[Blog] Rooting the Nook Color – The B&N’s stance

[rico2001]

[Blog] Rooting the Nook Color – The B&N’s stance

Firstly, if you want to root the Nook Color you need to go over to Nook Devs’ Nook Color Portal. They have instructions and a warning.

B&N’s stance on rooting the Nook Color is very interesting and worth going through BEFORE you root your Nook Color.

Here’s what they say -

If an end user modifies NOOKcolor from its managed software configuration, there are implication in regard to both warranty or technical support for the device. Please consult the terms and conditions within the user manual for details.

At Barnes & Noble we are focused on providing the best device experience for end users and are working to bring first class applications to the NOOKcolor in Q1/2011. We want end users to have a seamless high quality application experience on NOOKcolor with great content, games, applications, and reading centric content.

Here’s my interpretation -

1. If you root your Nook Color say bye-bye to your warranty.
2. If you root your Nook Color say bye-bye to technical support.
3. B&N is building a custom app store to ensure high quality apps and a great user experience.
4. By end of Q1, 2011 Nook Apps will be arriving.

B&N is basically saying – Why not wait until the Nook App Store is available and see what apps arrive for the Nook Color?

It seems a pretty reasonable stance.

Their stance on the warranty being voided when you root your Nook Color, and an end of all technical support, is pretty reasonable too. By rooting you are doing a lot of untested and unsupported things to your Nook Color. Then you install all sorts of apps, mess around with the firmware, and try all sorts of things. It becomes a bit unreasonable to expect B&N to cover all of that, or to help you if you mess up doing something excluded from the warranty.

Rooting the Nook Color – B&N’s stance « Nook App Review


Interesting read and take on the possible upcoming b&n app store. My first time seeing the B&N statement, wonder if there is more to it.

 

[RaVenJ]

If and when B&N unlocks the NC the same way this community has, then I'm all for running it stock. Until that time, I'll take my chances without the warranty. As for tech support, I've found far better tech support comes from an active community such as the NC has than from some outsourced call center in India.

 

[Stelv]

As is true with all rooted android devices the manufacturer has a right to void warranty and not provide support for untested modifications. This is a breath of fresh air though in comparison to other companies like Motorola, who intentionally boobie-trap their devices to be non-functional if modified. Moto has even gone to the extent of being verbal abusive and down right malicious toward the rooting community. Good luck to those new Xoom owners who try to root their brand new $800 device and end up bricking it for good.

Sorry this turned into an anti Motorola comment

 

[markiej]

I can see why game-console mfg's want to booby trap mods, because it a mod'ed console is stops being a money-maker. B&N has a slight case for that since modded nooks will become less of a B&N store on-the-go. But rooting doesn't make their books free. And they already support unprotected content (like txt, pdf and epub) so... I see their stance as reasonable. They just don't want to get stuck supporting someone who bricked their nook trying to get cute with it.

On the other hand, Motorola, who has basically Zero content to sell, and who is likely making a sweet profit per Xoom hardfware, has potential gains in making it hacker friendly, for the improved word-of-mouth, geek blog coverage etc.

 

[darmeen]

I can see why game-console mfg's want to booby trap mods, because it a mod'ed console is stops being a money-maker. B&N has a slight case for that since modded nooks will become less of a B&N store on-the-go. But rooting doesn't make their books free. And they already support unprotected content (like txt, pdf and epub) so... I see their stance as reasonable. They just don't want to get stuck supporting someone who bricked their nook trying to get cute with it.

On the other hand, Motorola, who has basically Zero content to sell, and who is likely making a sweet profit per Xoom hardfware, has potential gains in making it hacker friendly, for the improved word-of-mouth, geek blog coverage etc.

You are right in that it doesn't make their books free, but their entire premise behind the nook is that then you would be bound to purchase books through them, vs Amazon or Borders. B&N is in the business of selling books, and saw the Nook as a means to that end.

I have a rooted Nook but I have still purchased a couple books from B&N simply because I want them to continue improving the device. Heck, I am reading two books right now...one free book (gutenberg) and one from them.

I totally understand them not wanting to support someone who purchased their product with no intention of using the product for its intended purpose.

 

[bratliff]

Couldn't you just use the bn..app with honeycomb or froyo?still support bn?

 

[faceman]

Couldn't you just use the bn..app with honeycomb or froyo?still support bn?

Yes, but that's not the point. I don't know if you've ever heard of the Shaving Razor business model. I call it that, cause that was the example used when I learned it. Way back in the day, it cost about 100x more to manufacture the handle that held the razor blade for early shaving kits. However, someone got smart and decided to sell the handle for real cheap and sometimes gave it away free. Why? Because that person would have to come back to his over and over for the 'disposable' item - the blades.

The profit is in the consumable items, not the hard items. So B&N has very little profit margin (if any) in the device itself because it was nothing more to them than a funnel to sell more books to customers. Now, I am sure that they considered the modding community when they designed the Nook Color, and I am sure they are well prepared to handle what we do. It just won't be public speak anytime soon.

 

[Abb0nz]

Sorry this turned into an anti Motorola comment

That's ok, I know exactly how you feel although from a two way radio perspective.

 

[faceman]

<sigh> oh how I miss my og nextel service

 

[Abb0nz]

I pretty much agree with what everyone is saying. I for one still buy my e-books from B&N, as well as their accessories, to support them. They have made a great device and the more I can support them I will.

Having said that I'm sooo pleased to have rooted my NC.

 

[jinnijinn]

When I purchased my NC, the salesperson at the BN is the one who first mentioned how easy it is to root. I was pleasantly surprised, as that's why I bought it (I have a Kindle and don't need an LCD e-reader).

 

[idontknow]

What support from B. &N are we talking about! If you check their forum,there are only nook owners with a lot of questions that nobody from B&N are answering. When I had a problem with my keyboard that didn't come out when I was trying to write an E-mail, the B&N guy on the phone told me that the nook color was an e-reader and one cannot write E-mail. I asked him if I was taltking to B &N and something else he didn't like because he hung up on me.What a support for the customers!!! Right there is where I decided I could live without and I rooted my nook
_

 

[rogand]

Interesting comments, which I too mostly agree with. I've purposely bought a couple e-books from BN, since I AM getting their cool hardware as a cheap tablet for me, and probably little, if any profit to them (possibly even subsidized for us, at least in terms of initial engineering, even if not unit costs). I want to support them and their device roadmap. Look forward to more Nook stuff in the future if it's even half this good of a deal (vs the cool, but hyperexpensive Xoom), so I want them happy with us as customers too. And now I've put nook-ware (the readers) on my PC, laptop, and phone, so they ARE getting more exposure by having provided us a good reader/tablet.
Win-win.

p.s. and yes, no support/warranty is only fair. If they'd have helped me as much as you guys did, they'd be very upside down by now.
Thanks all
Roger

 

[bratliff]

I don't expect bn to support my device...i was just saying we can return the favor for an awesome device by using the nook app.

As for their tech support..no experience but sometimes you just get someone on a bad day.

 

[NCNoob]

Since B&N came out with the NC I have purchased 2. I have influenced my neighbor to buy one after seeing my rooted NC (they already had a b&w Nook). I have rooted these 3 NCs. In addition, I have a friend seriously considering buying a NC for his wife. I have bought several books from B&N. My wife bought a cover for her NC. Recently, I bought the 2 $20 B&N Groupons.

Before the NC, I had spend $0 with B&N, ever.