Related
I'm after (read-only) 40+gb of storage for the universal, mainly as a WMA/MP3 player in the car and at work. How about this:
Cheap pentium-class laptop from ebay, wifi access point and Personal Web Server or IIS? Would the streaming audio application just work with files hosted (ie put in shared directories) on the laptop or would I need something a little more clever?
Any thoughts on the matter?
WL-HDD
A MUCH cheaper option is a WL-HDD with an external PSP battery (or a car adaptor for in-car storage). Files are accessable with resco file explorer easily or from windows file explorer with a little more difficulty. There is also a huge WL-HDD community with rom updates and so forth. Using it myself with great results, battery life is good for 4 hours streaming, but a bigger 5v 1Amp+ battery could be purchased. The battery I recommend is good as it comes with the USB-Barrel connector you need to power the drive.
WL-HDD:
http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?TXT=INFO&PNO=ASU54305A
(or ebay it but less reliable)
Battery I use, others could work.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/External-batt...QQihZ005QQcategoryZ127742QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Interesting... Wireless Snap server...
Not too expensive either!!!!
Nice piece of kit. The only thing, though, how will this cope with streaming? I mean, won't this just present files to download completely before playing? And I guess I wouldn't be able to use playlists or a next track/next album type function in media player
Or is there any way to mount the partition as a drive (like a storage card) on the Universal?
Just to add, one of the MP3 files I have is 10gb (don't ask) so it really would need to be streamed.
xiasma said:
I'm after (read-only) 40+gb of storage for the universal, mainly as a WMA/MP3 player in the car and at work. How about this:
Cheap pentium-class laptop from ebay, wifi access point and Personal Web Server or IIS? Would the streaming audio application just work with files hosted (ie put in shared directories) on the laptop or would I need something a little more clever?
Any thoughts on the matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did exactly this at home with my first iPAQ so i could lie down and listen to any music i had on my network at home. back then 64mb flash card didn't store much music. early versions of WM needed network playlists to get the files, i haven't tried it on later version as local storage of 4gB is enough... finally.
If 4gb was enough I'd be happy, but another 200 CDs arrived yesterday and I won't get many of those on a single SD card
I just found this item which looks interesting, especially as it appears to be able to utilise 2.5" notebook HDD and USB Pen Drives!
http://www.qtds.com/products.asp?recnumber=855
Not a bad proce either, although you would obviously need to add in the cost of the HDD or Flash Drive.
Regards,
Colin.
The WL-HDD allows direct streaming, can act as a Wireless Access Point, and has a usb port so you can plug in USB storage and either make it network accessable or automatically copy the contents to the internal drive (which can be up to 100gb, IIRC). You can even plug in a webcam and set to take a photo when motion is detected, or at an interval. It can even email the photo to you!
Honestly, it is the best bit of kit I have, but you will need another power source or extended battery for the exec to handle the constant streaming for any length of time. I get about 4 hours out of it, same life as the WL-HDD .
techtalkonline said:
I just found this item which looks interesting, especially as it appears to be able to utilise 2.5" notebook HDD and USB Pen Drives!
http://www.qtds.com/products.asp?recnumber=855
Not a bad proce either, although you would obviously need to add in the cost of the HDD or Flash Drive.
Regards,
Colin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This seems very similar to the WL-HDD, but the power consumption is 3A. This would be a challenge to run by battery. It also has no homebrew software/bios.
xiasma said:
Nice piece of kit. The only thing, though, how will this cope with streaming? I mean, won't this just present files to download completely before playing? And I guess I wouldn't be able to use playlists or a next track/next album type function in media player
Or is there any way to mount the partition as a drive (like a storage card) on the Universal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said earlier in this post, it automatically streams files unless you choose to copy them.Through Resco, the drive is mounted just like the storage card, under the "Network" heading. To access it you simply have to log onto the drive using Wi-fi, and map the network drive by tap-holding and choosing the option "map network drive" over the network icon in resco. I use Wisbar advanced desktop (which I also recommend) so I have an icon on my desktop that goes straight there. Listening to music off it is just like from a storage card.
Pyrojester,
That sounds perfect, many many thanks.
No problem, anyone feel free to PM me or post about it, I feel like sharing the love. It works perfectly, I couldn't beleive it.
This is interesting.
My point is, my daughter fried my ipod but i am thinking of using my "spare" M5000 as an alternative, i currently have a 1gig sdd in it but was thinking of using its wifi technology to aceess my music from the pc, is this possible with this wireless drive or is there a drive that the M5000 can hook up to and access my library.
One point i would like to mention though, my ipod was hooked up to my hifi unit via its dock (which basically is the headphone socket) when i use the same lead coming out of the headphone socket of the M5000 and into the aux port of the hifi the i have to crank the volume right up to hear anything. Is there something i am doing wrong hear, just thought it would be same output as the ipod??
