Google Play on nook!

[RickFL]

I love my nook but I think it would be much, much better if b&n allowed google play to operate natively, IMO it is a nobrainer. Am I right?

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

You don't "allow" Google Play.

You pay Google a licencing fee, then redesign your device to meet the exact specs that are required bu Google, and then you are given the ability to enable Google services on your device. If you don't mind paying another $50 so you can save $3 on Angry Birds go for it.

And no, I don't want the crap-pile that is the Android Market on my NOOK.

[PJLLB]

Get an Android for Nook SD card, or buy their download and make your own, and you can use Google Play (and the Amazon Android Market for that matter) and enjoy full functionality.

[egi73]

Could you explain a little more about the Android for Nook SD card and how it will run Google Play

[PJLLB]

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egi73 wrote:

Could you explain a little more about the Android for Nook SD card and how it will run Google Play

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The Android for Nook SD card runs Google Play as an application.  When you launch Google Play while booted with the AfN card, you can then get the other applications that are in Google Play.  See http://www.androidfornook.com/index.html for information.  There are other sites that sell an equivalent product, and I've tried one other, but I found this to be better.

[Eustace2]

+1 on the Android for Nook recommendation.  I have been using it for a few weeks thanks to a post here and it is great.  The NT is a nice reader in stock condition, it is a great tablet thanks to CM7 and AFN.

[Rebeljt]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

You don't "allow" Google Play.

You pay Google a licencing fee, then redesign your device to meet the exact specs that are required bu Google, and then you are given the ability to enable Google services on your device. If you don't mind paying another $50 so you can save $3 on Angry Birds go for it.

And no, I don't want the crap-pile that is the Android Market on my NOOK.

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You must have marketplaces confused. 

JT

Don't call it a Tablet. 

[Rebeljt]

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egi73 wrote:

Could you explain a little more about the Android for Nook SD card and how it will run Google Play

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You could go over to the XDA Forums and learn how to make one. Its easy and it will only cost you SD card. There are plenty of how to videos. 

Just my 2 cents. 

JT

Don't call it a Tablet. 

[GaryFPatton]

Thank you for your helpful reply re your prefernce for an Android upgrade card. I appreciate it.

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PJLLB wrote:

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egi73 wrote:

Could you explain a little more about the Android for Nook SD card and how it will run Google Play

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The Android for Nook SD card runs Google Play as an application.  When you launch Google Play while booted with the AfN card, you can then get the other applications that are in Google Play.  See http://www.androidfornook.com/index.html for information.  There are other sites that sell an equivalent product, and I've tried one other, but I found this to be better.

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Thank you for yor helpful info and your recommendation for an Adroid upgrade card. I appreciate it.

[GaryFPatton]

Thank you, PJLLB, for your helpful info and recommendation re your preference for an Android upgrade Card.

[Reisnice]

Toastr is correct, though, about the Google Play requirements. It is set up to require an Android phone or eqjivalent, including voice, camera, gps, etc. That the NT doesn't have. If you notice, the CM7 system used by the N2A and AFN cards contain all those apps, even when they can't possibly work. That makes you look enough like a phone that you can slip through. I'm sure BN could work something out with Google, but, as he said, it'll cost you on the front end. For the record, i'm typing this now from an NT with an AFN card installed. It's great, but I still prefer the stock NT for reading and things like that. If you want a cheap tablet and won't miss the camera, etc., the cards make it that, too.

[bobstro]

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Reisnice wrote:
Toastr is correct, though, about the Google Play requirements. It is set up to require an Android phone or eqjivalent, including voice, camera, gps, etc. That the NT doesn't have. If you notice, the CM7 system used by the N2A and AFN cards contain all those apps, even when they can't possibly work. That makes you look enough like a phone that you can slip through.

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With all due respect, Reisnice, you've got quite a bit wrong: Google Play works just fine on the NOOK Tablet and Color if you root the device. I've got two NST, two NOOK Colors and a NOOK Tablet right here, each running Google Play, or in the case of the NST, an earlier version of the Market with some annoyances.

B&N has made it difficult, but that's no fault of Google's. Were B&N to remove their restrictions, there's nothing that would keep you from having full access. Of course, not every app will necessarily work on the B&N implementation of Android 2.x, nor will some common Android features such as GPS be present, so there will still be limits on what you can do. 

You do NOT require AFN/N2A or any other work-around other than rooting the device to enable Google Play access.

[bobstro]

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RickFL wrote:
I love my nook but I think it would be much, much better if b&n allowed google play to operate natively, IMO it is a nobrainer. Am I right?

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RickFL, I'm afraid that you're about to discover that your device is fully capable of accessing Google Play and a wide world of Android apps, but that B&N doesn't want you to do that, and is going out of their way to make it difficult. If you find you can't live within the limitations of what B&N impose, you have a few options:

1. Root the device. A rooted NT can access the full Google Play marketplace. At that point, it's a question of app compatibility.
 

2. Load alternate firmware. You can boot N2A/AFN or roll your own (and learn a bit in the process) to boot an alternate firmware off of uSD. Note that this runs instead of B&N's firmware, so not everything will be available when you boot to B&N.
 

3. Buy another device. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is available now for pre-order for $250. It's allows access to the full Google Play marketplace, and runs the latest Android 4 "ICS" firmware. It also provides camera, GPS and functional bluetooth. By the time you add the price of either AFN or N2A cards to the NT, the price difference isn't all that much.

I've fought the valiant fight with my NC and NST devices for 18 months now, but I'm tired of B&N dictating how I use the device I paid for. I've ordered a Samsung to be my primary portable device, and am looking forward to using the device as I see fit. I do like the B&N interface, but the only features I'll miss are software. The NOOKs will assume a secondary role, or be doled out to family.

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

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bobstro wrote:

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Reisnice wrote:
Toastr is correct, though, about the Google Play requirements. It is set up to require an Android phone or eqjivalent, including voice, camera, gps, etc. That the NT doesn't have. If you notice, the CM7 system used by the N2A and AFN cards contain all those apps, even when they can't possibly work. That makes you look enough like a phone that you can slip through.

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With all due respect, Reisnice, you've got quite a bit wrong: Google Play works just fine on the NOOK Tablet and Color if you root the device. I've got two NST, two NOOK Colors and a NOOK Tablet right here, each running Google Play, or in the case of the NST, an earlier version of the Market with some annoyances.

B&N has made it difficult, but that's no fault of Google's. Were B&N to remove their restrictions, there's nothing that would keep you from having full access. Of course, not every app will necessarily work on the B&N implementation of Android 2.x, nor will some common Android features such as GPS be present, so there will still be limits on what you can do. 

You do NOT require AFN/N2A or any other work-around other than rooting the device to enable Google Play access.

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The Google Play you have on your rooted NOOK is NOT an official version of Google Play - in fact, your NOOK has to masquerade as a completely different device to access the Play Store at all.

To get official access to the Google Play store (i.e. if you want to sell a product that has access to it) you MUST meet certain hardware requirements - and pay Google for access to it (licencing fee). BN would have to redesign the entire NOOK line to include the features Google requires to get access to Play.

Don't spread misinformation.

[PJLLB]

Flyingtoaster, are you also saying that Google Play running on a CM7 SD card is not the official Google Play?  (Just trying to understand what you're saying...)

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

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PJLLB wrote:

Flyingtoaster, are you also saying that Google Play running on a CM7 SD card is not the official Google Play?  (Just trying to understand what you're saying...)

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Ok, it's still access to the Google Play store.

What I'm trying to say (rather uneloquently) is that if BN wanted to add Google Play to their devices they would have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to do so. Google requires certain features, such as specific buttons and things like GPS, along with a licencing fee, to allow a company to install Google Play on their device. The third-party hacks to get it onto something like a rooted NOOK have no bearing on whether or not BN can get it on their device, because it's not an official licence from Google.

It's why most "budget" android tablets don't have Google Play and instead use something like Amazon Appstore or GetJar.

[bobstro]

flyingtoastr wrote:

[...] What I'm trying to say (rather uneloquently) is that if BN wanted to add Google Play to their devices they would have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to do so. Google requires certain features, such as specific buttons and things like GPS, along with a licencing fee, to allow a company to install Google Play on their device. The third-party hacks to get it onto something like a rooted NOOK have no bearing on whether or not BN can get it on their device, because it's not an official licence from Google.

