Locked bootloader - SOL for devs/custom ROMs?

[coolVariable]

So it looks like the NT has a locked bootloader meaning devs/custom ROMs are SOL for the NT?

[BOOT] Worse news (was "Bad news everyone.") - xda-developers

 

[FloridaPhil]

Yeah, which is a real let down seeing as B&N had strongly hinted that it would not be locked as per Nook Color.

It's early days yet - an exploit may yet be found.

 

[Smokexz]

Shame, this would have been an amazing device, just install Ice Cream Sandwich on it and it will fly.

Sent from my Xoom

 

[theundeadelvis]

Give it time. There's an exploit for just about everything. This guy's only been out a few days, and it's already rooted, so there are motivated devs looking into it.

Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk

 

[coolVariable]

Locked bootloader means there will never be an official Cyanogenmod ROM ... SOL.
Unless somebody figures out a way to totally hack the bootloader in the next couple of days, we would be better off if Devs focus their efforts on other devices that are easier to hack.
Look at the Motorola and HTC phones with locked bootloaders ... yes, one year later they can run "a version" of some roms, but they are buggy as hell and run on top of old kernels.
Totally defeats the whole purpose of custom roms. Then you might just as well run a different launcher and call it a day.

Coming of a Nook Color that I was very happy with until it was abandoned by Devs, I was really hoping to get the Nook Tablet: I love the form factor, the amount of RAM and the addition of a microphone but not with B&N blocking custom ROMs.
It is in all of our interests to focus devs on one device so it gets lots of love.

I give it another week but otherwise, I would recommend the kindle. People are already working on getting a port of Cyanogenmod running on it. If they succeed before the NT gets its bootloader locked, I say SOL for the NT.

 

[theundeadelvis]

While I completely understand where you're coming from, I think there are other considerations at work here. With the aforementioned bootloader locked phones, there were plenty of other options without locked bootloaders for devs to migrate to. While there are TONS of Android tablets, there aren't tons of sub $250 tablets of this form factor with these specs. And yes the KF has the upper hand when it comes to custom roms, but the fixed storage (and to a less degree 512MB RAM) are an absolute deal killer for some.

It did take a while to unlock the Droids, but having that hindsight may help facilitate faster progress with unlocking the Nook, and potentially more capability. Of course this all comes down to what devs adopt it.

Long story short, there are reasons to put effort into the NT, BUT unless the right devs buy into, like you said, we're SOL.

 

[MazoMark]

I have to agree with coolVariable on this. Kindle looks like the low cost tablet for custom roms. Already rooted with open bootloader. Just needs to get some form of recovery - maybe TWRP 2.0 - working on it and it will be ready for full development.

B&N decision on tablet is a shame. I have a Nook Color and have really enjoyed trying out multiple custom roms on it. I read where Netflix may have forced this on B&N as condition of HD movie streaming. If they did, I think that is shortsighted.

 

[dlcullen]

I read where Netflix may have forced this on B&N as condition of HD movie streaming. If they did, I think that is shortsighted.

This is on the Barnes & Noble Site:

"Coming Soon! TV Shows & Movies
Get ready to watch popular TV shows & movies right on your NOOK Color with Netflix and Hulu Plus?.
"

I asked in their chat help if it would work on a device purchased a year ago and the response was that All Nook Color devices will be eligible for the update.

So they would have to lock the bootloader on the new NOOK Colors as well I suppose? I'm going to get a Tablet anyway, can't pass up the better specs!

 

[MazoMark]

Key point here is HD. My understanding is Netflix has been strict that it will only stream HD content to devices with locked bootloaders. They don't want just anyone to have capability to look at their code.

So you can watch streamed video from Netflix and Hulu on the Nook Color (I do it all the time) - you just can't get the HD content.

To be honest, I don't see what the advantage is to getting HD content on a device that only has 1024x600 resolution (both Tablet and Color). Why use HD if your screen can't show 720p?