Pyrojester said:
The WL-HDD allows direct streaming, can act as a Wireless Access Point, and has a usb port so you can plug in USB storage and either make it network accessable or automatically copy the contents to the internal drive (which can be up to 100gb, IIRC). You can even plug in a webcam and set to take a photo when motion is detected, or at an interval. It can even email the photo to you!
Honestly, it is the best bit of kit I have, but you will need another power source or extended battery for the exec to handle the constant streaming for any length of time. I get about 4 hours out of it, same life as the WL-HDD .
This seems very similar to the WL-HDD, but the power consumption is 3A. This would be a challenge to run by battery. It also has no homebrew software/bios.
As I said earlier in this post, it automatically streams files unless you choose to copy them.Through Resco, the drive is mounted just like the storage card, under the "Network" heading. To access it you simply have to log onto the drive using Wi-fi, and map the network drive by tap-holding and choosing the option "map network drive" over the network icon in resco. I use Wisbar advanced desktop (which I also recommend) so I have an icon on my desktop that goes straight there. Listening to music off it is just like from a storage card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use wisbar adv. and desktop ,b/ my question is this.how long did it take before you received your merchandise?and is there a translation in dollars for US users?
Regards
Pyrojester said:
A MUCH cheaper option is a WL-HDD with an external PSP battery (or a car adaptor for in-car storage). Files are accessable with resco file explorer easily or from windows file explorer with a little more difficulty. There is also a huge WL-HDD community with rom updates and so forth. Using it myself with great results, battery life is good for 4 hours streaming, but a bigger 5v 1Amp+ battery could be purchased. The battery I recommend is good as it comes with the USB-Barrel connector you need to power the drive.
WL-HDD:
http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?TXT=INFO&PNO=ASU54305A
(or ebay it but less reliable)
Battery I use, others could work.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/External-batt...QQihZ005QQcategoryZ127742QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have looked high and low for something as suffice as the one mentioned and the only finding that i could locate is the one below:
http://www.iomega.com/direct/outlet...SORTMENT<>ast_id=26890319&bmUID=1162521361616
But its not wifi capable.I would like to order the one in this thread if someone could give me better detail on the travel time from the UK to the US.
Regards
Another Option...
I use this device : http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_vosonic_xs_drive_super_vp6210.php (review)
I originally purchased it as a backup device for photos, as you can insert a memory card and copy its contents to the internal hard drive.
The 6210 uses laptop hard drives (any size) and it's easy to swap drives (it's supplied with a keyring screwdriver to open it up and detach drives).
It can also format your memory card.
Unlike most devices of this type, it can also write from the hard drive to your memory card, so just pop your SD card in and transfer any files you want to it, then pop your SD card back in your Universal.
Also, it has basic MP3 player functions, so I have it hooked up to my car stereo, using a standard 3.5" connector. No more listening to moronic radio jocks, bliss! Mine was supplied with a car (cigarette lighter socket) charger.
The device normally lasts about 3hr on a single charge and it has a sleep function, that switches off the screen and/or the hard drive if not being used, so it can last a fair bit.
It can also connect to a tv and play .avi or .mpeg-2 movies...
The company that makes these is bringing out a new version with an 8hr battery and a 3.6" screen, so I'm saving my pennies!
That is kind of pricey.I like the idea of being able to travel and change the options of what is stored on my SD card.Thank you.What does the amount transfer to in US dollars?
Regards
southernint3l said:
I have looked high and low for something as suffice as the one mentioned and the only finding that i could locate is the one below:
http://www.iomega.com/direct/outlet...SORTMENT<>ast_id=26890319&bmUID=1162521361616
But its not wifi capable.I would like to order the one in this thread if someone could give me better detail on the travel time from the UK to the US.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine from a friend, but as I work for micro anvika I know they are reliable . As for shipping to america, i would recommend scanning ebay, or just googling it to purchase.
Best Mp3 player for streaming
By far the best mp3 player for both songs and audio books including streaming through wifi networks is Mortplayer. You'll love it. I imagine it will work perfectly with your wifi HD drive also. Big buttons for no stylus use. For net work drives to show up just map drive in built in file explorer first then Mortplayer picks it up. Mortplayer is free but i recommend donating as it is one of the best apps i have seen.
So, I've been playing with my Evo for the last month or two, and i've finally come to the conclusion that there are enough things that I'd have *occasional* use cases for that I can't do with the stock firmware. So, I'm thinking about rooting my phone and trying another rom.
I found the list of roms in the wiki, but as someone else pointed out, it doesn't really go into what makes the different roms different. and the pages for the individual roms don't always have the info I'm looking for.
The suggestion that was made to that user was CyanogenMod. If nobody comes up with a better suggestion, that's probably where I'll start.
