Nab your Nook Tablet a day or two early, or planning to pick one up tomorrow perhaps? Here's a neat trick: if you download an Android APK via the built-in web browser, you can actually install it to the slate without any special hacks. Though you can't initially access the permissions page from the settings menu, the xda-developers community discovered that when you try to open an APK, you can have the Nook redirect there, and then you can check the box labeled "Unknown sources" to enable sideloading. Then, it's just a matter of finding additional APKs that play nice, whether they be custom launchers or even rival platforms like the Amazon Appstore — The Digital Reader confirms that even the Kindle app works as long as you find the right version of the software. Find a variety of instructions at our source links, and happy hunting!
Update: Just wanted to confirm that this little hack works great. We tried it out on our Nook Tablet review unit and downloaded a few apks through the browser with no issue. Since B&N is restricting app sideloading (Amazon is being much kinder), this is a great workaround for those that don't want to root their new tablets.
Image credit: The Digital Reader
Comments
What about the Android Market?
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:24 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Why not. It’s just an APK you can easily google.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:25 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
If only things were that simple. Google apps have many dependencies and won’t just work via a simple installation.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:41 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Good point. It may rely on google services. Never hurts to try, though.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:42 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah…no harm trying. But the totally different framework would stop it in it’s tracks.
But I’m sure the ROM chefs will figure a way out.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:50 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I tried it on my Fire and got a message about setting up a Google account on the device. Since the Fire doesn’t have all the backend plumbing for linking a Google account (only an Amazon account) it wouldn’t work. Still, I have root on my phone so I can DL apps there and then sideload them on the Fire.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 10:46 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
This tablet is suddenly very attractive at $250
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 1:38 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
now we see the point of the extra $50…
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 2:09 AM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Not sure what you mean. Sideloading on the Fire is really easy too. I did it with adb, but you can also do it by downloading APKs with the built-in browser, just like this. Except you don’t need any “hack” or “trick” to change the setting for sideloading apps.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 10:47 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I saw the demo of ADW launcher and Amazon App market on Nook Tablet, It’s nice but some anoying, not so comfortable like other Android tablet (>300USD)
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 2:16 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
First of all, love the site and this is my first post here. Well done guys. My question is why isn’t the Google Market on this tablet? It’s tablets like this one which will actually will sell well.. I don’t get it why the market is left out.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 2:46 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Google Market is how Google makes money off of Android devices. By charging licensing fees to the people who install Google Apps/Market on their devices, they can make profit. Amazon and Barnes & Noble choose to circumvent this by using their own app store, and can thus use Android as a free OS instead of paying per device licensing fees.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 3:20 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Are you sure that google charges OEMs a licence fee for adding their services/apps to the phones ? I had understood that in order to get the google experience they only had to comply with google rules.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 8:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Basically everything you just said is wrong (except that Google makes money off of the market). Google does not charge licensing fees for the marketplace. Amazon and Barnes and Noble opened their own app stores so they could make money off of selling apps instead of sending those customers to Google.
Thank about it… why would Amazon sell a tablet that they at best break even on and then provide a market that they don’t make any money off of? Amazon made a tablet to get people to buy their stuff, they did not make a market to sell tablets.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 9:07 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You’re sadly mistaken if you think Google actually makes money directly from Android devices. Google makes money by selling search, text, and display ads. Nothing else earns them any revenue worth a damn.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 10:48 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Just as you’re sadly mistaken.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 11:50 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
From Eric Chu from Google:
“Developers will get 70% of the revenue from each purchase; the remaining amount goes to carriers and billing settlement fees—Google does not take a percentage.”
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/10/android-market-now-available-for-users.html
From Google’s 2011 revenue statement:
Total advertising revenues, 2010: $28,236 million
Other revenues, 2010: $1,085 million
http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html
Note that “other revenues” does not include any income from the Android market as per Eric Chu’s statement above. “Other revenue” is a grand total of 3.7% of Google’s total revenues.
They’re an ad company and to a very small extent a hosting service. Beyond that, everything they do is designed to drive their ad business’s penetration.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 12:52 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t think that’s how it works. Google takes a 30% cut of all sales. Access to the Android Market is free for all Authorized devices.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 11:49 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I had the idea of taking a MicroSD card loaded with CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) to a B&N store & seeing if I can load it like the Color.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 5:01 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You probably wont even get a response from the nook other than recognizing the card is there to read. If it worked we would have heard about it already.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 5:55 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If this tablet has Google apps and some Market stuff, that’s enough for me. :D
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 5:58 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
How many high-profile Android apps are released as APKs, as opposed to market-only?
