Related
I was in a hurry to make a connection and left it in the seat pocket on the plane. Someone in Chicago or another connection has a great device. I bought the redfly to go with my ATT Titan II and just connected it this morning. The big disappointment is that video is terrible. Other than that most apps work great. Let me know if you want me to test something.
It is unlikely that the airline will find it, so I'll have a battery and original box for sale in about 10 days.
thats really sad
Re Redfly, how is the performance in mobile office? Read some reviews mentioning about pdf files opening extremely slow... your experience so far?
Using BT, how is battery life? Just curious to know the real user experience.
Thanks.
Redfly
All of the mobile office apps work great, it is not hard to see why they are targeting the business market. The only thing that I'd love to see would be better video play, but I did not expect that. The keyboard is fine for touch typing and I've had no trouble getting used to it. The screen is really good in the truck and I'm enjoying it for gps, google maps, and expensable. The view of contacts and calendar when in the truck is so much better than the phone itself. It is priced ok and worth it at $199 but that is still a stretch since it cannot replace my phone screen or media player for video on flights. So my dilemma is still multiple devices if I want a larger screen. The screen for Mobile Office is better than the Advantage, but for a do it all device I'd like to have it back.
I just received my scratch and dent x7501 from an ebay transaction, and it only came with the charger, so I might be interested in whatever you have, especially proprietary cables. I can't say I necessarily have to have them, but it might be helpful in case i decide to sell.
I didn't think I'd miss it like I do. So I'm going to watch the "for sales" and ebay for a couple of weeks to see if I can find a replacement. If not, I'll contact you 1st.
hitch said:
I didn't think I'd miss it like I do. So I'm going to watch the "for sales" and ebay for a couple of weeks to see if I can find a replacement. If not, I'll contact you 1st.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u can always get my athena if ur interested.
RE Comments and a Question About Redfly As Well
First off, very sorry to hear that story. Thats a fine piece of equipment to have to get over from the loss. I know how I am, I'd be walking around kicking the ground with my head down for weeks. Just remember, you never know, that airline could call tomorrow and surprise you. I would also make sure you contact them again. You never know. Perserverance in a case like this can be invaluable.
Let me also take a second to say to the masses, if you do not have your devices clearly marked with Contact Info, your making a mistake. I simply go into Word or Notepad or whatever and make some simple pieces of paper with my name , number. the words CALL IF FOUND, use a Size of 7 or or 9 FONT depending on how big device is and use BOLD. Cut them out, apply to back of battery is best, but at the least under the battery, people find a device I guarantee the battery comes off sooner or later, and then just use a piece of clear scotch tape (or two). This got my $1400 Black MicroTAC back in 1984 or 85. (something like that) When the Car Kit was $2700. One other thing. Sure Auto Locking on a device gets old. But there is nothing better then to know after a loss or theft that at the best he has a worthless piece of equipment and the least he will have to maybe spend some money and time to get it unlocked. It will help take the sting out of it mentally.
REDFLY:
As to Redfly I also said what the heck for $199 I will jump. With a coupon from MODACO I got another $18.00 off so I am priced right. I am a sceptic about this "seeding"program. I think it was not selling and it was time to get cost out of these units back before it is too late. When they are gone they may be gone and then used and marked up Ebays will be what is available. They may even hold value awhile as they do work as stated.
The OPS statement that the RedFly is for the Business user ( I will also say Student, perfect for Student for taking notes etc) is correct. If you want to watch Videos, forget it. But if you want to type documents, get on the Internet, web browse and check emails and know your phone is staying charged all the while and get good battery life with the whole combo, the Redfly works. It does EXACTLY what it is supposed to do well, and NOTHING else really. Your getting a nice big screen for your phone, keyboard and touchpad, abilty to charge / maintain battery level on phone while using (give or take a bit) for hours. It is small and you will see about 8 hours of battery life. If you need to use a projector it has a regular VIDEO port for say classroom or Power point meeting presentations
RedFly Question / Issue:
Im curious if the OP has experienced the intermittant connect between the AC cord and the Power IN port on the Redfly. Mine barely makes the connection and will pop out while just sitting there doing nothing or being lightly moved or typed on. It seems to be an R and D issue that got by. I have read others complain about it. Mine is bad enough I am exchanging. BTW, if you are going to get a RedFly allow me to suggest Erik Patterson at Expansys USA. This guy has taken care of me before, during and after the sale on the Redfly. I have been very impressed. On a $199 sale he is making very little (if anything) commission wise, He has treated me like I did just buy an x7501 with every available Accs. LOL. He is a true professional salesperson and I would love to see him get the business (RedFly or anything else for that matter) . He has earned my future business hands down.