So, here's what I'm looking for, in a roughly prioritized order:
1) A non-lobotomized bluetooth stack. Specifically, in addition to the profiles included in the stock rom, I'm looking for SPP and HID (for keyboards and real gamepads)
2) I know the USB controller is OTG capable. It would be really nice to be able to use it as a host port. Things I could reasonably see myself wanting to connect: HID devices, storage, and USB->serial cables.
3) Unlocked wifi tethering and wireless access point. It's not something I see a regular use case for, especially since I have a standalone USB cellmodem, but there have been times where it would have been nice. And it's bad enough that Sprint's milking me for an extra $10/month for the privilege of having a 4G capable phone. I'm not about to spend an extra $30 to pay them to unlock it for me.
4) 4G/WiMAX. Not that Sprint has any 4G towers up around me yet. *grumble* one of the store reps I talked to a while back said they'd been told by Sprint that *hopefully* we'll have some towers by the end of the year. But not to quote them on that.
5) HDMI out. This is one of those things I'd rarely use, but it'd be nice. The current firmware only supports HDMI for certain apps (slideshows, movies on the SD card, youtube) and that's okay. It'd be nice to just send all video to the HDMI port instead of (or in addition to) the LCD, but I'd be happy with what I've already got.
I know Cyanogen doesn't (yet) support 4G and HDMI and it doesn't have the Sense UI (which I'm not sure why I should care about) but if it's a good fit for the other three points, that might be a fair deal.
So, what do you all think? Is CyanogenMod a reasonable fit for me? Can you suggest anything that might fit better?
Thanks.
Personally I keep a known good nandroid backup of the stock firmware with all my applications and settings intact and a known good copy of Cyanogenmod with my stuff.
I can't bring myself to keep using the stock Evo firmware due to the bugs in the media layer (audio files restarting from the beginning whenever I pause them and leave the audio player application for an extent of time is a huge problem when most of the media you listen to are long format podcasts, oh and Last.fm can't play a song all the way through without jumping to the next one). On the other hand I do have decent 4G coverage here in the Twin Cities area which I can't utilize while using Cyanogenmod.
You may want to look into doing the same. When you need 4G or HDMI out you can load up a nandroid backup of the stock firmware and otherwise use something like Cyanogenmod. That way you have access to all the capabilities of the phone (although admittedly not in a convenient way).
..and how has it worked out for you?
I used it a lot, but there are just too many things I need a computer for. So, even though most everything I do is on my phone, there is still a need for a PC
Ymmv, but try typing anything longer than a couple paragraphs on the phone. It sucks.
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk
I think within the next 5-10 years you will see the cell phone replacing the laptop, especially for business users. Instead of lugging heavy laptops around airports when travelling we will have a phone, HDMI cable, soft BT keyboard, and BT mouse. Head to your hotel room, place of work, plug into a LCD via HDMI, and good to go.
Right now, replacing a laptop with a phone such as the Atrix would be counter intuitive, as there are so many things you still cannot do on a phone, plain and simple. It's going to happen though..............just not yet.
Actually, I thought of doing that when needed to replace my old laptop. I checked for lapdock abilities and performances. However, as mentioned above, android OS lacks to many features that I need (Especially office features, and some games) so I left it aside.
I believe that the Atrix marks the future in the technological world, and slowly laptops will become useless, especially with quad-core devices, and the coming of WIN8. Mobile device hardware will be powerful enough to run everything that a laptop runs, and WIN8 is expected to support ARM processors.
I think that phones will come with a lapdock-like station, and the phone will power it. The incompatibility of android will be replaced by WIN8 while connected to the dock, and voila a mobile phone that has PC capabilities.
I bought the lapdock for my atrix and have since stopped taking my toshiba laptop to school.
I only really use google docs. notes and such. lapdock is much lighter than my laptop. it's thinner.
i keep my laptop at home now... only using it to download stuff, really.
I use the lapdock to watch netflix, go online, and it handles it well.
The lack of ability to multitask on the lapdock is the crappy part. I liked being able to be online on different webpages at once and listen to music on my laptop.
with the lapdock, I can really only be on 3, maybe 4 sites before I it starts lagging. but i just started listening to music on my mp3 player while I'm online.
so for more involved tasks, laptop. simple tasks, lapdock.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Only as my computer at starbucks. Works great for surfing the net, checking facebook, answering emails, texting people back with a full keyboard, watching youtube/flash videos...
Other than that, I really cannot replace a full laptop with it. There isn't enough cpu power yet for it to be used for everything. Plus the webtop needs to be really hacked with webtop2sd or something similar in order for it to be really useful beyond the basics.
Motorola is defiantly on the right track with this. This can grow if they play their cards right.
raginginferno said:
Only as my computer at starbucks. Works great for surfing the net, checking facebook, answering emails, texting people back with a full keyboard, watching youtube/flash videos...