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 6:54 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
(Warning: This technique makes you a total asshole)
1. Root your phone,
2. Buy/Steal Root Explorer
3. Download the app you want the apk for
4. Go into Root Explorer, cd to data/app (or data/data/app)
5. Copy, paste onto SD card
6. Get refund from Market
7. ???
8. Profit
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 8:51 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You can also do this to sideload apps on the Fire or Nook Tablet. And the only part that makes you an asshole here is steps 6-8. If you keep the app and don’t get a refund, the APK is yours to load on however many devices you own.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 10:49 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So downloading an apk from the internet via the nook tablet browser, I try and choose to install via “App Installer” and I get the message "Unable to install. This application was not able to install onto your device. Please “Archive” then “Unarchive” the application to try again."
When I try via “Package Installer” I get the error “Parse Error. There is a problem parsing the package.”
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 11:11 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Did you enable 3rd party installation first?
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 3:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You CAN add the Amazon Android market
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 3:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Anybody know if this works on an older Nook Color (haven’t done research yet to even see if an update is/will be done to make the 2 devices function the same)? If so I think I’ll go back to stock Nook as my Cyanogen messes up a lot if I do more than just read anyhow and dunno if it’s Cyanogen but touching the screen on the edges like upper right of Nook app for settings/search is nearly impossible.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 4:50 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Am having no luck. Rooted my Nook Color and was able to access Android Market and had a ball. Figured I could do the same with the tablet, so bought it today. Did download and installed Aldiko but can’t find it. Installed android market, but says I need a device. What the heck am I on??!? then can’t get anywhere to add one. can anyone help?
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 6:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Reviews are in playing Nook Tablet vs. Kindle Fire side by side:
PCWORLD:
The Nook Tablet’s unique display has less reflectivity than the Kindle Fire’s, and so is easier to read. In addition, some fonts and videos render more sharply on it than on the Fire. The dual-core 1GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4 CPU and 1GB of RAM made switching from app to app a breeze, with little lag or stuttering. Movies played smoothly and stutter-free in Netflix, and the high-definition images re-rendered for Nook’s 1024-by-600-pixel display looked lovely, with terrific contrast.
The Nook Tablet’s display was dazzling overall. The screen’s glare was minimal, thanks to what Barnes & Noble calls its VividView display. The IPS display is laminated and bonded; so unlike on other tablets’s displays—including the Kindle Fire’s—there’s no annoying, visible air gap between the glass screen and the LCD beneath.The Nook Tablet’s home screen is highly customizable and provides quick access to apps and reading material.
CNET:
We streamed Netflix side by side with the Kindle Fire, and head-to-head comparisons were very favorable to the Nook—it simply looked better. Both tablets have the same app, but the Nook Tablet’s picture looked more vivid and detailed. The Nook Tablet also has physical volume controls on the side, which come in handy—the Kindle Fire strangely lacks them. The screen, which is a higher-quality IPS display than the Kindle Fire, really shows off Netflix and Hulu Plus to amazing effect…
It’s the best screen on a budget tablet that I’ve ever seen. More storage—both onboard (16GB) and via microSD expansion—and the ability to read EPUB files could be big news for those who want flexibility. There’s plenty of expansion room, and you’ll have a hard time running out of space for your apps or your magazine downloads.
Bloomberg:
Barnes & Noble’s one-year head start in developing software really shows: scrolling is smoother, the screen reorients itself faster and the device just generally feels zippier.
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 | 6:53 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Don’t rush out to be a Nook Tablet just because of this one hack. B&N will certainly block it with the next software update.
Posted on Nov 18, 2011 | 3:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t understand. I’ve tried all the APKs (like golauncher and prolauncher and the other ones) butwhen I tried to open them “browser stopped working” or something like that and when I go into download file the downloads only have ? on them and that the nook can’t read the format. What am I doing wrong. Do I need an SD card? and does that count as rooting. I have a 2 year warranty that I don’t want to void but I really want more apps (free) that BN just doesnt have. they have like 200 apps TOTAL. Please Please help!
Posted on Nov 30, 2011 | 12:53 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Can anyone please tell me how to do this? I’m lost but really want the android market on my nook tablet.
Posted on Dec 15, 2011 | 10:53 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Haven’t tried this yet buy hope it works because the idiots at Barnes and Noble won’t sell me anything. I have a Canadian billing address on my credit card (because I’m Canadian). Bought a Nook tablet in Texas but have to side load everything. Lot of people on here trying not to pay Barnes and Noble. I’d love to give them some money, but they won’t take it.
Posted on Feb 03, 2012 | 4:01 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed