the wireless network created by your phone
3. Turn on your Nook Color's TetherGPS Client widget
4. Turn on your phone's TetherGPS Server widget

NOTES

1. If the TetherGPS Server is serving location data, in the notification of your phone, you will see a status stating the data is being served on an IP address. If it's not serving location data, the status will be blank.
2. If the TetherGPS Client is receiving location data, you will find a notification stating so. Otherwise, it will say no location data is received.
3. You might want to wait until your phone receive a GPS signal before turning on the TetherGPS Server.

How to sideload app in Honeycomb powered Nook Color using ADB

Sideloading app into a Honeycomb powered Nook Color using ADB is the same as any sideloading in any other Android devices. If you can't make it work, 99% of the times, it's because of a driver problem. In this case, you will need to install a Nook Color driver for ADB. What you need is the following:

Credits

1. thecubed: XDA member thecubed created the Easy USB ADB Installer for Windows. You can find the original post at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=910008.
   

1. If you haven't done it already, download the Easy USB ADB Installer from the original XDA link above, or from my mirror at http://www.fileserve.com/file/rdx7UvM
   
   
2. Unrar the downloaded file nook-usb-installer.rar



3. Run install.exe in the extracted folder and follow the onscreen prompts.

Once the driver is installed, you should be able to use ADB command on your Nook Color. If your Nook Color isn't showing up, try unplugging it, then plug it back in and turn off the screen of the Nook Color (but DON'T TURN THE POWER OFF.) If it still doesn't show up, make sure USB debugging is checked (under Settings -> Applications -> Development.) After that, you can install any APK from your Windows PC by doing:

• adb windows-path-to-your-apk

Motorola Xoom Flash Player: Game Playing Hand On -- Clear HD

Playing a game using the leaked Flash Player on a Motorola Xoom.

How to restore a Nook Color back to Stock

After playing your Nook Color with all kinds of cool tricks (like, turning it to an affordable Honeycomb tablet), you may want to restore it back to stock. Thanks for the way how the Nook Color is designed, it is extremely easy to do that.

Credits

1. samuelhalff: He came up with the restore image. The original thread can be found at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=914690&highlight=cwm
2. thecubed: He/She created the bootable Clockwork SD Card. See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=922870

First of all, you will need the following:

1. A Windows PC (I use Win7 64bit, but other versions should be ok)
2. Two microSD cards. Both needs to be at least 128Mb.
3. Download this zip file: http://www.fileserve.com/file/a3NSP4V
4. Download the software WinImage from: http://www.winimage.com/ (Skip this step if you already have WinImage installed.)

Next, follow the directions below:

1. Format both microSD cards (FAT32). Put 1 into your media reader.
2. Install WinImage
3. Unzip the zip file you download from step 3 above. You will see 2 files: 128mb_clockwork-0.7.img, and nook-complete-restore-1.0.1.zip.
4. Run WinImage as an administrator
5. Choose Disk -> Restore Virtual Hard Disk Image on physical drive ...
6. Select your microSD card (DON'T CHOOSE THE WRONG DRIVE)
7. Click OK
8. Then select the file 128mb_clockwork-0.7.img
9. Wait for the disk image to be written
10. When it's done, close WinImage.
11. Eject the first microSD card, and put in the second one.
12. Copy the file nook-complete-restore-1.0.1.zip to the second microSD card.
13. Insert the first microSD card into your Nook Color.
14. Reboot your Nook Color. It will boot into the command line Clockwork Recovery.
15. Use the volume buttons of the Nook Color to select the "mounts and storage" option, then press the Nook's "N" button
16. Use the volume buttons to select format /system, /data, and /cache (press the "N" button to format each partition.)
17. In the same menu, make sure /system aren't /data aren't mounted
18. DO NOT REBOOT. Eject the SD card out, then put in the second SD card.
19. Mount the sdcard
20. Press the power button of the Nook Color to go back to the main menu
21. Choose "backup and restore", then press the "N" button
22. Choose "choose zip from sdcard", then press the "N" button
23. Use the volume buttons to select the file nook-complete-restore-1.0.1.zip, the press the "N" button
24. WAIT until the installation finishes
25. Reboot your Nook Color
26. Your Nook Color is now back to stock!

8.9" Samsung Honeycomb Tablet

Among the 3 top Android tablet makers (Motorola, LG, and Samsung -- IMO, without a Honeycomb tablet, HTC is not going to achieve much with the Flyer), I am most attracted by the yet-to-be-announced 8.9" tablet from Samsung. I have a Nook Color and I love its size. A ~10" tablet, no matter how light it is, is not for single-hand handling. I always want the Nook Color's screen to be a bit bigger, but not so big that it rivals the Xoom or iPad. A ~8.9" tablet will be perfect for me. Pixel density is not a BIG issue to me. Sure, I can't stand for a 800 x 600 resolution, but something similar to the Nook Color is sufficient. A slightly bigger physical size, however, can make it easier to read small text.

Anyway, no one knows for sure if Samsung really will come up with a 8.9" tablet. May be it will surprise us with a 8", AND a 9"?

Xoom Unboxing

Unboxed a Xoom today. I can't say I don't like it, but there is one thing that really pissed me off. For $800, Motorola didn't even bother to put in a plastic bag, which would cost them, may be 2 cents? Yes, it's covered with a plastic sheet, but it's covered with fingerprints!

Oh, the box's cover wasn't even taped (and it's very loose.)



Anyway, this tablet is still by far the best tablet experience one would get -- move away, iPad.

Google Cloud Music is Active?

According to a XDA member called WhiteWidows, the Google Cloud Music is now active for the lucky folks who are running the Honeycomb Music app using CM7. The full link to his post can be found at:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5898805435942103995

I am running CM7 myself on my Droid, but I am hesitate to give it a try 'cause the Honeycomb Music app I could find is a preview only. But if you are an adventurous kind, go ahead and have some fun.