If you have a Nook Color and don’t want to install Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich over the stock ROM then you can install CM9 on an SD Card and run ICS from that. The instructions to install CyanogenMod 9 on an SD card is a very simple process, does not require root, and sows not effect the Nook Color stock ROM.

Install CM9 on the Nook Color using SD Card:

1. Download Win32DiskImager (Download Link)
2. Download generic-sdcard-v1.3-ICS-large.img.zip (Download Link)
3. Unzip Win32DiskImager and run the EXE file
4. Click the blue folder icon and select the image file
5. Under Device select your SD card
6. Click Write to write the image
7. Eject the SD card and plug it right back in
8. You should now see a partition named “Boot”
9. Download the Latest CM9 Nightly (Download Link)
10. Copy the CM9 Nightly onto your SD card on the “Boot” partition
11. Plug the SD card into your Nook and turn it on.
12. The image on the sd card will install and the Nook will turn off
13. Turn the Nook Color back on and enjoy CM9 from SD Card!

If you cannot connect to WiFi Go here to fix it:
http://www.android-advice.com/2012/wifi-not-working-running-cm9-on-nook-color-sd-card-fix/

After Installing CM9 to the SD Card you probably want the Google Market. To get the market and other Google Apps follow this article:
http://www.android-advice.com/2012/install-the-google-market-on-the-nook-color-via-gapps-for-cm9/

If you search for Gapps for the Nook Color or how to install Google Apps or Android Market you will get some very large Gapps files but everything within these aren’t needed for all devices. In the case of the Nook Color you will not need the full Gapps for example NFC support would be useless and in most cases causes the Nook to bug out on ROM startup since there is no NFC support. You will also notice that the facial recognition unlock is gone as well, since the Nook Color has no camera this could cause issues if turned on. The file below is to install the Google Market, Talk, etc. on the Nook Color.

Make sure your Wifi is working and is connected before beginning the process below. If your Wifi has issues follow this article: Nook Color Wifi Fix on CM9

Install Google Apps on the Nook Color:

1. Turn off your Nook Color and remove the SD card
2. Place your SD card in your PC
3. Download the Current Gapps zip (Download Link)
4. Place the downloaded file in the boot partition of your SD card
5. Turn on your Nook Color and hold the power button for menu
6. Select Reboot into recovery Mode
7. Once booted into recovery select “install zip from SDcard”
8. Then select “choose zip from SDcard”
9. Choose the Gapps file
10. Once complete, reboot the Nook Color
11. Sign in to the Market

If there are any issues with the installation of Gapps on your Nook Color please let us know so that we can adjust the instructions as needed. We have tested this and have had a flawless experience each time so this should be rather straight forward.

The Nook Color runs CM9 very well from an SD card but it doesn’t come with issues for some people. One of the common issues is the fact that the Nook Color’s Wifi seems to have issues connecting. If you have flashed CM9 to an SD card for the Nook Color and Wifi isn’t working don’t stress the fix is rather easy.

Fix the Nook Color Wifi Running CM9 from SD Card:

1. Power off your Nook Color
2. Remove the SD card and put it into your computer
3. Navigate to the partition on SD card that contains the “etc” folder
4. Go into “etc/wifi/”
5. Open “tiwan.ini” using any text editor as administrator
6. Find “WifiAdhoc = 1″ and change it to “WifiAdhoc = 0″
7. Save the file and close it (check to be sure your changes saved)
8. Put the SD card back into your Nook and turn it on
9. You can now connect to WPA and WPA2 secured networks

This fix comes courtesy of XDA member EAK128 and seems to work for most people that have the connection issues with Wifi on the Nook Color. Those that still have connection issues should leave us a comment with a detailed description of their issue and we will do our best to help you out.

If you have your Nook Color the way you want it and don’t want to receive any more over the air updates then you can easily turn them off. In most cases once you have rooted the Nook Color and changed the entire system to exactly what you want an OTA update could remove all your hard work and in some cases soft brick devices. If you want to stop OTA updates follow the instructions below to disable the built in update feature.

Turn off and Disable OTA Updates on the Nook Color:

1. Download and Install SQLite Editor from the Market
2. You do not need Root Explorer for this process
3. Once installed reboot your Nook Color
4. Open the SQLite app and let it scan your Nook Color to find databases
5. Scroll down to “DeviceManagerService” and select it
6. Select “devicemanager.db”
7. Select the “registry” entry and look for entry labeled “fota.mode”
8. Select “Auto” from the far right
9. Go to the status bar at the bottom and tap the menu button
10. Select “Edit Field”, you should now see a black screen with 1 entry
11. Tap on “auto” and replace it with the word “manual”
12. Select Done and then Save
13. Reboot your Nook Color and thats it, OTA updates will no longer be forced.

There are free SQL editors out there although from our experience SQLite is the best we’ve used. If you do use a different one the process will still be pretty mush the same. If you have any issues of questions feel free to ask below.

