[Miscellaneous Android Development] Oberth:
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NEW VERSION

Ainol Novo 8 Adv 2.3.4 Rooted UK Rom Version 2.0 Click Me!!

Ainol Novo 8 Adv 2.3.4 Rooted UK Rom Version 2.0 Click Me!!

Ainol Novo 8 Adv 2.3.4 Rooted UK Rom Version 2.0 Click Me!![/size]

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The Ainol Novo 8 is a great little tablet but has been hampered by some early quality issues and about 4 or 5 firmware revisions that have all been good at something but not everything.

Recently a 2.3.4 beta Rom appeared on the Chinese speaking boards and was a major improvement over the 2.2 releases however as always they were in Chinese as a first language and contained stuff that was no use to us English speaking types. So I decided it was time to apply a bit of magic and make my own Rom. Links at the bottom of the post. This is a direct result of my playing about with the beta firmware then bringing it all together.

Link to my blog post Nebular Nerd @ Blogspot

From the readme.txt

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Ainol Novo 8 Advanced 2.3.4 PreRooted English Rom

Hacked together by Nebular Nerd (Nov 6th 2011)

(If it's not broke, make it better)

aka thedaybeforetommorow (MP4Nations forums)

aka Oberth (XDA-Developer forums)

WWW: http://nebularnerd.blogspot.com

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About This Firmware:

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After much frustration having to de-Chinese every firmware for this amazing little tablet I set about making an English one to save time and to learn a bit more about Android, while doing so I also added in the main Google apps that everyone wants but always has trouble getting to behave. Using the current 2.3.4 beta as a base I removed, replaced and added various things to give us a decent firmware that will make you proud to show off your tablet with the unfortunate brand name. (Hands up all those who have had a schoolboy snicker when telling someone who makes it)

While I take credit for the putting everything together in one easy to use package the real credit should goto all those people I sourced the component parts from. Enjoy the firmware :)

Changelog:

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8/11/2011:

Tidied and formatted readme.txt.

6/11/2011:

Minor update to correct bug in build.prop preventing Chianfire and Tegra games from working.

5/11/2011:

1st Release.

Sources:

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http://tinyurl.com/63pnbl6 The base for my rom was this prerooted one. (Translated)

http://tinyurl.com/64xhw3y I used the Browser and Google Music from this one. (Translated)

http://tinyurl.com/29c6jlx The rom I currently use on my HD2 which I lifted most of the Google stuff from.

http://tinyurl.com/6y57c4s The tweaks used for the Market.

Other various sources for stuff about some of the other little tweaks.

Installation:

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Flashing this is a breeze, simply copy the contents of the zip to your SD Card, insert into your Novo 8 and boot into Recovery with Power & Vol+.

Once booted perform the 3 wipes and then install the update and reboot. That's it, no need to install the AC3/DTS license or add Google apps.

If you spot the error about the factory_*blahblahblah*.aml file missing when booting into recovery mode just ignore it. I dumped the automated stuff as it bricked my unit the first time round when flashing the stock beta and I had to do a recovery with the original firmware release. All the automated bit really does is perform the 3 wipes and perform the install so why risk it when it takes only a few seconds to do.

When first booting the homescreen will go black/blank for about a minute. Don't panic this is quite normal it's just everything unpacking and setting up. Set up your wifi, add your Google account and off you go.

Features:

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- AC3/DTS Hardware Decoder works.

- Fast and Smooth 160dpi rom with build.prop tweaks to improve battery life and speed things up.

- 3G Modem support is present and has been confirmed working with these dongles . . .

Huawei E160 3G USB Dongle (ompudsman @ MP4Nations)

Huawei E1750 3G USB Dongle with Virgin UK sim. (GFZ @ XDA)

- Full English Rom set to UK region, no hidden Chinese menus to pop out at you. All Chinese only apps removed or replaced with english versions.

- Latest Market 3.3.11 with heavily modified build.prop to show as many apps as possible. This does actually show and install a far wider range of apps than before.

- Uses the free version of LauncherPro because it does seem the best for this Tablet, the Chinese firmwares seemed to have hard coded Chinese in the LauncherProPlus.apk The market will allow you to purchase the Plus Unlocker if you want those features.

- Preloaded with Google Browser, Gmail, Maps, Streetview, YouTube, Google Music, Latitude, Google Search, Calendar and Car Home.

- Google accounts will sync Contacts, Mail and Calendars correctly.

- YouTube plays HQ videos just fine without stutter or lag. (Assuming you have a good wifi signal)

- The stock video player plays most MPG, MP4, MKV files with AAC, MP3, AC3 audio. Plays 1080p quite happily as well if the storage device can keep up.

If you need wider format support but still with hardware decoding where possible get MX Video Player and the ARMv7 Codecs from the market.

- Most of the Games and Apps I have tried while testing work fine. Get Chainfire3D and buy the Pro key to enjoy some of the nice Tegra Games. Check my blog for compatibility of Tegra games.

- Wifi seems better under the new firmware.

Bugs: (Most of these have been documented as an issue with the base firmware)

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- Tablet likes to wake itself up now and then for no real reason. (Possible data connections causing it to wake)

- Sometimes the Power button does not work so you can't turn off the screen or power off. Install Quick Reboot off the market or hit the reset button.

- If the Screen is off and the Power button is not behaving another key will turn it on.

- Sometimes the Power Off dialog appears for no reason. Oddly not when in full screen games so far as I've noticed.

- Your Novo may disappear off the Market site for a while or completely. Mine went and then came back about a day later,

this is down to the modified build.prop. You can still download apps directly through the Market app on the Novo regardless.

- Some of the best apps are still not available in the market, Dolphin Browser HD, Facebook and Friendcaster to name a few. This is down to Google Market and not much seems to beat this last hurdle.

- Possible others (Let me know by posting on my blog or threads)

Disclaimer:

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As with any custom firmware there is a risk of things going wrong so if it bricks your unit try a recovery image from Ainol and start again, if you are of a nervous disposition or the type of person who sues for a hobby please do not attempt to install this. The rom works fine on my unit and others have tried without issue, however mileage does seem to vary with this tablet.

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(screenshot app not included)

Links to the firmware (if you want to mirror please let me know so I can add links here)

Novo 8 2.3.4a Firmware UK Edition (nebularnerd.co.uk, fixed March 2021)