OK thats enough for this "cover everything" post.
Here is Eriks Info. Please tell him Ron sent you.
Erik Patterson
EXPANSYS USA Sales
800-675-2638 ext 1344
EMAIL: [email protected]
As for the power plug you might want to see if you are getting it plugged all the way in. Many have noted, as I have with mine, they have a lot of tension on the socket so it doesn't come unplugged and you think you have it plugged in when you don't.
First off, let me say that i'm no fan of Apple and I really can't stand Steve Jobs. Yes, i've bought his products, but I hate being told what to do once I give him my money. I like customization. I like options. Hence, I do not like Steve Jobs.
I was very excited about the Xoom. I checked online every day for information about it since it's announcement. I had very high expectations and, even though the price tag was higher than I wanted to pay, I was the first to buy it at my local Best Buy.
Now, with that being said. I'm coming up on my 14 day return policy and am debating if I should keep it. I am new to this forum and have been reading through all the threads and learned a lot. However, in my learnings, I have also found things that concern me.
To start, let me tell you why I bought it. I had an iPad before and I mainly used it for online browsing around the house. For movies when I go on trips. And I wanted to use the Xoom for all of that, but also as my work and personal organizer. For easy access to business plans and work integration.
Here's where I'm having problems. If these are things that I should expect to be fixed with updates over time, then great. If not, then I'll have to find another option.
1) The Tegra Processor. I read on here that the Tegra Processor is what is preventing the Xoom from playing my divx movies. Now, I have gotten them to work on RockPlayer. But it has that watermark in the top left hand corner and my status bar at the bottom of the xoom never fades out. Also, and this is the biggest problem, the quality doesn't look good. It looks like their is a subtle light grid in the background. Almost like the original LCD's you saw in airports back in the day. When I first heard about the Tegra issues, I was just going to return the Xoom and get another Honeycomb tablet, but then I saw that all of the Android Tablets will have one.
2) The Browser. I did the trips where you go into debug mode and tell the Xoom to view all webpages in Desktop mode, but there are still a few sites that will only show me the mobile mode. Also, I like to have my bookmarks sorted by the order in which I visit them, yet the Xoom seems to randomly organize them for me. Kinda annoying.
3) Accessories. The only thing that I loved about my iPad was not the unit, but the Apple portfolio case. The motorola porfotlio case is just bulky, scratches the unit, and the latch is loose at best. I've found some nice leather cases online, but none that fold over and cover the screen. Yes, I have a screen protector. But, even those I can't find a good one with anti-glare.
4) eMail. I use exchange and apparently my work email is one of the ones that won't work on the xoom. I had to get Roadsync, which is okay, but I just prefer to use the default, integrated email/contacts/calendar programs. My EVO is perfect for this.
5) Widgets. Seriously, what's the deal with having cell phone sized widgets on a 10.1" screen. LauncherPro is nice, but still has custom icons like it's a phone, which I find to be in the way.
I know that most of these things seem small. But when you drop $800 on a device because you expect atleast the same functionality as your smaller cell phone, you come to have higher standards. I knew about Flash and the SD card issue going in, but the rest is bothersome. I know i'm an early adapter and with that comes quirks.
In any case, you all are 1000x smarter than me with this thing. I will take whatever advice you have.
