[Q] Card Swipe via USB (not Square) - Xoom General

Thanks for any help regarding this question.
I'm working on a pilot program to run our point-of-sale software from a Xoom via Citrix Receiver. The software is running smoothly across Citrix and now we want to be able to swipe customer credit cards in person. I'm not looking for a Square-like management solution, because we're trying to use our own software and not go through a third party app.
For many years, MagTek has made USB credit card swipe readers that emulate a USB keyboard. If I plug one into a PC, I can swipe card data and the reader literally "keys" in the data. I have many of these in production and no drivers are ever needed.
My question is--with an OTG cable, could the USB swipe reader work on the Xoom? Obviously it wouldn't be pretty and I would have to rig up a folio case to contain the swipe dongle and USB cables... so if there are any other swipe readers that will work, I'm all ears.
Thanks again.

Are you set on USB connectivity? You could certainly use an Audio Jack reader from Sage Payment Solutions to swipe cards in a fully encrypted fashion.

USB on Android is not a good solution as very very few devices (read that as basically none today) support USB Host mode. Your best bet is to use the Mic jack like square does...hell...use their reader and your own software and avoid the hardware costs.

Related

connecting thumb drive to Hermes

Happy new year everyone
I have question; I have search high and low and have not found the answer, so I thought I would come to the source of all knowledge and information about HTC.
Can you connect a thumb drive to HTC hermes?
not as a thumb drive, but a thumb drive to HTC hermes as external drive
thank you
Jim
USB Thumbdrives
AFAIK, it is not possible as the USB port on Hermes is passive (ie - it can't drive USB hardware and even if it did, it wouldn't have a driver).
If you've got a wireless AP on your desktop tho - you could install the network folder patch on Hermes and connect to a "shared" USB thumbnail drive hosted on your desktop...
only Athena and flame support usb host
thanks for the reply and information; that what I thought, but never hurt to ask the question.
thanks again
Here's a "equivalency" solution.
Buy a microSD card (they are dirt cheap nowadays anyway) and buy the smallest USB card reader you can find.
Use the microSD+cardreader as a thumb drive. Whenever you need to use it on your phone, remove the microSD and put it in your phone.

