Nook Simple Touch: Use the Amazon Kindle Store, the Public Library, and More

Kindle on Rooted Nook Simple Touch
 I was recently given a 1st Gen Nook Simple Touch by  Barnes & Noble. Since used books are relatively cheap and I only read 3 or 4 a year, I've never seen the need to own an eReader. That being said I love a good gadget, and the NST is simple, easy to customize, and surprisingly capable given its age and limited intent.

Essentially, the NST is a very simple tablet running Android 1.2.1. Although many apps in the Play Store are not compatible with such an old version of Android, many still work and often old .apks can be found and side-loaded to your Nook (including the Kindle App, where ebooks are generally cheaper that from B&N).

Below are various steps I took to set up my Nook.


1. Connect to my home WiFi network.
Oddly enough this took longer than anything else I did. Due to its older hardware, the Nook Simple Touch is not compatible with Wireless N at 5GHz. When I first tried to connect, it showed my network, allowed me to type in my password, even connected, but could not access the internet (the B&N Store).
To fix this I had to log into my router from my PC and dial the router back from wireless n to wireless g. After that the Nook connected without issue.

2. Check out books from the library.

  • Install Adobe Digital editions on your home PC (or Mac).
  • Plug Nook into your computer 
  • From the Adobe Digital Editions software authorize the Nook.
  • Use Adobe Digital Editions to copy the DRM ebook files to the device (similar to iTunes on an iPod). 


I've read that there is a way to wirelessly transfer library (DRM) books to your Nook after its rooted using the Overdrive App, but I was not able to find a version of Overdrive that would run on Android 1.2.1, so I guess I'll stick to the old USB method should I ever check out library books.


3. Display custom screensavers on your Nook.

  • Resize/crop photos to 600 by 800 (the resolution of the screen) and save as .jpg filetype. 
  • Optional: Use photo editing software like GIMP to convert to grayscale and optimize the brightness/contrast if you want.
  • Plug your Nook into your computer using a Micro USB cable.
  • In the internal storage of the Nook is a folder called screensavers.
  • Create a new folder within that folder and copy your pictures into. If you skip this step and copy your photos straight into the screensaver folder, they won't show up in the Nook options
  • From the Nook go to Settings > Screen > Screensaver: The folder you just created will show up as an option along with "Authors" and "Nature". After you choose it, a different photo from the folder will display each time your Nook goes to sleep.

4. Root your Nook (Time: 0.5hrs)
There are several ways to root a Nook. I can't speak for the others, but I followed these instructions on XDA developers and it was dead simple. All you need is:

  • A microSD card
  • An SD card adapter if your computer doesn't have one
  • A computer (PC, Mac, or Linux, apparently; I used a Windows 7 machine).
  • An internet connection
5. Customize your rooted Nook.
By this I mainly mean install a launcher of your liking and get some good apps. 
I settled on ADW Launcher for my Launcher because it was simple and easily customizable.
Nook Windows Homescreen (Tiles, Metro)
Standard icons generally look terrible on the e-ink display, but ADW Launcher lets you change them using the following steps:
  • Find an image you want to use as an icon and save it to your Nook's SD card (I used Google images and Dropbox).
  • Long press on the desktop of the Nook
  • Select Add > Custom shortcut
  • Select the icon you just added and the app you want
 I choose to go with a Windows Phone theme for my icons. Really I think the Windows Phone Tiles setup would be ideal, but I didn't take the time to figure out how to make the icons fill more than one screen block. I suspect it could be done by making a custom widget, so if anyone figures out how to do that, or has any other tips or tricks, feel free to share.

Below are the apps I have found useful. The starred ones need to be sideloaded, as the latest revision from the Play Store won't work with Android 1.2.1.
  • ADW Launcher
  • Adilko Reader
  • Kindle*
  • Dropbox*
  • ES File Explorer
  • ESV Bible by Crossway
  • BBC News*
  • My local public library app
  • Analogk clock widget
  • Widget WiFi

The ADK thread below has links for the ones that aren't available through the Play store 


References:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1374641

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