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I have a Logitech Revue that has no buttons, no (onboard) screen and no GPS. I have access to Google Play on that device and it is recognized by Google as that device. It is unmodified, "legit" in every way (though sadly an orphan). Android runs on a number of devices without such requirements. Even the button requirement has gone by the wayside in favor of on-screen buttons. Are you possibly referring to requirements for phones?

That said, when you wrote:

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You pay Google a licencing fee, then redesign your device to meet the exact specs that are required bu Google, and then you are given the ability to enable Google services on your device. If you don't mind paying another $50 so you can save $3 on Angry Birds go for it.

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if you meant the "you" in the 1st sentence to refer to a company building a device, and the "you" in the 2nd to refer to a customer, then that was unclear, and I may have misunderstood you. In that case, I apologize.

This doesn't change the fact that B&N is going out of their way specifically to block access to the Google Play store on their own initiative. The hardware is certainly capable of supporting it, as is the basic underlying system. True, B&N might not be able to sell them as "official" devices with Play access, but that's not what's being asked.

[Froide]

Make that +2.

[TelSC]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

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bobstro wrote:

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Reisnice wrote:
Toastr is correct, though, about the Google Play requirements. It is set up to require an Android phone or eqjivalent, including voice, camera, gps, etc. That the NT doesn't have. If you notice, the CM7 system used by the N2A and AFN cards contain all those apps, even when they can't possibly work. That makes you look enough like a phone that you can slip through.

---

With all due respect, Reisnice, you've got quite a bit wrong: Google Play works just fine on the NOOK Tablet and Color if you root the device. I've got two NST, two NOOK Colors and a NOOK Tablet right here, each running Google Play, or in the case of the NST, an earlier version of the Market with some annoyances.

B&N has made it difficult, but that's no fault of Google's. Were B&N to remove their restrictions, there's nothing that would keep you from having full access. Of course, not every app will necessarily work on the B&N implementation of Android 2.x, nor will some common Android features such as GPS be present, so there will still be limits on what you can do. 

You do NOT require AFN/N2A or any other work-around other than rooting the device to enable Google Play access.

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The Google Play you have on your rooted NOOK is NOT an official version of Google Play - in fact, your NOOK has to masquerade as a completely different device to access the Play Store at all.

To get official access to the Google Play store (i.e. if you want to sell a product that has access to it) you MUST meet certain hardware requirements - and pay Google for access to it (licencing fee). BN would have to redesign the entire NOOK line to include the features Google requires to get access to Play.

Don't spread misinformation.

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I love it when someone spreads misinformation and tells everyone "Don't spread misinformation".  Yes, it's an official version, and yes, even though your tablet does have to masquerade as a phone to use it, doesn't make it unofficial. So "STOP SPREADING MISINFORMATION"

[DeanGibson Distinguished Bibliophile]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

The Google Play you have on your rooted NOOK is NOT an official version of Google Play - in fact, your NOOK has to masquerade as a completely different device to access the Play Store at all.

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I don't believe that latter statement is true.  In the rooting process that I publish for the Nook Tablet (clilck on the link in my signature), once I gain root access, I copy over the Android Market (Vending.apk) and related .APK files.  I do not modify build.prop or packages.xml or any another files that describe the characteristics of the device.

Once I sign into the Market app and wait a few minutes, it automatically updates itself to Google Play, and I can access "most" of the Market.

When I say "most", there are a few apps that I can load onto my "genuine" Android devices (my Motorola Droid and my Acer A500), that I can't even find on Google Play on the Nook Tablet.  This was true on the Android Market as well, even before Google Play was available.  While a couple of these apps require a GPS, camera, etc, some don't.  I have no doubt that if I modified certain configuration files on my Nook Tablet, that those "missing" apps would install and work fine on the Nook Tablet.  Sometimes I can back up an app on the genuine Android device and then "restore" it to the Nook Tablet, and that usually works as well.

However, a basic root of the Nook Tablet (or Color, etc) will allow most of the apps to be visible, install, and work from Google Play.