1. Touchdown for tablets is great for email.
2. Some sites might not have updated their pages yet.
3. Apple always gets the third party love but more and more products are coming online everyday check Amazon
4. Being this is Google's flagship devise you have to believe this will be supported with updates and the file types should change
OK, first off, I agree with alot of what you have said, your right the software is a bit buggy at this time, again at this time. What you have to consider is that that this is an android device, and by that I mean it does not have all the overage that alot of companies put out on top of the overall software that make it look nice and neat, to include custom apps and infrastructure, but this also means that it is much easier to update. Half the time lost between when an actual Android update comes out and the time it takes for your device to get that update is due to all the crap that the company puts on top of the original Android infrastructure.
Give it a bit of time and I am sure that most of your problems can be worked out to you satisfaction due to them being software and not hardware problems.
Also take into account that since Motorola chose to use this clean interface it makes it much easier to modify by the hacking community , which is definitely something that an iPad cannot due.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
virgil1528 said:
1) The Tegra Processor. I read on here that the Tegra Processor is what is preventing the Xoom from playing my divx movies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any CPU/GPU can play video so long as it supports the right codecs. Have you tried transcoding to a supported codec?
xlGmanlx said:
1. Touchdown for tablets is great for email.
2. Some sites might not have updated their pages yet.
3. Apple always gets the third party love but more and more products are coming online everyday check Amazon
4. Being this is Google's flagship devise you have to believe this will be supported with updates and the file types should change
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said.
+1 for Touchdown. It is fantastic for exchange, I use it on both my Evo and Xoom.
If this wasn't a Google Experience device, I'd say your complaints would carry more weight.
However, Google has always done a good job of keeping their GE devices updated and at the forefront.
This device only just came out, I'm fairly sure they will get things handled fairly quickly.
As far as the apps/widgets go. This is still a new device and platform. All android tablets are going to suffer from the same right now. However...again... this issue is largely due to the limited time the device/platform has been available. Within a few weeks...I'm sure we'll see a lot more apps/widgets (even the ipad had limited selection out right). Just think of what it'll be like in a couple of weeks/months with more custom apps/roms/kernels etc...
I had buyers remorse for the first evening...not for any particular reason...and now I can't put it down. Not to mention my wife (who has an iPad), won't shut-up about when she is getting her Xoom
So I would say hang on to it, but that's just me. Do what makes you happy
I've come to the decision that I'll be taking mine back on the 13th day.
I've tried to really give it love and get use out of it, but tablets just don't really fill any niche except "web browsing on the couch".
I'm a sysadmin by day, and although I've carried the Xoom with me every time I step away from my desk, it just hasn't served a single purpose on the job. I had imagined it would be neat to dial into servers using RDP, but the interface is just horrible. I'm much better off just dialing into the server in question at any desk I'm in front of. I'm never more than 8-12 feet from a desktop machine, so there goes that.
Pulse news reader is basically the killer app, but is hardly worth 1000 (799 + tax + extra charger + 129 protection plan against drops for 1yr + case).
Motorola certainly hasn't won me over on the price especially considering I prepaid for it on the first day I could (at two different best buys just to cover bases), and then people who *DIDN'T* do that had a chance at 200 dollars off that was honored in the end. Ridiculous.
I had intended to pick up android development for tablets eventually, but I can hold off and stick with honing my Python until these come way down in price or offer some more functionality.