Summary of limitations with Stock Firmware

Putting these out there so that dev's could address and all others should be aware of:
- No "USB Mass Storage" support. ICS out-of-the-box doesn't support this, however it can and has been added into ICS-based roms for other devices. Definitely possible to be addressed via software.
- Cannot move/install apps to the external microSD card. With ~4-5GB of available space on internal flash memory, this can become an issue for some.
- supports only microSD formatted in FAT32. Which effectively means if you have a video or other media file that is over 4gb in size, you cannot copy it onto the card. This is certainly a problem when you have HD quality movies you wish to play back on the device.
- wifi "can be" flaky. Many have experienced "low" wifi strength while only a few feet from their routers. Possibly could be improved through kernel driver updates, etc.
Please add on to this list as you come across limitations!
[EDIT]
- Per Macadamia Daze: Lack of Ad-hoc Wi-Fi support
- Per doraemon14: No face-unlock enabled in ICS
- [ CONFIRMED WORKING ]: Support for USB OTG (Host Mode).
I'm not sure who all cares, but it lacks ad hoc Wi-Fi support.
this is my first android device so not sure if this is only for ICS or all other previous versions.
- hope charging via USB is working even though it is not power-off.
nohctis said:
this is my first android device so not sure if this is only for ICS or all other previous versions.
- hope charging via USB is working even though it is not power-off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most tablets now need 2A to charge, USB only provides 500ma. I don't think it works, it's not an ICS limitation.
slopokdave said:
Most tablets now need 2A to charge, USB only provides 500ma. I don't think it works, it's not an ICS limitation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the info. just assuming (more on hoping) it might also work while on power-on since charging via USB is working if the device is turned-off.
as far as the - supports only microSD formatted in FAT32. Which effectively means if you have a video or other media file that is over 4gb in size, you cannot copy it onto the card. This is certainly a problem when you have HD quality movies you wish to play back on the device.
I found that if you use a rar. format you can break the file up into small file. which let you put it on the sd card and then extract the file and put it back together in the card. it may take longer doing that but it works.
Bluetooth issues... device tends to pair and connect, then randomly disconnect, say it's still paired, then constantly pop-up the "Pairing" dialog asking for the PIN number. Once this happens the device will not stay paired.
This is happening with my PLX Kiwi OBD 2 adapter in my car... happens to my friend on the stock original firmware (I'm on the updated version) we're both rooted.. this happened before rooting as well though.
Two more cases can be seen here:
http://torque-bhp.com/forums/?wpforumaction=viewtopic&t=2076.00
http://code.google.com/p/android-bluez-ime/issues/detail?id=162
after i read this thread. I found a work around for usb host in the htc one s forum. Found by nerd65536
[Guide] USB Host
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USB host lets you hook up external USB devices to your phone, like a keyboard, mouse, USB drive, etc..
Unlike devices which are designed to support USB host, the One S doesn't provide power to the peripheral. That means we need a few more adapters/cables to get it to work (and we need an external power source).
Purchase links are listed for all the required cables/adapters.
You will need:
•USB Host adapter (The otherwise unused 5th pin on a micro-usb connector is grounded) dx.com/m-129671
•Mini USB power Y cable (this kind of cable is often packaged with portable hard drives) dx.com/u-65630
•Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter This package comes with two, but you only need one. dx.com/u-55613
•Your charger
Assemble the cable:•The micro USB of the "USB Host adapter" connects to your phone.
•Your peripheral plugs into the female end of the "Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter"
•The "Mini USB power Y cable" has three connectors:1.Mini USB connector - connects to the "Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter"
2.Male USB A Power (the thinner wire) - connects to your charger
3.Male USB A - connects to the "USB Host adapter"
That's all. As long as your ROM supports the peripheral, it will work.
Some fun peripherals to try:•Powered USB hub (You can also power the adapter from one of the hub's ports)
•Keyboard
•Mouse (a cursor will appear on your device)
•USB flash drives and USB hard drives must be FAT32. You have to run a few commands to use a USB drive. Mount manually from the shell (use Connectbot or Terminal Emulator):
Code:
su
mkdir /media/sdcard/usb
mount -o uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0702,dmask=0702 /dev/block/sda1 /mnt/sdcard/usb
To unmount:
Code:
su
umount /mnt/sdcard/usb
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1629134
Diablo2424 said:
Bluetooth issues... device tends to pair and connect, then randomly disconnect, say it's still paired, then constantly pop-up the "Pairing" dialog asking for the PIN number. Once this happens the device will not stay paired.
This is happening with my PLX Kiwi OBD 2 adapter in my car... happens to my friend on the stock original firmware (I'm on the updated version) we're both rooted.. this happened before rooting as well though.
Two more cases can be seen here:
http://torque-bhp.com/forums/?wpforumaction=viewtopic&t=2076.00
http://code.google.com/p/android-bluez-ime/issues/detail?id=162
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UPDATE on BT!
I just called Samsung Mobile Support and let them know about my issue. I mentioned that the original and current firmware's both have this problem, the agent put me on hold for a few minutes and came back saying that they are aware of this issue and the next firmware update (OTA) should be resolving it!
Thank you Samsung for having great customer service (I was only on the phone with Samsung 12 minutes total, including the non-existent wait time!)
yeah, recap:
you:Im having a BT issue
sammy: please hold, *call developers on other line* *yelling at developers* Bluetooth is broken! fix it!
sammy: *back on call with you*, we're aware of the issue and will be fixed in an OTA update.
just kidding although I love pounding Sammy every chance I get.
cbetso said:
after i read this thread. I found a work around for usb host in the htc one s forum. Found by nerd65536
[Guide] USB Host
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USB host lets you hook up external USB devices to your phone, like a keyboard, mouse, USB drive, etc..
Unlike devices which are designed to support USB host, the One S doesn't provide power to the peripheral. That means we need a few more adapters/cables to get it to work (and we need an external power source).
Purchase links are listed for all the required cables/adapters.
You will need:
•USB Host adapter (The otherwise unused 5th pin on a micro-usb connector is grounded) dx.com/m-129671
•Mini USB power Y cable (this kind of cable is often packaged with portable hard drives) dx.com/u-65630
•Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter This package comes with two, but you only need one. dx.com/u-55613
•Your charger
Assemble the cable:•The micro USB of the "USB Host adapter" connects to your phone.
•Your peripheral plugs into the female end of the "Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter"
