[fewt]

This post documents the trials and tribulations of configuring my new Nova Slate. If you have a Pandigital Planet, you may be interested in My Little Planet.

Firmware - (Stock Pandigital Nova firmware)

CPU:

$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor       : ARMv7 Processor rev 1 (v7l)
BogoMIPS        : 398.67
Features        : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 
Hardware        : AMLOGIC MESON-M1 8726M SZ

Max freq: 800MHz
Min freq: 200MHz

Memory:
Available - 279MB
Total - 512MB

Quadrant Score: 1027

Available Storage:
Internal Device - 89MB

Internal Memory - 2.8GB
External - 14.2GB

BusyBox v1.16.2androidfull
** The Nova has the full UNIX tool chain including grep awk and vi thanks to BusyBox.

Running Services (Autokill not needed):

• Settings
  
• K-9 Mail
  
• HDMI Switch
  
• Market
  
• Google Services Framework
  
• Android Keyboard

Alterations:

• Rooted via collaboration with Spz0 (SlateDroid)
  
• Google Apps (SlateDroid) (2.2.1 Update)
  ** Did not need to do anything special, used the same gmail account as my Planet and Market just worked.

Applications:

• Adobe Flash 10.3
  
• Adobe Air
  
• Adobe Reader
  
• Aldiko
  
• Amazon Kindle (OEM, copied from the Planet)
  
• Angry Birds
  
• Angry Birds Rio
  
• Angry Birds Seasons
  
• ConnectBot
  
• Dolphin Browser
  
• Dropbox
  
• Flickr
  
• Hacker's Keyboard
  
• K9 Mail
  
• Maple Paint
  
• Netflix (NEW)
  
• Quadrant Standard
  
• Screenshot (Crashes after saving the screenshot)
  
• Tapatalk
  
• Terminal Emulator
  
• Titanium Backup
  
• Winamp

Changes from Default:
Update Market to 2.3.6 (SlateDroid):
** Copy Android_Market_Vending_2.3.6_Rena3_signed.apk to your sdcard first

adb shell
su
cd /system/app
mkdir /sdcard/backup
cp Vending.apk /sdcard/backup/Vending.apk
cp /sdcard/Android_Market_Vending_2.3.6_Rena3_signed.apk Vending.apk
rm /data/dalvik-cache/*
reboot

Removed apps (copied to /sdcard/backup before removing, removed with "rm" in a shell):

• InTouch (EverywareInTouch-release-Nova-201107201617.apk)
  
• MyBooks (EverywareMyBooks-release-Nova-201107201617.apk)
  
• Notes (EverywareNotes-release-Nova-201107201617.apk)
  
• Weather (EverywareWeather-release-Nova-201107201617.apk)
  
• Facebook (Facebook.apk, FaceBook.apk)
  
• Google Car (CarHomeGoogle.apk CarHomeLauncher.apk)
  
• Google Gmail (Gmail.apk)
  
• Google Maps (Maps.apk)
  
• Google Streetview (Street.apk)
  
• Pandigital Email (Email.apk)
  
• Twitter (Twitter.apk)
  
• FW Update (Update.apk)
  
• YouTube (YouTube.apk)

After removing these apps, delete the dalvik cache and reboot the Nova:

su
cd /system/app
mkdir /sdcard/backup
cp EverywareInTouch-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareMyBooks-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareNotes-release-Nova-201107201617.apk FaceBook.apk Facebook.apk CarHomeGoogle.apk CarHomeLauncher.apk Street.apk Twitter.apk Update.apk YouTube.apk Gmail.apk Email.apk Maps.apk /sdcard/backup
ls /sdcard/backup ## Confirm they are there
rm EverywareInTouch-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareMyBooks-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareNotes-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareWeather-release-Nova-201107201617.apk EverywareWeather-release-Nova-201107201617.apk FaceBook.apk Facebook.apk CarHomeGoogle.apk CarHomeLauncher.apk Street.apk Twitter.apk Update.apk YouTube.apk Gmail.apk Email.apk Maps.apk
rm /data/dalvik-cache/*
reboot

Obligatory screenshot:


I will continue to grow the list, and document steps over time by editing this post.

This post has been edited by fewt: 06 August 2011 - 09:24 AM

[kll]

Looking good, fewt

Overall a nice collection of information in both threads, now we just need more people to test the Nova thoroughly.

[amylyn1970]

Thank you so much Fewt for posting this!! Great job! I love my Nova now! It's people like you that make these forums!!

[metr0p0lis]

1. that youve already done this is awesome ! @.are you responsible for the icon for k9 mail or was that just what it installed ? i ask this cause im a dr.who fan and my inner geek said wwwhhheeeeee! when i saw that

[fewt]

metr0p0lis, on 26 August 2011 - 11:55 PM, said:

1. that youve already done this is awesome ! @.are you responsible for the icon for k9 mail or was that just what it installed ? i ask this cause im a dr.who fan and my inner geek said wwwhhheeeeee! when i saw that

The k9 icon comes with k9mail, I just installed it and it was there.

The only thing with the Nova is that the current root won't let us mount /system read write so adb push etc won't work. Once I have learned how to re-make the boot firmware I'll probably fix that. I don't really find it that important though since I can already do pretty much anything needed in its current state.

[68guns]

Hey Fewt,,,,,Super Nova is now out at BB.

[mrwildcat]

Thanks a lot I got two weeks with my Nova and feel I did a very good business with this tablet and now having people as intelligent as you I think time will be I going to have a 170 dls tablet that is going to work better that others more expensive.

[CopperG]

By removing these programs and adding the others solve the problem of the memory space? I have downloaded the Kindle app add the Amazon app store and keep getting that my internal memory is low even after I have moved the Kindle app to my external sd card.

[CopperG]

Thank you so much for providing a spot for those of us who need a little extra help, has a place to find it. I bought my Nova when my White Novel died and I love it with a few exceptions. But hopefully, I will find someone here who has already been through the problems I am having and have found a solution.

[CopperG]

If someone has anymore suggestions on how to make my Nova run better, please let me know. So far I love it and can't wait to use it to the fullest potential.

[strigoix51]

Its official, I'm returning this thing after 30 days of headaches. Can't do Skype Video (was hopeful) and the touch was getting on my nerves. Had to hit a spot three times to try to get it to work then the app would crash. Not really worth it. I'd keep it if Skype would have worked for work travel. I'll just have to hunt down a Touchpad for a decent price.

[moktarino]

I gave up on Skype, but I did get Netflix to work. I only paid $50 for mine, so I'm keeping it! I can read books, watch movies, and browse the web, that's enough for me.

[andyo70]

Just picked up a Nova today at Best Buy. Was on sale for $149.

I followed all the above instructions and while Android Market does in fact work and allows me to download apps, anytime I attempt to do a search for a specific app I get an eroor message saying "A server error has occured. Retry, or cancel and return to the previous screen." Hitting Retry just constantly brings the same error. I can only cancel. Is there a fix for this or did I miss a step somewhere along the way?

UPDATE: Well I seem to have resolved the search issue but don't really know how I did it. Don't get as many results as I think as I should though. Tried the fix for that and then it actually shows less or no results for most searches. Odd.

This post has been edited by andyo70: 18 December 2011 - 10:31 PM

[brandondkp]

Cool man