 

[theundeadelvis]

Sure, you're not getting the full hd resolution, but you are getting more pixels than the standard def. It does look better, but of course, in the end, it's really just a marketing tool.

Also, an xda user has kexec up and going. So once someone creates a cm7 build, it will hopefully be ready to test.

Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk

 

[coolVariable]

Sure, you're not getting the full hd resolution, but you are getting more pixels than the standard def. It does look better, but of course, in the end, it's really just a marketing tool.

Also, an xda user has kexec up and going. So once someone creates a cm7 build, it will hopefully be ready to test.

Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk

Some BS troll on XDA has compiled kexec tools and everybody acts as if the bootloader is hacked.
It is NOT hacked.
In fact, another user confirmed via the source code for the NT, that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to run kexec:
xda-developers - View Single Post - [BOOT] Worse news (was "Bad news everyone.")

I loved my Nook Color and would have gone for the NT immediately if it had an unlocked bootloader, primarily because it has a microphone and the Kindle Fire doesn't.
People complaining about the lack of an SD card on the KF are full of S. Yes, it would be nice but last I checked nobody is complaining about google dropping SD card support on the google nexus phone 2 YEARS ago!

We need devs to focus on one device and that device is the KF.
Do you really want to reward a company that literally shot the dev community for its devices into the head? I guess it is ok when B&N does it, but it is not ok when Motorola does it?

 

[MazoMark]

Agree with coolVariable 100%.

B&N shafted developers with the Tablet just so Netflix would allow HD movie streaming (to a device that can't display in HD!). I loved my Nook Color, had a ton of fun hacking the crap out of it, but I won't spend a dime on something as locked down as the Tablet.

Too bad - it could have been a great tablet for customizing. Looks to me like Kindle Fire is low price tablet of choice for development now.

 

[coolVariable]

Agree with coolVariable 100%.

B&N shafted developers with the Tablet just so Netflix would allow HD movie streaming (to a device that can't display in HD!). I loved my Nook Color, had a ton of fun hacking the crap out of it, but I won't spend a dime on something as locked down as the Tablet.

Too bad - it could have been a great tablet for customizing. Looks to me like Kindle Fire is low price tablet of choice for development now.

That is such a BS conspiracy theory: B&N locked down the NT because they don't want people to buy they ebook reader and turn it into a tablet. It is supposed to be a device that you can only use with B&N's store ... not a generic android tablet.

 

[MazoMark]

Netflix outlined their strategy for HD streaming in a press release last summer which clearly indicated they would only license HD streaming on approved Netflix certified hardware combined with security measures approved by Netflix to protect IP rights of content providers. The TI OMAP 4 class CPU used in B&N Tablet was one of first to receive Netflix certification. Call it BS if you like - but there is clear evidence that Netflix intends to require hardware makers to lock down their devices if they want the right to stream HD content.

That said, I don't doubt that B&N does want to make it harder for Tablet users to escape from their walled ecosystem. They'll sell fewer Tablets to the geek hacker crowd - but in big scheme of things, they probably will make more money on each customer who remains locked into the B&N ecosystem.

 

[coolVariable]

Netflix outlined their strategy for HD streaming in a press release last summer which clearly indicated they would only license HD streaming on approved Netflix certified hardware combined with security measures approved by Netflix to protect IP rights of content providers. The TI OMAP 4 class CPU used in B&N Tablet was one of first to receive Netflix certification. Call it BS if you like - but there is clear evidence that Netflix intends to require hardware makers to lock down their devices if they want the right to stream HD content.

That said, I don't doubt that B&N does want to make it harder for Tablet users to escape from their walled ecosystem. They'll sell fewer Tablets to the geek hacker crowd - but in big scheme of things, they probably will make more money on each customer who remains locked into the B&N ecosystem.

It's my understanding that Netflix also said that they would require certain "locked" CPU's (with hardware security measures?) for the normal Netflix app, before they were able to renegotiate some contracts with studios and release the SD netflix app for pretty much any device.
As such I don't think B&N is going to spend the extra money to have the bootloader be eFuse locked for some random third party (even if it is Netflix and the studios asking for this), especially since the Nook Tablet doesn't even have the proper resolution for HD streaming.
Blaming Netflix (or really the studios) for locking the bootloader is a very far-fetched conspiracy theory with absolutely no proof.