•The "Mini USB power Y cable" has three connectors:1.Mini USB connector - connects to the "Mini USB Female to USB A Female adapter"
2.Male USB A Power (the thinner wire) - connects to your charger
3.Male USB A - connects to the "USB Host adapter"
That's all. As long as your ROM supports the peripheral, it will work.
Some fun peripherals to try:•Powered USB hub (You can also power the adapter from one of the hub's ports)
•Keyboard
•Mouse (a cursor will appear on your device)
•USB flash drives and USB hard drives must be FAT32. You have to run a few commands to use a USB drive. Mount manually from the shell (use Connectbot or Terminal Emulator):
Code:
su
mkdir /media/sdcard/usb
mount -o uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0702,dmask=0702 /dev/block/sda1 /mnt/sdcard/usb
To unmount:
Code:
su
umount /mnt/sdcard/usb
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1629134
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you test any of this for this tablet? Does it even apply to this tablet (you are referencing a different device)? USB OTG (aka Host Mode) is a combination of having the right hardware + the right modules compiled into the kernel.
Diablo2424 said:
UPDATE on BT!
I just called Samsung Mobile Support and let them know about my issue. I mentioned that the original and current firmware's both have this problem, the agent put me on hold for a few minutes and came back saying that they are aware of this issue and the next firmware update (OTA) should be resolving it!
Thank you Samsung for having great customer service (I was only on the phone with Samsung 12 minutes total, including the non-existent wait time!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem along many others(on original firmware it wasn't even usable it rebooted constantly). I was trying to connect to one of this:
http://tunerstudio.com/index.php/cablesandbluetooth
I ended up returning the device as I mainly needed it for that a the moment and as it crashed using the browser etc, but thinking of buying again.
Did they give you an ETA for the update? Or have you tried another ROM?
Post up if you get it fixed
cbetso said:
as far as the - supports only microSD formatted in FAT32. Which effectively means if you have a video or other media file that is over 4gb in size, you cannot copy it onto the card. This is certainly a problem when you have HD quality movies you wish to play back on the device.
I found that if you use a rar. format you can break the file up into small file. which let you put it on the sd card and then extract the file and put it back together in the card. it may take longer doing that but it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FAT32 has a single-file size limit of 4GB. Yes, you could use rar or any other archive format to break the original file into pieces, however for example, an HD .mkv video file can be well over 5GB (single file). You could possible copy 1 of those large files into the 'internal' memory if you had the space -- but defeats the whole purpose of having expandable storage.
i dunno whether the one i write here is considered as flaws or not...
i don't like the way this tab arrange its homescreen and apps cabinet...there are some spaces left and can't be filled...i hate this...
lastiko said:
i dunno whether the one i write here is considered as flaws or not...
i don't like the way this tab arrange its homescreen and apps cabinet...there are some spaces left and can't be filled...i hate this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A new launcher will fix that problem for you. I use apex launcher.. but there's other alternatives out there as well.. like go launcher
---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------
Slowb00st said:
I had the same problem along many others(on original firmware it wasn't even usable it rebooted constantly). I was trying to connect to one of this:
http://tunerstudio.com/index.php/cablesandbluetooth
I ended up returning the device as I mainly needed it for that a the moment and as it crashed using the browser etc, but thinking of buying again.
Did they give you an ETA for the update? Or have you tried another ROM?
Post up if you get it fixed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understandable if you needed it working right at that moment. I did ask for an ETA but unfortunately he said he didn't have one... he did say that it will be soon and to make sure my device is on wifi and ready for an update soon.. but I'm on a rooted stock firmware and froze the software updater lmao so that won't work... but I'll keep an eye out for am update and let everyone know. No I haven't tried any other ROMs yet as they all have some flaws that bother me... not too mention for my specific use I don't really need anything too fancy... just need BT for my PLX Kiwi OBD adapter for my cars diagnostics
is there anyone has stock room for p3100?
Diablo2424 said:
Understandable if you needed it working right at that moment. I did ask for an ETA but unfortunately he said he didn't have one... he did say that it will be soon and to make sure my device is on wifi and ready for an update soon.. but I'm on a rooted stock firmware and froze the software updater lmao so that won't work... but I'll keep an eye out for am update and let everyone know. No I haven't tried any other ROMs yet as they all have some flaws that bother me... not too mention for my specific use I don't really need anything too fancy... just need BT for my PLX Kiwi OBD adapter for my cars diagnostics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still too early, but there are some ROMs actively being worked on (and I'm hoping we see official support for this tablet from CM soon). With the recent MacMall $219 flash sale on this (they must have sold thousands in one day), and attractive MSRP, there could be a lot of interest from major developers.
Balthazar B said:
It's still too early, but there are some ROMs actively being worked on (and I'm hoping we see official support for this tablet from CM soon). With the recent MacMall $219 flash sale on this (they must have sold thousands in one day), and attractive MSRP, there could be a lot of interest from major developers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ebay tells you how much have been sold. It wasn't 500ish last I saw shortly before it ended.
I purchased the Samsung OTG cable and plugged it in the port. The cable has a female connector on the other end. I plugged in a 32GB thumb drive and it read it right away. I plugged in a small harddrive and the tablet reported that a high power device was plugged in and would not work without additional power. I paid $8.00 for the cable on amazon.com.
rapcon said:
I purchased the Samsung OTG cable and plugged it in the port. The cable has a female connector on the other end. I plugged in a 32GB thumb drive and it read it right away. I plugged in a small harddrive and the tablet reported that a high power device was plugged in and would not work without additional power. I paid $8.00 for the cable on amazon.com.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you be able to provide a link to that cable?
Thanks for the info! Does a mouse/keyboard work with no issue? The USB stick -- did it auto-mount and what filesystem is it formatted with (ie FAT32)? -- I'm curious if for example a USB stick that is formatted in NTFS can be used..
On another note, this confirms that the device itself can handle USB OTG to some degree -- meaning the modules are in place in the stock kernel and the hardware itself is capable of putting out enough power to handle certain devices.

