Outside of s
wearing up a storm on a Twitter app, there aren't many better ways to announce your presence on a new Android device than the comforting song selections of well-curated
Pandora station. A newly rooted Nook with an unlimited supply of free 3G? Even better. The folks behind
the rooted Barnes & Noble Nook have now managed to install Pandora onto the device. It took some VNC trickery to get past the login screen, but after that the app works perfectly with the Nook's touchscreen and even runs in the background while you read. Right now the NookDevs are working on a software unlock so that you don't have to open the Nook to root it, and are also looking into a Nook app marketplace of sorts. We don't know how long the fun will last, or what Barnes & Noble's response will be -- so far they've been mum on the issue -- but the NookDevs claim that based on a perusal of the end user license agreement "there is nothing in there to get us into trouble," so hopefully we're looking at the beginnings of a beautiful, awkward friendship between a device maker and hackers. We can dream, right?
posted December 16th 2009 10:39PM
Yes!!!
@Gaarrbanzo
this is my dream
@El Jefe
I am more willing to throw down for this device now. Gotta really appreciate what these hackers can do; I know they are not exactly on the up-and-up, but they are helpful in adding extra functionality to devices.
Take the Palm Pre for example. Hackers rooted that device within days of its release, and now there is a dedicated hacker community churning out homebrew apps and patches. Palm has (intelligently) turned a blind eye to this, and in some cases spurring on the homebrew community. You know a great company when they are all for improving their devices and embrace homebrew community efforts.
Heck yeah.
So glad I decided to wait for the Nook. :D
@Jay2theDee
I'm glad I chose it over the Kindle. I was worried, but Android made me go for it.
@ch13fw
That's good to hear! I'm excited to get one, and more than willing to wait a bit.
"so hopefully we're looking at the beginnings of a beautiful, awkward friendship between a device maker and hackers."
Yeah that's not gonna happen...
@wikiterra Exactly. Prepare for a B&N smackdown
B&N can update the Nook OTA, right? If so, you are right, this won't even be a fight, it will be a smackdown. First thing devs are going to have to do is find a way to disable automatic updates, and probably spoof software versions, because I can imagine they will lockout non-updated devices.
@Brad Green
Perhaps B&N will turn a blind eye to this just like Palm did for the Pre? If they do, I would spring for one, even though I never considered myself in the market for an e-reader; this scenario is just too compelling to ignore.
Please let this go, B&N! You're customers will love you more for it (read: buy mo' of yo' stuff).
Its just getting better! The question is, how does it have unlimited 3G? Does it have a sim card built in? Or some type of IMEI that flags it as unlimited? Could this be cloned for a cell phone?
@Hydra what are you talking about?
It has uses the 3G data connection to buy books and such. These guys are taking advantage of that for other purposes. It has the same sort of connection that the Kindle has, I'm guessing.
@purfikt
so what would happen if you pop that SIM card into a data card for your laptop? unlimited data for now?
i have always been on Sprint sooo i'm not familiar if networks can put restrictions on sim cards to only work on certain devices.
@Hydra
It does indeed have its own SIM card. See:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/14/barnes-and-noble-nook-torn-down-and-rooted-but-still-respected/
@Hydra
There is no actual physical sim card in the nook AFAIK so you cant take it out or clone it.
It is ATT 3G, for what its worth. You do get unlimited access for free, but I seriously doubt that the BN/ATT agreement included streamingmusic.
These guys are going to get smacked down in a little while.
@Hydra Sorry but I'll bet you a month's paycheck that the terms and conditions to using the 3G network (That you agree to when you purchase the Nook) allow B&N/ATT to kill your link if you are pulling too much data.
Read: Don't even think about trying to use 3G for anything other then what its intended for.
@DrDr There is if you open it up... a SIM card that is!
Simpler than that, the T&C prohibits use of 3G for anything other than "the service", which is essentially whatever content B&N allows.
@purfikt Since it has root, wonder if you could install the tethering app and somehow connect it to your computer and use the unlimited free data connection
@level67 If you could find a way to use this for net surfing, clone the sim card, or tethering , and get away with it. In just a few months the device would pay for itself considering a 3G data plan is $30 a month
>We don't know how long the fun will last, or what Barnes & Noble's response will be
I'm expecting grievous bodily harm to all involved.
@Carld I bet the Nook dev team nerds could take those smelly book geeks any day of the week
But its on AT&T's Network =/
@liftedngifted1
Then they need to make sure to stream asmuch music as they can on December 18that 3pm Eastern...
expect this to be pwn-raped by att crying to B&N, imagine.. unlimited 3g + apps = rape up ass for att
On the one hand-awesome-love how they managed to get pandora streaming on the Nook.
On the other hand-crap-ATT.
Yeah, this won't last.
@Hydra
It does indeed have its own SIM card. See:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/14/barnes-and-noble-nook-torn-down-and-rooted-but-still-respected/
If B&N is smart they will let this continue and drive up the market penetration of the nook. Makes it a much more attractive device.
AT&T on the other hand may have "issues" :)
@polyclef A sly move. Let people develop an easy hack that can done with a download and a few clicks. Allow a few free months of data. Then pull the plug after thousands have already bought the Nook for the free data.
Profit.
AT&T isn't going to allow this to continue. In fact the faster this hack gets out and spead around, the quicker AT&T will be on B&N butt to fix this problem!!! Maybe next Update. AT&T may just ban that NOOK from connecting to it's network totally. Wish all you want for this to continue, it it does, GREAT, but is so unlikly. No FREE Unlimited 3G nook's will continue for long.
totally agree with polyclef, for now they are a hot item considering the root being opened. let it be a marketing strategy, do the fixing later when they get the target market.
I'm pretty sure AT&T could do something as simple as limit nook IMEIs to only connecting to B&N.
"with an unlimited supply of free 3G"
THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!
Yep, saw this one coming... I'm pretty sure it won't last.
Yeah... that will be hard to for AT&T to sniff out and shut down.
I wonder if you'll find you entered into some kind of contract for usage and that AT&T could simply shut down your particular nook's access and that B&N would not be interested in refunding the cost of it for you...
It would really be fair-play to them if that was the outcome.