Getting to the Root of the Original Nabi Tablet!

For those of you adventurous enough to steal away your child’s Original Nabi Tablet and root it, here are the refined steps taken by Fan-a-Tech Eric to do so.  He’s modified a couple of lines of code to make them a bit more Nabi friendly. 

1.       Download the following compressed file from RapidShare: Universal qroot Rena3.rar 

2.       Extract the contents to the root of a MicroSD card, using Winrar.

3.       Power on the Nabi while holding the Vol – button, in order to enter bootloader.

4.       The install.sh file will auto-run and complete the rooting process.

5.       Reboot the tablet and delete the install.sh file from the SD card, using File Explorer.

6. Next you should download ROM Manager and run the Fix Permissions options.  Available free  in the Nabi App Zone.

7. Download Titanium Backup and archive your apps and settings for safe keeping.  Available free in the Nabi App Zone.

8. Finally download the Nabi specific USB drivers to allow you to use Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands and programs like Droid Explorer from your computer.

Eric would also like to credit qalter for the auto-run script, which greatly simplified this process.

For those of you wondering why you’d want to root the tablet, The Android Authority has provided a good explanation of why and why not.

Rooting for Dummies: A Beginner’s Guide to Rooting your Android Device

Eric thank-you for letting me be the first to post your work and the great conversation we had on Friday!

Remember that although Eric has done this a few time, neither he nor I can be held responsible  if your device becomes bricked.  

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Going on a Reckless Getaway! - A Quinn Pick

If daddy and son are looking for a game that they can both enjoy, then Quinn and I highly recommend polarbit's Reckless Getaway.  Quinn loves racing and crashing his Hot Wheels  and today he's hooked on this game app, that performs fairly well on the Nabi tablet.

While Quinn doesn't understand the intricacies of maneuvering through the police blockades and highway traffic on the sixteen different levels, he enjoys the simple controls, sirens, music and of course all the crashing.  Daddy does too!  

Note this is kind of violent in nature, so make sure it suitable for you and your child.

polarbit is an Android Market Top Developer, check out Reckless Getaway and their numerous other games.

UPDATE: By default you control the vehicle with buttons located on the lower portion of the screen, as shown in the video below.  However under the Control Options you can choose Tilt Steering, which uses the Nabi tablet's accelerometer to steer through the maze of traffic and obstacles.  

Reckless Getaway by polarbit available on the Android Market

Other polarbit game apps available on the Android Market

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Epic Pixel's Missile Defender - A Scott Pick

In celebration of Epic Pixel’s first year anniversary, their Missile Defender game is available as today’s Amazon Appstore’s Free App of the Day. 

 For those dads that are old enough, this game is designed in the same vein as Missile Command from 1980. As parents should expect from an app with this title, there is some violence associated with it, so you may not want to make it available in Kid's Mode for your younger children. The object of the game is to defend a city from the incoming enemy bombardment of missiles and bombs, while trying to minimize damage with the least number of anti-missiles.  When daylight arrives it’s time to access the damage, repair the city and upgrade your defences. 

The graphics scale up very well on the Nabi Tablet and the game play is very interactive, developing reaction time to audio bomb warnings and hand-eye coordination with the use of the touch screen.

The initial Missile Defender screen provides the following menu and setting options: Play, Continue, Score, More, Sound and Haptic.

The Play option allows the player to begin a new campaign with a clear explanation of the weapons, how to score and what’s being defended.  Early levels only take 30-40 seconds to complete, so the action is intense. Once the night time invasion has finished, repairs can be made to damaged buildings with the points earned. Depending on number of buildings intact and repair points left over, the player can upgrade various weapon systems before the next invasion. Each level gets increasingly more difficult with the number, speed and direction of incoming weapons. The pause button or Nabi’s return soft key are the only methods of bring up the menu and settings bar, available only during a night campaign.

Start Screen on Night 1

We're Under Fire!

The Continue option allows a player to start the game where they last left off.

The Score option provides a list of scores and the related levels achieved.

The More option brings up a list of Epic Pixel’s other games: Grow and Rapid Toss.  Clicking on these will take the player to an App Store for purchase and download.  Links to Epic Pixel’s Facebook and Twitter sites are also included.

By default the Sound and Haptic settings are set to on.  The player just needs to touch the word to toggle the setting off or on.

This is a very simple but entertaining game with supposedly limitless levels.  A definite pick for anyone who likes nostalgic video games.  **** FOUR STARS

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UPDATED - Charging Issues & Fixes

nabi 2 Tablet Users:

If you have a broken charger or are having issues charging the nabi 2 Tablet, please work through the replacement charger process.  It generally takes 1 business day to process a request.  Once the order has been processed a replacement charger should be received within 5 to 7 business days. 

Canadian customers please reach out for support on the nabi Tablet Facebook page.

British & Irish customers please e-mail nabicares@nabitablet.co.uk with the subject line "Broken Charger".  Please include your name, shipping address, phone number, and tablet serial number in the body of the e-mail and someone will reach out to you to provide assistance.  You can also reach out for support on the UK & IE nabi Tablet Facebook page.

nabi Jr. / nabi XD Tablet Users:

Fuhu is currently working on a replacement charger process for these tablets.  If you have a broken charger or are having issues charging your the nabi Jr. or nabi XD Tablet, please reach out for support on the nabi Tablet Facebook page.

TIPS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF BREAKAGE:

• Do not let young children play with the tablet while it is charging.
• A parent should always remove or plug in the charging connector.
• Let older children know the risk and that they have to be careful when playing with a tablet that is plugged in for charging.

SIMPLE GUIDELINES FOR CHARGING LITHIUM-BASED BATTERIES:

• Ensure that the battery is initialized by charging it for at least 4-6 hours before turning it on for the first time.
• A portable device should be turned off while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. A parasitic load confuses the charger.
• Lithium-ion does not need to be fully charged; a partial charge is better.
• Chargers use different methods for “ready” indication. The light signal may not always indicate a full charge.
• Before prolonged storage, apply some charge to bring the pack to about half charge.

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Everything Nabi!

I'm starting this blog in hopes of organizing some of the variety of topics that are being brought up on the Nabi Tablet Facebook page.  While Facebook is great at building a community of users, it doesn't really allow those users to search past posts effectively, thus the same questions are popping up day in and out. 
Nabi Support has created a Support page with links to FAQs and helpful videos, but  scrolling through everything is still a chore.  
This blog will try and highlight some common challenges and solutions, as well as bring to light some great and not so great apps for your child's Nabi.

Cheers!

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