[Xoom 2] Hardware hack - adding microSD via USB hard-wiring?

I'm just contemplating whether it would be possible to hard-wire a MicroSD card reader into the Xoom 2.
I've seen threads about trying to add the oem reader onto the motherboard, but what I'm thinking is (firstly testing) that a 2-way usb splitter will allow a usb microSD reader and a sync cable to work at the same time.
If they work fine, then surely splitting open the housings of the splitter and card reader, and soldering all connections instead of chunky usb plugs, then breaking the connection from the MoBo to the current usb out and instead connecting it to one of the splitter's outputs?
Perhaps behind the void microSD port cover would be just enough space to fit the circuitry?
Anyone's thoughts?! I know it's far easier to brainstorm something like this than it is to actually do such a fiddly job, but would it be possible? I saw on the Advent Vega forums (A crappy tablet I also have) the same thing has been done to hardwire a USB modem. Apparently the case of that device has just enough space to squeeze it all in.
Perhaps this has already been done?
This isn't going to end well lol
Good luck though and don't forget to YouTube your efforts for bragging rights and our praises!
Sent from my Motorola Atrix 2 with AT&T 4G

[Q] Apoligies if repeat Q: will a usb hub work with Nexus 7?

I had read in some other random forum that if you have rooted your Nexus 7, which I have, and run app "StickMount" you can connect a usb thumb drive to the nexus and give yourself more space, even install apps to the USB drive to run from. I am wondering (and am going to test it out later this evening) if anyone has tried connecting a USB hub, so that you can have say 4 ports to add different drives or game controllers/whatever else and android will recognize the different devices?
As a realist, I'm just hoping the single USB stick connection will actually work as a storage expansion area, as we all know there is no micro SD slot. I actually have an old college friend I keep in touch with who works on the Nexus development team, who had no good answer as to why micro SD was removed, as well as the ability on devices with a micro SD no longer allow the installation of apps to the sd card. I was pretty convinced it was simply because the OEMs decided to name their internal memory /mnt/sdcard which used to be the external card's mount point name, but I'm told it is more complicated than that. Am I the only one that really feels like no apps to the SD in ICS or jellybean, is quite a downgrade? I understand we can use the "cloud" now ... but that's simply not the same, and surely not as fast as a local drive (maybe?) I then proceeded to yell at him to not let the group of stupid consumers influence the great features that the half-brained+ consumers know how to properly use, to no avail. Using the micro to full USB port to mount a thumb drive seemed to be the best way to add more storage locally. Thoughts? Thanks
- Herby
- Real-time embedded software developer going on 12 years, working in the satcom, medical device, aircraft display, and aerospace domains
NM - Just found app "USB Host controller" which does exactly what I asked Yayyyy!!
There are actually a whole slew of these that are even free, most require root however, which I recommend using the program with GUI interface developed specifically to unlock the bootloader, and then root the nexus 7. I think it was called Root_Toolbox or something like that. I am not at home or I would report back the official name. If anyone wants it just let me know. Thank you!
Herby6262 said:
I had read in some other random forum that if you have rooted your Nexus 7, which I have, and run app "StickMount" you can connect a usb thumb drive to the nexus and give yourself more space, even install apps to the USB drive to run from. I am wondering (and am going to test it out later this evening) if anyone has tried connecting a USB hub, so that you can have say 4 ports to add different drives or game controllers/whatever else and android will recognize the different devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A hub works great. I've had 3 flash sticks mounted at once along with a mouse and everything has worked without a hitch.
The caveat here is to ensure you're not pulling too much current - the OTG max current source spec is alot less than the 500mA a normal USB PC host port is able to source.

