Cheaper Than A Tablet: 'Rooting' Your E-Reader

[megimoo]

What if you could buy a tablet with a slightly smaller screen than the iPad for half the price or even less? Hackers have been turning e-book readers into tablets for cheap Internet on the go.

In fact, San Francisco hacker Mitch Altman doesn't read e-books on his Kindle at all. He only uses its Web browser to access maps and restaurant listings when he's traveling.

The Amazon Kindle has 3G data connectivity so that readers can download e-books anywhere there is cell service. As many Kindle owners know, the device can connect to Google and Wikipedia to look up things mentioned in e-books, too. That connectivity is all the opportunity hackers need to turn an e-book reader into a tablet.

Cheap And Portable Internet

"This is something that is starting to get around in geek and hacker circles, and it's a relatively cheap way to have Internet anywhere you go," Altman says.

When Altman says it's cheap, he's referring to the fact that the 3G Kindle costs a mere $190 and there is no charge for the 3G Internet. Of course, there's a trade-off here: the Kindle doesn't have a touch screen, so you have to use scrolling buttons to navigate around the screen, which Altman has found cumbersome. But for $60 more, he could've gotten the Nook Color.
How To Root A Nook Color
Huskermania

College student Alex Kuklinski demonstrates how to hack a Nook Color to make it into a "full-blown Android tablet."

Source: YouTube
How To Root A Nook Color (Mac Version)..VIDEO

The Nook Color is one of Barnes & Noble's e-book readers. It sells for $250 and can access the Internet only via wi-fi. It runs a stripped-down version of the Android operating system.

Alex Kuklinski, a college student in Omaha, Neb., has a YouTube video showing people how to hack their Nook Color to make it into a "full-blown Android tablet."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUoHA...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oykpN...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoRMY...1&feature=fvwp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1vgU...eature=related

Kuklinski posts videos almost every week on YouTube, where he goes by the name "Huskermania." He's quite fond of the Nook Color and its high-end touch screen. "It's a really high quality device for the price."

He says the procedure for converting the Nook Color into an Android tablet is relatively simple. It takes about a half-hour, and the only cost beyond the Nook itself is the purchase of a micro-SD card, which can run about $15. Otherwise, it involves downloading a piece of free software that includes the Android operating system.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/27/134897...-your-e-reader

[fettpett]

this should be in tech, but w/e

The Nook is much better option to turn into a tablet than the Kindle due to the touchscreen on the Nook. The Kindle's browser is really slow and outdated but if all you're doing is looking up directions and text, it's not bad.

while jailbreaking is legal, it's also against the TOS and can void the warranty on the device. Amazon's CS is freaking awesome. I had my first Kindle for 2 weeks, knelt on it and broke the damn screen...they sent me a new one the next day with virtually no questions asked

[Odysseus]

this should be in tech, but w/e

The Nook is much better option to turn into a tablet than the Kindle due to the touchscreen on the Nook. The Kindle's browser is really slow and outdated but if all you're doing is looking up directions and text, it's not bad.

while jailbreaking is legal, it's also against the TOS and can void the warranty on the device. Amazon's CS is freaking awesome. I had my first Kindle for 2 weeks, knelt on it and broke the damn screen...they sent me a new one the next day with virtually no questions asked

Same here. About a month after I got my Kindle, it got a chip in the screen. Amazon had a replacement to me within 48 hrs. The Nook is an improvement on the Kindle in many ways (the color and touch screen functions), but you can read the Kindle in direct sunlight and the cost is much lower, and I have nothing bad to say about Amazon's CS.

[fettpett]

Same here. About a month after I got my Kindle, it got a chip in the screen. Amazon had a replacement to me within 48 hrs. The Nook is an improvement on the Kindle in many ways (the color and touch screen functions), but you can read the Kindle in direct sunlight and the cost is much lower, and I have nothing bad to say about Amazon's CS.

in some ways...if you want a purely dedicated e-reader, Kindle 3 is the way to go atm. I would like the interface on the kindle to be a little easier to navigate and the search feature could use some upgrade, but for pure reading, Kindle is hands down the best.

[Gingersnap]

Sounds deliciously "technical". :D

[fettpett]

Sounds deliciously "technical". :D

right up your alley, eh, oh redheaded one?;):D

[Odysseus]

in some ways...if you want a purely dedicated e-reader, Kindle 3 is the way to go atm. I would like the interface on the kindle to be a little easier to navigate and the search feature could use some upgrade, but for pure reading, Kindle is hands down the best.

Absolutely. And between Amazon's selection and the stuff that you can download for free at Project Gutenberg, it's the best way to go for reading e-books. I think that the Nook has the advantage for reading periodicals and PDF files, but that's the extent of it.

The hacking of the Nooks will eventually drive down the cost of tablet PCs. I'm waiting for someone to build a slightly more robust tablet that has the capabilities of a laptop. I'd love to be able to do Photoshop on a tablet.

[fettpett]

Absolutely. And between Amazon's selection and the stuff that you can download for free at Project Gutenberg, it's the best way to go for reading e-books. I think that the Nook has the advantage for reading periodicals and PDF files, but that's the extent of it.

The hacking of the Nooks will eventually drive down the cost of tablet PCs. I'm waiting for someone to build a slightly more robust tablet that has the capabilities of a laptop. I'd love to be able to do Photoshop on a tablet.

yeah, Like I said in the other thread, I would love a dual e-reader/tablet hybred like the we got talking about there...

They upgrade the touchscreen tech to be much more durable so a stylist doesn't go through the screen and kneeling on it doesn't break it (*ha) I'd be one happy camper

[Odysseus]

yeah, Like I said in the other thread, I would love a dual e-reader/tablet hybred like the we got talking about there...

They upgrade the touchscreen tech to be much more durable so a stylist doesn't go through the screen and kneeling on it doesn't break it (*ha) I'd be one happy camper

Well, if you kneel on a laptop, or even a flatscreen monitor, you will break it. :D

I don't care so much for touchscreens. I've had WACOM tablets for years and they provide far more sensitivity than most touch screens and because you're using a stylus, you can be far more precise. Now, give me a tablet PC with a stylus and a WACOM-type area to interface, and I'll be an extremely happy camper.

[megimoo]

Well, if you kneel on a laptop, or even a flatscreen monitor, you will break it. :D

I don't care so much for touchscreens. I've had WACOM tablets for years and they provide far more sensitivity than most touch screens and because you're using a stylus, you can be far more precise. Now, give me a tablet PC with a stylus and a WACOM-type area to interface, and I'll be an extremely happy camper.

So your desire is something between the capabilities of a laptop and a tablet ?BTW to you what are the weaknesses,as you see them, of the laptop over a tablet ?