The theory that B&N wanted to prevent hacking like on the NC on the other hand is quite logical and sound.

BTW - looks like people have CM7 running on the Kindle Fire.
While I would love to give the NT a chance, that makes the next couple of days the endgame for the NT and any hope to circumvent the bootloader ...

 

[mohawkx]

It's my understanding that Netflix also said that they would require certain "locked" CPU's (with hardware security measures?) for the normal Netflix app, before they were able to renegotiate some contracts with studios and release the SD netflix app for pretty much any device.
As such I don't think B&N is going to spend the extra money to have the bootloader be eFuse locked for some random third party (even if it is Netflix and the studios asking for this), especially since the Nook Tablet doesn't even have the proper resolution for HD streaming.
Blaming Netflix (or really the studios) for locking the bootloader is a very far-fetched conspiracy theory with absolutely no proof.

The theory that B&N wanted to prevent hacking like on the NC on the other hand is quite logical and sound.

BTW - looks like people have CM7 running on the Kindle Fire.
While I would love to give the NT a chance, that makes the next couple of days the endgame for the NT and any hope to circumvent the bootloader ...

Frankly, by reading your posts, it sure doesn't seem like you want to give the B&N Tablet a chance. You claim that B&N only locked down the bootloader to keep everybody walled in to their garden but this is not the case in my experience. Case in point: I have never used an android device before. I'm one of those illiterate senior citizens who can barely peck my way through Windows XP on a 4 year old desktop. I don't even have a cell phone, less a smart phone. Yet, I was able to enable 3rd party downloads with three taps on my Tablet and download the whole Amazon App store, the Kindle store, Google maps, and any Amazon app I wanted. I pretty much put every application I've ever wanted or that I'd ever use with a regular tablet on the Nook Tab and I did it in less than an hour,3 days after I bought it. If that's B&N restricting their unit to a small walled garden, then obviously they didn't do a very good job.
From what I've read on this and many other forums, the only reason B&N locked down the bootloader was because of netflix. A business decision made because they can sell a lot more units to people who want netflix on their e-readers than developers who want to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Just my uneducated opinion.

 

[coolVariable]

From what I've read on this and many other forums, the only reason B&N locked down the bootloader was because of netflix. A business decision made because they can sell a lot more units to people who want netflix on their e-readers than developers who want to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Just my uneducated opinion.

You need to do more research ... also check out Netflix on the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color.
B&N locking the Nook Tablet because of one app (Netflix HD), especially one that cannot be used properly on the hardware in question (the NT doesn't have an HD screen), is a BS conspiracy theory.
But let's just ignore the facts why other manufacturers have locked bootloaders and go with the crazy theories because they are more fun.

 

[coolVariable]

Back on topic: Kindle Fire has Cyanogenmod 7 with devs working on CM9.

 

[loquist42]

Back on topic: Kindle Fire has Cyanogenmod 7 with devs working on CM9.

That's not on topic. Look at the top of the webpage and note that it says, "Nook Tablet."

If you want your comment to be on topic, then you need to look for one that says, "Kindle Fire."

No need to thank me.

 

[SilentSnow]

Hi! I am a brand-new owner of a Nook Tablet. I'm also a Senior and completely overwhelmed by almost everything. My cell is 7 yrs. old and makes phone calls. I have a laptop.

After much intense internal debate, I bought the NT. My only complaint is that I want Kindle apps! I read Mohawkz note about opening up his/her tablet to get to the Kindle store, and would love to know *how* to do that. [Yes, I'm selfish- I want to have the cake and eat it, too.]

A friend sent me a link with all kinds of complicated instructions .

The NT is absolutely gorgeous. I'm mostly using it for reading and web surfing.

Thank you to all that can help!