Other than that, I really cannot replace a full laptop with it. There isn't enough cpu power yet for it to be used for everything. Plus the webtop needs to be really hacked with webtop2sd or something similar in order for it to be really useful beyond the basics.
Motorola is defiantly on the right track with this. This can grow if they play their cards right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, this is identical opinion as mine. For those who is expecting the Atrix (as well as anything eslse) attaching with a laptopdock can be able to replace the laptop then pls give up right now.
But I also confirm that: As for some popular need of entertainment such as internet surfing, gaming, social net browsing..., and for some simple need of office such as noting, word/pdf/xls viewing/revising... you guys can completely leave the laptop at home to carry the Atrix along with its lapdock.
Actually, I have been using my Atrix standalone in the class, library and seminars with amazing conveniences, where the Notes app, OCR app (eg. CamSanner, Scan2PDF...), voice recorder and internet are very important tools for my own job. When I'm at home, I have the wireless keyboard and mouse to use with my Atrix over the TV every evening for facebook, news, XDA...
With the rest of need especially for office taks such as Autocad, Photoshop, rich text editor,... you cannot entrust them for any smartphone like Atrix even when our Google provided good office services such as GDocs, or the power app Open Office for Linux is free out there...
Just as my own experiences.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
I would like to add my own thought of this question. As my many years experiences of smartphone and laptop, office applications are divided into two groups by usage level as follows:
1. Essential applications includes:
- Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Pdf viewer/tuner
- Files Manager
- Calendar/Task Reminder/Alarm Clock/Contacts manager
- Note/Memo/Voice Recorder...
- OCR Scanner/PDF Converter, Calculator/Dictionaries/Currency, Unit converter...
- TeamViewer/VNC client...
- Stock/RSS/News/Weather app...
- Skype/Yahoo/Facebook/Twitter and other text/voice IM client...
- POP3/IMAP/Web Email client
- Web Browser/Google/Yahoo Search...
- And ofcos, all functions of a feature phone
2. Professional applications includes:
- AutoCad
- Word/Xls/PowerPoint creator/editor
- Photoshop/CorelDraw/3DMax/Visio editor...
- ERP softwares (Accounting, POS, CRM...), Programming (Java, Oracle...)
- Heavy Web surfing
- Full features PC remote
- All kinds of studio application (photo, audio, video)...,
- And any other professional application which requires high memory, large storage, powered CPU, strong GPU, multiple I/O ports, heavy multi-task operation, etc...
You guys are working only on applications in the first group, you can completely sell your laptop to save the money for purchasing a power smartphone like Atrix along with some valued accessories, eg. wireless keyboard/mouse, multimedia dock, laptop dock, high capacity battery...
But if you guys have any need of application in the 2nd group, you will be disappointed if using a smartphone like not only Atrix but also hi-end Android/iOS tablets such as Galaxy Tab, iPad, Transformer Prime... for it.
And for myselft, I am using two devices simultaneously for works.
Just as my own experiences...
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
Cell phones with accessories still have a long way to go before I could replace my laptop. I need Visual Studio, Visio, and my company's software that I use for consulting purposes. I would love to get rid of a heavy laptop, but I had to go with a quadcore i7 sandy bridge because I really do need the performance. The thinner laptops only have the dual core i7, which cuts my primary apps speed in half (multithreading).
Funny, I actually didn't have a choice about a month ago. I'm a student at UCF in Orlando, FL. My lapdock had actually just come in 3 hours before my hard disk in my laptop bit the dust and I had to wait a week for the replacement to come in, so I had to use the lapdock as my computer for a while. I bought the lapdock to take to class(my laptop is a 17" beast and a pain to carry around with all the other crap I lug around.. I really didn't think that through when I bought it back in 09) and it did the bare essentials. There's no way I'd replace my computer with the atrix lapdock though. Not a chance. The speed, multi-tasking ability, rendering, none of it is up to par to replace a purpose-made computer. It does just enough for the money, IMO.
I have replaced my personal laptop that I used to carry around, I mostly use my full laptop only to burn dvds, rip music, create and edit videos for Youtube and such tasks.
But for day to day things like browsing the web for research, typing memos and multimedia stuff (Photoshopping with GIMP, youtube, Netflix, etc) also I do a lot of Torrenting from my Atrix remotely onto my QNAS home server and website managing through FTP and many other things.
Cheers!
Rayan
I need to replace my parents 7 year old Windows PC with a new one. I was thinking of getting a Android stick instead since their uses are limited to Skype, Hangouts, Facebook, occassional browsing and YouTube. Besides, at least my mom has become pretty familiar with her Android phone.
What I have in mind is this:
Buy a monitor with HDMI port or DVI. The monitor will have built in speakers as well. Connect the stick to it.