Most Android users take great pride in the fact that their devices can be customized entirely the way they want them to work. The Nook Color is no different, keep in mind you will need to root the device before installing a custom keyboard (in this case anyway) (Nook Color Root Instructions).  The Nook Color can have a custom keyboard if you want to change it from stock … there are just a few steps you need to follow:

How to install a custom keyboard on the Nook Color:

1. Grab a file manager like ES File Explorer (if you don’t already have one)
2. Go into the file managers settings and give it root access
3. Set the root directory to “/”
4. Download and install the keyboard app that you want from the market
5. Open your file manager and go to “/data/app”
6. Find the APK for the keyboard you just installed
7. Long press the APK and select “Move” or “Cut”
8. Navigate to “/system/app” and paste the APK there
9. Exit your file manager and reboot your Tablet
10. After the Nook Color turns back on go to “NookColor Tools”
11. Select “Choose Keyboard” and select the Keyboard you installed
12. Congrats you now have the custom keyboard on your Nook Color!

If you have any issues please feel free to ask questions via comments below. Otherwise just drop a line to let us know that everything went ok for you. Also if your installing Swiftkey of Swype be sure to open the app for the keyboard after the steps above to complete setup.

We all enjoy flashing custom ROMs, dual-booting, and just general hacking that can lead to everything but turning our tablets into paper weights. In the case of the Nook Color you can easily backup the stock ROM and restore it as needed to avoid destroying the tablet completely. You will need to use the ClockworkMod bootable micro SD card for the process but other than that its very easy to do.

How to Backup the Nook Color:

1. Create a Bootable micro SD card with ClockworkMod (Instructions Here)
2. Insert the micro SD Card into the Nook Color and Turn it on
3. Once at the CWM menu use volume keys to navigate to “Backup/Restore” select with n
4. Navigate the same way to “Backup”, press n to select
5. Don’t worry if you see “No sd-ext found. Skipping backup of sd-ext”. Its not an error
6. Once complete eject the micro SD card
7. Choose “Reboot System Now”, press n to select
8. Your Nook will reboot as Normal and your Backup is on the SD card.

How to Restore the Nook Color from Backup:

1. Insert your Bootable micro SD Card into the Nook Color and Turn it on
2. Once at the CWM menu use volume keys to navigate to “Backup/Restore” select with n
3. Navigate the same way to “Restore”, press n to select
4. Once complete eject the micro SD card
5. Choose “Reboot System Now”, press n to select
6. Your Nook will reboot as Normal and your Nook Color will be restored.

As always if you run into any issues feel free to ask questions here. Also if you have anything to add let us know that as well.

In this tutorial we will be showing you how to create a bootable ClockworkMod SD card for the Nook Color. The reason we are creating the example with the Nook Color is because we just happen to need on so might as well write as we do it. You will need the ClockworkMod bootable SD card to root the Nook Color using the Manual Nooter method so here it goes:

How to create a bootable ClockworkMod SD card:

1. Download ClockworkMod version 3.2.0.1 (Download Link)
2. Unzip the ClockworkMod file somewhere you’ll remember
3. Download Win32 Disk Imager for the flash process (Download Link)
4. Unzip Win32DiskImager and run the EXE file
5. Click the blue folder icon and select the ClockworkMod file you downloaded
6. Under Device select your SDcard
7. Click Write to write the image
8. Congrats you have a bootable microSD card for ClockworkMod!

If your creating a bootable SD card for anything else the process is still the same. If you have any issues please feel free to drop us a line.

Barnes & Noble announced they are rolling out software version 1.4.1 which adds Netflix support to the device. This while a minor update should still get the device to a much better state than the Kindle Fire is in currently.

Nook Color Update 1.4.1 Update Features:

• Netflix support
• Comic and graphic novels
• New PagePerfect NOOK books
• The ability to read books in portrait or landscape mode

The update actually started pushing out a few days ago but as all updates will take a few weeks to get to everyone. You will get the update via OTA (over the air) when connected to WiFi.

Barnes & Noble held an event November 7th in New York to unveil their next Nook device. It was an announcement we all expected to be the Nook 2 but turns out their predecessor is a full on tablet not to be confused with an e-reader any longer. If you don’t believe us check out the 1GHz dual-core OMAP processor and 1GB of RAM its packing.

Some of the other notable specifications are that the 1 GB of RAM doubles that of their competition in the Kindle Fire. Also the Nook Tablet boasts 16 GB internal memory with an SD card slot for added storage again doubling the Kindle Fire. The screen is the same 7 inch 1024×600 IPS panel as the Nook Color.

The Nook Tablet will be running another highly modified version of Android focused on the digital content that Barnes & Noble offers. They are also offering free access to the “Nook Cloud” system for safe storage with your device.

Barnes & Noble are due to release a sequel to their Nook Color Tablet/Reader. With Barnes & Noble having a special announcement scheduled for November 7th we will assume that this would be the day. Also the announcement invitations that are being sent out hold the Nook logo giving the assumption that the name of whatever they are unveiling will be the Nook 2 or some variation of that.

With the Kindle Fire announce just a few weeks ago and Amazons small price tag attached to it Barnes & Noble has to come up with competition or lose out fast. We will let you know the outcome after the event.

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