accesory successes, failures and weirdnesses

most of you probably already know these things. but still nice to collect anecdata...
first off, usb absolutely refused to work at all no matter what device I tried, hub or no hub.
eventually after the large-ish 12/5 update, and then what looked like another update so brief I almost missed it, things started working. or maybe it was me turning off "usb debugging" that helped? not really willing to mess with it, now that usb generally works.
- generic usb hub, yep. powered or unpowered, good either way. but you all already knew that.
- 'das keyboard' with built in 2-port hub. keyboard works, hub works with flash drives, mice and kbds.
- logitech marble mouse - works, quelle surprise. via hub too.
- amazon brand cheapie keyboard - works. via hub too.
- iogear generic sd/microsd reader - works. via hub too.
- 2 different cameras of generic UVC 1.00 class - work fine with 3rd party software (search for "usb camera" on google play e.g. snapexwebcam). via hub too.
- SATA dock with built in usb hub (SD slot and 2 usb ports) - this thing sometimes worked but more often froze the ouya and had to reboot.
- cmedia hs100 usb soundcard - microphone input + stereo headphone output. this is a super generic chipset supported quite well by linux. dmesg showed it as recognized, but sound output did not automagically switch over to it. probably could be made to work with some hacking around.
most of the time, if I unmounted my usb flash drive from the storage menu, I could remove and then put it back and it would automagically show up under /mnt/usbdrive. again and again.
hotplugging card readers, usb drives etc. there are some nice free 3rd party userland mounters I can personally recommend:
usb otg helper (don't let the "otg" fool you, although it does that too if a device's kernel supports otg. it will mount ALL supported partitions (ext, fat, ntfs) on a flash drive, not just the 1st partition)
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.shajul.usbotg
paragon exfat/ntfs/hfs (not sure if it does ext too)
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paragon.mounter
Thanks for the information!
Nothing special to add, my western digital 2Tb energy conserving drive works great (no problem with the lag as it spins up). My cheap $10 Walmart keyboard is fine as well.
I have not tired any hubs, or anything else for that matter. A hub is on the list though as some extra flash storage would be nice.
I'm surprised to hear the cameras were working. Google has been blank as far as getting cameras recognized so I wasn't sure if it had been made to work yet. Any luck getting apps such as Skype to recognize the camera? How about that USB microphone? Any thoughts on how it might work for voice-to-text or as a 'generic' input device for voice control (utter!, Autovoice, Tasker).?
Generic USB hub - working
Sandisk microSD adapter - working
Logitech wireless USB keyboard - working
Retrolink USB N64 controller - not working
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk
haven't tried skype for ideological reasons, sorry.
I have tried linphone-video, loading it thru both f-droid and google play store. in both cases it immediately force-quits.
(I have this problem with more than a few apps, I really need to put in some time to check catlog/logcat...)
csipsimple works, but none of the settings let me choose audio i/o devices. (and csip doesn't support video)
the c-media hs100 usb doodad is definitely supported - I tried "usb audio tester" (also "usb audio tester root") and it worked just fine there (ext mic to ext speaker - I heard myself talking definitely). but no way to select it in the Settings UI. whereas my bluetooth speaker and bluetooth headset both work/switchover fine, but that is sort of standard switching built into most android devices.

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