[Nook Color General] jyams:
The beautiful thing about technology is there are different routes to getting your needs met. It's one thing to purchase a nookcolor as a reader first and android device second, thus, waiting for BN's 2.2 upgrade. It's a different purpose to purchase a nookcolor with no need for BN reading, but for value, productivity, and just plain ole fun with rooting and experimentation. I fall in the second category and quite honestly, have developed a new hobby with rooting and hacking. I even bought a Viewsonic GTablet several weeks ago on Woot for $280 just for rooting and learning how to customize in more technical terms using APX and nvflash commands. I look forward every night to updating my NookRom (currently using Mad-Murdock's CM7 with Tablet tweaks) every night or so. I plan to go back to Phiremod's 5.x whenever CM7 is stable, including Mad-Murdock's bottom status bar tweaks. I had never rooted anything until I got my Nook. After braving my first Nook root, I rooted my Evo phone so I could have a Nook wifi connection anywhere, anytime. All I can say is WOW! This has become a very rewarding and fun hobby, while making me more productive at the same time with Android 2.3 technology. Sure, development will slow down at some point, however, it is now a proven fact that the NookColor is a valid option for 7 inch tablet users. As has been said hundreds of times, at $250, that's a bargain when compared to the cost of the Samsung GTab, and other 7 inchers from Elocity, Viewsonic, Dell, HTC, etc. B&N probably didn't perceive the effect rooting would have on the popularity of the NookColor. I'm reading that the recent HSN push at the $299 was moderately successful. I just purchased a 2nd Nookcolor on ebay for a net of $175, used only a month by someone who wanted to root it. When I received it, it was "as new", and performs like a champ. I've got Phiremod 5.3 on one device and Mad-Murdock's CM7 w/ tablet tweaks on the other. I'm running Vegan 5.1 on my VS Gtablet and loving it too. Just conquered the replacement of the boot logo screen and boot animation on it. Man, that was fun. Gonna load Mad-Murdock's CM7 tablet tweaked ROM on my Gtablet this weekend just for fun. I've yet to read a book on my NookColor, have spent hours and hours on it learning about Android. I'm also in the process of helping several folks in my office with rooting their Nook's as they want the same productivity in a 7 inch device I have.

So, I've rambled. Obviously, I've gone overboard with my devices. However, I have a modest investment in these devices, owning all 3 for about the cost of one Motorola Zoom or Ipad2 (no way!). I'll be giving one of the Nooks to my wife soon, and using the GTablet strictly at the office.

Yes, development will slow down, but for now, it's rolling along and there's something new almost every few days to try. Alot of us are hoping for the HC AOSP soon so that we can have a "real" HC ROM for our Nooks and Gtabs. Time passes fast and maybe when enough of these new HC based tablets finally get on the store shelves we'll see the code released and development continue with a real HC codebase and functionality. I've read plenty complaints about the Motorola Zoom HC. IMHO HC is still in sprint related development. I think so much of HC's rollout is related to trying to beat the Ipad2 to market with the Zoom. HC isn't anywhere where it's going to be, hence, Google's decision not to release it yet. In the mean time, with Mad-Murdock's bottom status bar work and the CM7 video problems solved, really, in functionality, this version of Gingerbread isn't far removed from HC. Of course, even HC / Zoom users are waiting for true Tablet apps. There just aren't that many out there on the market yet. By the time we get true HC for the NookColor, the market should have many more true Tablet apps that will make HC cruise!! It's already been proven that the NookColor can handle HC, with the experimental preview-based HC ROM already out there. Right now, though, I'm content using 2.3 GB with over-sized phone apps, with some HC tweaks thrown in. Thanks CM7 team, Mad-Murdock, and Phiremod!!