Attach a USB hub to the stick.
Attach webcam, keyboard and mouse to the hub. Alternatively, attach keyboard and mouse to the USB ports in the monitor (if available). I don't want to use bluetooth because they will find recharging the keyboard/mouse difficult.
My questions are:
How effective this setup will be for the above mentioned purposes? The reason I ask this is because most people seem to be using Android stick primarily as a media player.
I tried hooking up two tablets to my TV, neither of them gave full screen. Will I face such problems with the stick? Do I need to look for any specific monitor resolutions or aspect ratios?
If I attach keyboard and mouse to the monitor's USB port, will it work?
Are there any sticks which will support touch screen monitors out of the box?
Will it play the sound through monitor out of the box?
In case I have to use bluetooth, can I pair both keyboard and mouse at the same time?
Do I need to shutdown the stick just like a PC or will a simple mains switch off be enough? Or can I leave it running all the time without worrying about the power consumption?
Please recommend a good stick for this purpose.
Am I overlooking something? Will I need any extra components?
I will most likely be telling them over the phone on how to set up the whole thing. So any kind of tinkering with software (like rooting or some form of modding) will not be possible.
unni_kmr said:
I need to replace my parents 7 year old Windows PC with a new one. I was thinking of getting a Android stick instead since their uses are limited to Skype, Hangouts, Facebook, occassional browsing and YouTube. Besides, at least my mom has become pretty familiar with her Android phone.
What I have in mind is this:
Buy a monitor with HDMI port or DVI. The monitor will have built in speakers as well. Connect the stick to it.
Attach a USB hub to the stick.
Attach webcam, keyboard and mouse to the hub. Alternatively, attach keyboard and mouse to the USB ports in the monitor (if available). I don't want to use bluetooth because they will find recharging the keyboard/mouse difficult.
My questions are:
How effective this setup will be for the above mentioned purposes? The reason I ask this is because most people seem to be using Android stick primarily as a media player.
I tried hooking up two tablets to my TV, neither of them gave full screen. Will I face such problems with the stick? Do I need to look for any specific monitor resolutions or aspect ratios?
If I attach keyboard and mouse to the monitor's USB port, will it work?
Are there any sticks which will support touch screen monitors out of the box?
Will it play the sound through monitor out of the box?
In case I have to use bluetooth, can I pair both keyboard and mouse at the same time?
Do I need to shutdown the stick just like a PC or will a simple mains switch off be enough? Or can I leave it running all the time without worrying about the power consumption?
Please recommend a good stick for this purpose.
Am I overlooking something? Will I need any extra components?
I will most likely be telling them over the phone on how to set up the whole thing. So any kind of tinkering with software (like rooting or some form of modding) will not be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Minix X7, which is my first android mini pc.. here's my thoughts regarding your list:
1. If you connect the mini pc (stick or otherwise) using HDMI cable to the monitor, you will have audio through the monitor.
2. If you buy a mini pc instead of a stick, you wouldn't need an additional usb hub (see X5 or X7)
3. You will need to use a logitech webcam (at least to use stock roms on Minix)
4. For browsing, Facebook, and Skype, the X7 will handle that easily, on a wired/wireless connection
5. Full screen works fine (either 1080p or 720p)
6. I have never used a touch screen monitor, but this thread has some guidance (http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?1802-Touchscreen).. a little more involved than plug-and-play
7. The X7will pair both a keyboard and mouse via bt at once, though I would recommend using the usb ports if you are setting it up at a desk
8. My X7 almost never gets shut off. Usually just shut off the monitor and let it stay on. The power consumption is minimal, especially when not being used.
Also, as far as a recommendation, I find the X7 to be pretty good. You'd probably be ok with an X5 if they aren't planning on using it as a media center and want to save some $$$. A lot of the cheap sticks are made by manufacturers who do not provide updates or product support, but since the end of July, Minix has come out with 3 firmware updates, and another one is almost ready. (They would have released update 005 except Rockchip released an update to their code and Minix want to integrate it prior to their next release, as it improves video playback).
On the negative side, the firmware does still have occasional glitches. Although my X7 has been up for days on end, every once in a while it just freezes up, and i have to pull the power cable, plug it back in, and turn it on. Also, the X7 had some early issues with SD cards, but if you don't plan on using an SD card, that shouldn't be an issue.
If you believe an android device will do everything your parents need in a PC, I think it's a great idea. Low power consumption (4W vs the 160-220W of my HTPC), low heat, no noise, low price, and decent reliability.
One more thought, if you wish to root/update firmware, etc, get the device shipped to you, then ship it to your parents. It'll take a few more days, but you can set it up and make sure everything suits their needs prior to delivery..