That's too bad, this has taken over as my laptop and let's me have a mobile office so to speak
For RDP I use Remote RDP light and it works credibly, but if your looking for true RDP functionality then you have to have a mouse and keyboard, and guess what, you bought a tablet with a touch screen interface, you can buy a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you want, but that just means more devices to carry around. A tablet, any tablet, will not be the proper interface for RDP, it can't, it is not a PC with all the perifials. A tablet, as far as RDP is concerned, is a device to do what you have to do when a PC is not around and a cell phone is impractical. As a network administrator I can do some of the emergency things that I need to accomplish while out on the town with my tablet, reading a book, surfing the web, commenting on a blog, watching a movie, all without lugging a laptop.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Yeah, unless you wanted to leave the mouse and just use the tablet as a touch screen with a keyboard your better off with a laptop. But like you said in a pinch its tough too beat
richardjr said:
For RDP I use Remote RDP light and it works credibly, but if your looking for true RDP functionality then you have to have a mouse and keyboard, and guess what, you bought a tablet with a touch screen interface, you can buy a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you want, but that just means more devices to carry around. A tablet, any tablet, will not be the proper interface for RDP, it can't, it is not a PC with all the perifials. A tablet, as far as RDP is concerned, is a device to do what you have to do when a PC is not around and a cell phone is impractical. As a network administrator I can do some of the emergency things that I need to accomplish while out on the town with my tablet, reading a book, surfing the web, commenting on a blog, watching a movie, all without lugging a laptop.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep the tab. U will love it in 6 months when everything is revamped
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Usmc7356 said:
Keep the tab. U will love it in 6 months when everything is revamped
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't imagine I'll walk away and never look back, but now I know what they're good for (and not good for) and when the price wars drive these down to 400ish I'll scoop one up again. : /
Not all tablets are create equal, and sometimes it takes having one first hand to validate all the information out there and how it applies to your situation
ixobelle said:
I don't imagine I'll walk away and never look back, but now I know what they're good for (and not good for) and when the price wars drive these down to 400ish I'll scoop one up again. : /
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return your Xoom and buy it in 6 months for cheaper price
Or probably there will be a new kind of better Honeycomb tablet at that time.
Usmc7356 said:
Keep the tab. U will love it in 6 months when everything is revamped
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
codeman05 said:
Well said.
+1 for Touchdown. It is fantastic for exchange, I use it on both my Evo and Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the free version of Touchdown this morning after reading this thread. Could you explain to me why it is so great? I haven't had time to use it extensively but maybe you can quickly list some advantages over the stock mail client?
Thanks!
I understand your frustration and you ultimately need to do what makes you feel most comfortable. Most of your issues are software related and you know things can only get better with updates. Google has a lot riding on Honeycomb so I expect updates to come fast and often.
1) The Tegra Processor - Seems like your issue is not with the Tegra but with how the codecs handle Divx. Software update could fix this but also developers can do wonders.
2) The Browser - Software update again. The browser is a great starting point and, with some minor tweaks, will be fantastic.
3) Accessories - As more Xooms sell, more 3rd parties will have a business case to make accessories for it. I'm thinking that when the Xoom wifi and Xoom for Europe are released (indications say that will happen at the same time) then we'll see a flood of new 3rd party goodies.
4) eMail - Software update. ALTHOUGH, I'm not 100% sure this is a priority for Google. People complain that they wish the AOSP phones went a step further with their Exchange implementations. Still, the chances are you'll be ok moving forward.
5) Widgets - This is a microcosm of the entire app market right now for Honeycomb. Devs need to start updating their apps with Tablets in mind. Again, more people owning Honeycomb, more reasons for devs to get on it.
The point I'm trying to make is the only way for the Xoom to go is up. As more people buy, more attention the aftermarket will pay to it. If previous Android versions are any indication (and they are,) this is a snowball effect. It'll just get bigger and bigger.
As to the RDP: I use the XtraLogic Remote Desktop app and it works wonderfully, completed designed around the touch interface.
Between Remote Desktop and ConnectBot, I've found a million uses for this as a sysadmin. I don't know how you haven't found a single use for it.
Just got my demo test unit from motorola today FINALLY after weeks of waiting. Anyways I am testing out some applications that we will use in house but my biggest thing is I would like to use a mouse on it.
We have an application thats a lot of quick point and clicks and the employees / doctors would perfer a mouse. I myself could care less as I think its fine without.
I got a microsoft BT mouse synced but it wont connect. It shows it as an input device too.
Any ideas on this?
ChrisN1313 said:
Just got my demo test unit from motorola today FINALLY after weeks of waiting. Anyways I am testing out some applications that we will use in house but my biggest thing is I would like to use a mouse on it.
We have an application thats a lot of quick point and clicks and the employees / doctors would perfer a mouse. I myself could care less as I think its fine without.
I got a microsoft BT mouse synced but it wont connect. It shows it as an input device too.
Any ideas on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, return your Xoom and get an actual PC. The ASUS Slate 12" Tablet sounds like exactly what you need/want.
