Why rooted nook

Unfortunately, most of the articles available don't cover the latest methods developed at XDA, which includes better pinch-to-zoom, improved faster refresh known as FastMode2 , overclocking the Nook, on-the-go functionality and more. But enough lecture, here's video of the Nook playing Wipeout :. It's amazing! For more tips on the best emulator around, check out Retroarch which isn't compatible with the Nook.

The method outlined in his article, unfortunately, fast fell behind the times. In particular, his method fails on the latest firmware version of the Nook 1. Fortunately the mad geniuses at XDA developed workarounds, in addition to developing new ways of bumping up the Nook's potency as an e-reader.

In a nutshell, you will use microSD cards in a similar way as you would an installation disk on a PC. This necessitates installing a bootable image on each microSD card and inserting this into the Nook. Fortunately, because these cards can be rewritten, you only need one microSD card to perform the modification.

When you've finished one step, you can reformat the card with next bootable image. Extract this file if you have not already done so. Then find the "install-kernel-usbhost After this finishes, eject the microSD card. Once the card is inserted, boot the Nook up. Kindle for Android, of course -- just updated with lots of new features.

Tim is a technology and media writer for Wired. He loves e-readers, Westerns, media theory, modernist poetry, sports and technology journalism, print culture, higher education, cartoons, European philosophy, pop music and TV remotes. Pros and cons of replacing your Nook's operating system ». You get complete control of the hardware, allowing you to install any application that you can get the device to support, either through the Google Market, the Amazon Appstore, or any of the other third-party application stores that allow you to download applications.

You can now get the daily Amazon free app. Each day the Amazon Appstore makes a paid app available for free for 24 hours. You can get your choice of eReader software, including the Android applications for both the Nook and Kindle with access to their online stores. Personally, I have not just those two eReaders installed, but also an application called Aldiko, which is my eReader of choice for my existing large collection of close to eBooks.

I also use Bluetooth-connected, external-powered speakers when watching videos or TV on my Nook. Many people really like the Nook Color for the magazine subscription capabilities.

You get the latest version of stable Android current builds are running 2. Honeycomb builds are in process, but even major vendors are shipping their tablets with Gingerbread, rather than the much more work in progress Honeycomb at this point.

The availability of stable overclocked kernels for the NC replacement ROMs means that better performance is available for all applications. Depending upon your upgrade choice the capability exists to safely overclock the standard MHz A7 ARM processor as high as 1.

The Cyanogen mod ROM that I use allows the user to set the CPU for on demand performance, meaning that it dials up when being taxed and slows down as low as MHz when minimal demand is present. You void your warranty though it may be possible flash back to the standard ROM if you need to send the device in for hardware warranty work.

I've been asked why I prefer upgrading the ROM to simple rooting. Consider it this way: Rooting is equivalent to giving yourself Administrative rights on a previous locked down Windows desktop, running a bare-bones version of Windows Vista. These directions were written for an older version of TouchNooter but the process is still the same.

You can also use these alternate directions for rooting the Nook Touch but it's more outdated. The Nook's regular features will still work after rooting. Visit the XDA thread for questions and troubleshooting; I'm not an expert so I cannot help in that department. All the credit for this easy rooting process goes to the smart folks at XDA, especially Gabrial Destruir for putting TouchNooter together.

Related Links: Nook Touch Review.