Mike_77 said:
I have a Minix X7, which is my first android mini pc.. here's my thoughts regarding your list:
1. If you connect the mini pc (stick or otherwise) using HDMI cable to the monitor, you will have audio through the monitor.
2. If you buy a mini pc instead of a stick, you wouldn't need an additional usb hub (see X5 or X7)
3. You will need to use a logitech webcam (at least to use stock roms on Minix)
4. For browsing, Facebook, and Skype, the X7 will handle that easily, on a wired/wireless connection
5. Full screen works fine (either 1080p or 720p)
6. I have never used a touch screen monitor, but this thread has some guidance (http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?1802-Touchscreen).. a little more involved than plug-and-play
7. The X7will pair both a keyboard and mouse via bt at once, though I would recommend using the usb ports if you are setting it up at a desk
8. My X7 almost never gets shut off. Usually just shut off the monitor and let it stay on. The power consumption is minimal, especially when not being used.
Also, as far as a recommendation, I find the X7 to be pretty good. You'd probably be ok with an X5 if they aren't planning on using it as a media center and want to save some $$$. A lot of the cheap sticks are made by manufacturers who do not provide updates or product support, but since the end of July, Minix has come out with 3 firmware updates, and another one is almost ready. (They would have released update 005 except Rockchip released an update to their code and Minix want to integrate it prior to their next release, as it improves video playback).
On the negative side, the firmware does still have occasional glitches. Although my X7 has been up for days on end, every once in a while it just freezes up, and i have to pull the power cable, plug it back in, and turn it on. Also, the X7 had some early issues with SD cards, but if you don't plan on using an SD card, that shouldn't be an issue.
If you believe an android device will do everything your parents need in a PC, I think it's a great idea. Low power consumption (4W vs the 160-220W of my HTPC), low heat, no noise, low price, and decent reliability.
One more thought, if you wish to root/update firmware, etc, get the device shipped to you, then ship it to your parents. It'll take a few more days, but you can set it up and make sure everything suits their needs prior to delivery..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a great wright up of x7 I love mine and agree 100 % with what you have said here. I've tried the uab sticks they don't work as well plus no heat on the x7 that thing is built well to last. I have set p.o.s. (point of sales) systems up in the past using the x5 cheap and fast browsing experience.
Good luck hope your parents are happy with what ever you end up doing.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
I have MK808b (dual core with 1GB RAM), and using it as a media center, but also as a PC for browsing INTERNET. It is connected to pc monitor with HDMI, and works perfectly in full HD resolution.
I can't find any reason not to use it as a replacement for PC, especially if you use cloud storage services.
Mike_77 said:
I have a Minix X7, which is my first android mini pc.. here's my thoughts regarding your list...
6. I have never used a touch screen monitor, but this thread has some guidance (http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?1802-Touchscreen).. a little more involved than plug-and-play
One more thought, if you wish to root/update firmware, etc, get the device shipped to you, then ship it to your parents. It'll take a few more days, but you can set it up and make sure everything suits their needs prior to delivery..
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Thanks very much for this detailed reply. Really appreciate you taking time to write all these.
I have dropped the idea of using touch screen, since they seem to be 3 times the cost of a regular monitor (in India).
Regarding the shipping, I am in US now and parents are in India. I am not exactly sure if customs will cause any problems. That's why I am thinking of ordering from eBay India itself. Only problem is eBay India seller is charging around $204, probably because this is a new device.
dincdoes.me said:
Good luck hope your parents are happy with what ever you end up doing.
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If this works as expected for the above purposes, I am the one who will be more happy. In the last 2 years, I have spent a lot of hours through LogMeIn remote desktop updating and maintaining the PC. Where my parents stay, there are scheduled powercuts for 1 hour per day for atleast half of the year, and power comes and goes every now and then even otherwise. This inconsistency in power was another reason that made me lean towards the mini PCs. Besides, my mom, who is the primary user of the PC, has become more familiar with Android (through her phone), and she likes playing the games a lot as well.
draskome said:
I have MK808b (dual core with 1GB RAM), and using it as a media center, but also as a PC for browsing INTERNET. It is connected to pc monitor with HDMI, and works perfectly in full HD resolution.
I can't find any reason not to use it as a replacement for PC, especially if you use cloud storage services.
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What resolution is your monitor?
Cloud storage will be a problem, since the internet at my parents house is only 512 kbps.
I am thinking of getting the X7 or X5 mainly because of the software updates, since I won't need to purchase any hub and since I can use my existing Logitech C310 webcam.
I have few more questions regarding the X7:
1. How responsive is the keyboard and mouse? Can I expect a response similar to a normal Windows PC?
2. If I use a monitor that has a resolution between 720p and 1080p (something like 1360x768 for example), will the device handle it properly or will it look odd (like stretched)?
3. Will it get updated automatically? I saw one video in YouTube in which he was manually flashing it using some Windows utility. Is that the only way to update?
I have two devices.
First device is a 70 dollar single core tablet with a broken touch screen. It was to expensive to fix it so I turned it into a server.
1. it runs Servers ultimate pro running a WebDav server, PHP/MySQL server for RSS feeds and a home site for the family, ddns updater and an FTP server.
2. it is running a surveillance app that sends an email to me the moment anything moves in the camera shot.
3. runs a PocketMine-MP server
4. runs an app to auto stop and start apps dring certain times of the day.
All this is remotely accessible VIA webkey.
Second device is an iMito MX1
1. it has a 7 port hub attached.
2. a HD webcam for Skype.
3. two harddrives (a 1 TB driver for media storage and a 720GB for internal memory replacement)(more on that in a min)
4. plays netflix, red box, youtube, Vevo, crackle and XBMC... to name a few
5. has 32 games loaded up with a Logitech F710 wireless controller VIA an app for onscreen touch.
6. Logitech full sized KB and Mouse.
I use this thing for web browsing, shooting vids and pics over to it from my phone for family sharing(DLNA)
The 750gig harddrive is currently the SDCARD but the internal one(NAND). The internal NAND is no longer used and the harddrive is where the OS stores the app's file to SD and the apps extra downloads. This has allowed me to download 15 games that contain 1+gig of extra data each.
All this has replaced two PC's in my house running 24/7. My electric bill has dropped 100+ dollars a month and the house has become quieter.
Let me tell you that two PC's(one was a server and the other a media center) running at full speed just to watch a movie took 280 watts of power. My new setup only consumes 24 at peak! Plus less heat and fan noise! I changed over around a year ago and never looked back or miss my old setup.
If you plan on running one fore a PC replacement I recommend a quad core. Sometimes the browsers can get a bit poky and that is due to the slower CPU. Also Webkey a must for remote management. This one FREE app has saved me more times then I can could. It has tons of functions and features but it's best feature is the remote control. It is just like setting in front of the device but just a tad slower. It is not a perfect app but it is the only remote app that I have found to work time and time again.
unni_kmr said:
What resolution is your monitor?
Cloud storage will be a problem, since the internet at my parents house is only 512 kbps.
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Click to collapse
My monitor is 24" 1080p, and it's perfectly suitable for the purpose
For the office documents, 512kbps is quite enough, but not for pics, videos....
unni_kmr said:
Thanks very much for this detailed reply. Really appreciate you taking time to write all these.
I have dropped the idea of using touch screen, since they seem to be 3 times the cost of a regular monitor (in India).
Regarding the shipping, I am in US now and parents are in India. I am not exactly sure if customs will cause any problems. That's why I am thinking of ordering from eBay India itself. Only problem is eBay India seller is charging around $204, probably because this is a new device.
What resolution is your monitor?
Cloud storage will be a problem, since the internet at my parents house is only 512 kbps.
I am thinking of getting the X7 or X5 mainly because of the software updates, since I won't need to purchase any hub and since I can use my existing Logitech C310 webcam.
I have few more questions regarding the X7:
1. How responsive is the keyboard and mouse? Can I expect a response similar to a normal Windows PC?
2. If I use a monitor that has a resolution between 720p and 1080p (something like 1360x768 for example), will the device handle it properly or will it look odd (like stretched)?
3. Will it get updated automatically? I saw one video in YouTube in which he was manually flashing it using some Windows utility. Is that the only way to update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad to share my experience. I was a bit hesitant to buy one originally, but have been more than happy with my purchase.
I bought mine from http://www.aliexpress.com/item/MINIX-NEO-X7-Android-TV-Box-RK3188-Quad-Core-Mini-PC-1-6GHz-2G-16G-WiFi/1086507000.html# shipped DHL for only $3 more, and had it delivered in 3 days to Hawaii from China.
Updates are kind of a pain until they implement OTA updates, which they say they're going to do. That's why I recommend shipping to you first, and then you can send to your parents. I understand the customs issue though.. tough decision on that one.
I use mine on a 55" 1080p tv, and the picture quality is outstanding. The picture does not looked stretched or odd any any way. I believe it will detect the correct display settings and you can set the resolution you desire in /settings/display/resolution (trying to remember exact menu it's under)
The keyboard and mouse is just as responsive as a windows pc. There are a couple of times there is a bit of lag, but that is just a function of how much stuff is running. Even when you experience lag, it isn't anything significant.
There is a working version of CWM that will allow you to flash updates like an Android phone, but you will have to use the pc utility to install CWM (available on freaktab.com) Once CWM is installed, you can package the update files into a zip that is premade other than your update files, and it'll update for you.
There is a lot more information on freaktab.com. I alternated between that and minixforums.com for a while when trying to decide which android mini pc to buy. After weeks of research, I decided the wait for the X7 was worth it, and haven't regretted my decision since.
Thanks very much for all the replies. Sorry that I didn't reply for a long time. I tried ordering Minix Neo X7 from the AliExpress link. But they rejected my payment due to security concerns (I used an US credit card and gave India adress which probably raised some red flags). Then I ordered from eBay India. Waiting for it to be shipped.
I also came across another interesting product that could have satisfied all my requirements. Its the ViewSonic VSD220. Its a touch screen monitor with speakers, web cam, USB ports and is a Android mini PC. The only down side was that a YouTube review said its processor is not upto the mark.
unni_kmr said:
Thanks very much for all the replies. Sorry that I didn't reply for a long time. I tried ordering Minix Neo X7 from the AliExpress link. But they rejected my payment due to security concerns (I used an US credit card and gave India adress which probably raised some red flags). Then I ordered from eBay India. Waiting for it to be shipped.
I also came across another interesting product that could have satisfied all my requirements. Its the ViewSonic VSD220. Its a touch screen monitor with speakers, web cam, USB ports and is a Android mini PC. The only down side was that a YouTube review said its processor is not upto the mark.
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Click to collapse
I think you'll get better performance out of the X7. Have you read all the info, etc on minixforums.com? Also, starting with FW006, they are supporting SDCard firmware updates (theoretically, though I haven't tried it)
reddragon72 said:
I have two devices.
First device is a 70 dollar single core tablet with a broken touch screen. It was to expensive to fix it so I turned it into a server.
1. it runs Servers ultimate pro running a WebDav server, PHP/MySQL server for RSS feeds and a home site for the family, ddns updater and an FTP server.
2. it is running a surveillance app that sends an email to me the moment anything moves in the camera shot.
3. runs a PocketMine-MP server
4. runs an app to auto stop and start apps dring certain times of the day.
All this is remotely accessible VIA webkey.
Second device is an iMito MX1
1. it has a 7 port hub attached.
2. a HD webcam for Skype.
3. two harddrives (a 1 TB driver for media storage and a 720GB for internal memory replacement)(more on that in a min)
4. plays netflix, red box, youtube, Vevo, crackle and XBMC... to name a few
5. has 32 games loaded up with a Logitech F710 wireless controller VIA an app for onscreen touch.
6. Logitech full sized KB and Mouse.
I use this thing for web browsing, shooting vids and pics over to it from my phone for family sharing(DLNA)
The 750gig harddrive is currently the SDCARD but the internal one(NAND). The internal NAND is no longer used and the harddrive is where the OS stores the app's file to SD and the apps extra downloads. This has allowed me to download 15 games that contain 1+gig of extra data each.
All this has replaced two PC's in my house running 24/7. My electric bill has dropped 100+ dollars a month and the house has become quieter.
Let me tell you that two PC's(one was a server and the other a media center) running at full speed just to watch a movie took 280 watts of power. My new setup only consumes 24 at peak! Plus less heat and fan noise! I changed over around a year ago and never looked back or miss my old setup.
If you plan on running one fore a PC replacement I recommend a quad core. Sometimes the browsers can get a bit poky and that is due to the slower CPU. Also Webkey a must for remote management. This one FREE app has saved me more times then I can could. It has tons of functions and features but it's best feature is the remote control. It is just like setting in front of the device but just a tad slower. It is not a perfect app but it is the only remote app that I have found to work time and time again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your guidance would be greatly appreciated. What would you reccomend for luanchers or either installing a new system on the Tronsmart T428. I just can't stand using the android with my wifi keyboard w built-in mouse. The android pop-up keyboard takes up half of my projector screen when it pops up even with null keyboard installed. When selecting a link if a similar page ops up there is no scroll bars on the right letting you know to scroll down or if ytou are still on the smae page waiting for stuff to upload. i guess I'm looking for more of an Ubuntu 10x or windows experience. Traditional keyboard and mouse vs touch screen. NOw that I think about it I bet I have to get hulu plus to watch anything on this bc it acts like a tablet.
Hi, just wondering if I could use my old phone as a Car "Black Box". In other words, with it connected to the OBD-II (OBD2) port, could it log all my driving data (when I accelerated/braked, indicated for a lane change, tracked my revs and speed, GPS tracked my route, etc)?
I mean you certainly can. There's plenty of bluetooth OBD2 modules that will connect to your phone through a variety of apps, though you might have to sift past those that require subscriptions or active provider plans or similar requirements, but I'm sure there are some that work with free phone apps to do what you're thinking.
I guess if you have an old phone doing nothing otherwise, you might as well chuck a big sd card in it, or even use an OTG adapter to connect a larger storage, and hell you could even use it as a dashcam or interior cam as well, or at least provide storage and viewing for a dedicated camera otherwise.
Might as well be as protected and secure as you can!