That would work great, but its bigger/heavier and were focusing on the internal lte when its available. Since some employees are on the go and what not wireless isnt always around. Ontop of deploying wireless thoughtout a 200,000 sq building would cost alost more then the $20/month data we get.
ChrisN1313 said:
That would work great, but its bigger/heavier and were focusing on the internal lte when its available. Since some employees are on the go and what not wireless isnt always around. Ontop of deploying wireless thoughtout a 200,000 sq building would cost alost more then the $20/month data we get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By the time your employees get done unpacking all of the necessary **** they will need to set up and use a "tablet" with their keyboard and mouse... they might as well be using a laptop or netbook.
As for covering 200,000 SQ of building with wifi you might want to check out the D-Link DES-1228P which is a 24 port PoE web smart switch that will run the DWL-3140AP. It's a small hockey puck sized AP which can be placed anywhere in your building in conjuction with the POE switch. All you need to do is toss CAT5 and you're done. You will get seamless coverage from AP to AP as the switch hands off the client.
The switch is about $400 or less, and the AP "pucks" are about $99 ea.
You could cover tons of building for $1k out of pocket
I'm not just trying to rain on your parade, in all seriousness... I just have to shake my head and ask why someone would want so badly to turn a tablet experience back into a traditional PC experience. Just get a PC.
PS: It would probably be cheaper still to just pick up a MiFi unit or something like that, then you don't have to depend on LTE inside the device.
cwizardtx said:
PS: It would probably be cheaper still to just pick up a MiFi unit or something like that, then you don't have to depend on LTE inside the device.
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Click to collapse
mifi is $50 a month... where 3g/lte is $20 a month . I understand what your saying but being mulitpile floors and a cisco house ap's wont be cheap. I would need at least 12 or 13 ap's for decent covereage. Our building is like a bomb shelter here so wireless doesnt travel that well. The Ap's we use are roughly $600. Have plently of space on my cisco switch to handle them so thats covered. 3g doesnt cover in the building but 4g covers the entire building and does it well.
+ injectors , cable, labor its a $10,000 project. Not including the tablet PC which you can figure 3-5k depending on what I go with. Which isnt bad but. Im looking at $1200 a year for service on 5 tablets. + or - $3000 for 5 devices. Then I dont have to worry about if there is wireless when there out of our building. I really just think overall its easier and less stuff to deal with.
Anyways back on topic has anyone been able to get a BT mouse working on a xoom or any other android tablet for that matter
All other cost and etc. points aside, there just isn't mouse/cursor support for 3.0, and I'm assuming were a good long way out, if ever, from seeing it implemented in a way you can rely on daily in a job.
martonikaj said:
All other cost and etc. points aside, there just isn't mouse/cursor support for 3.0, and I'm assuming were a good long way out, if ever, from seeing it implemented in a way you can rely on daily in a job.
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Click to collapse
Ya thats what I was kinda thinking but was confused since it did see that it was an input device.
Thanks for the input
cwizardtx said:
By the time your employees get done unpacking all of the necessary **** they will need to set up and use a "tablet" with their keyboard and mouse... they might as well be using a laptop or netbook.
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Click to collapse
I disagree here. There are times when I think I really want to use a Mouse. It's not 100% of the time to categorizing it the way you are doing it is not really fair. 80% of the time I don't need or want a mouse or keyboard but the other 20% I want the flexibility to do with the tablet what I want to do with it so it fits MY needs. A netbook is not what I want.
Guys, can we stop replying to threads by just telling people what they want is a bad idea?
I think being able to use a mouse would be awesome. If you have a mouse, you can VPN into your home PC (or use Citrix) and use real software on the occasions you need it. Everyone says "get a real PC" but I'd only want a real PC like 1% of the time, and the rest of the time I want a tablet. That 1% may not be a lot, but the more utility I get out of it, the better.
That said, I'm sure this will be a possibility soon. CyanogenMod on the Nexus One (and likely others) supports using a bluetooth mouse. A cursor shows up and everything works great.
So... whenever Honeycomb goes AOSP (which is taking a looooong time), we'll probably see customized versions of Honeycomb with mouse support.
So it will probably happen. It just may be a while.
Facegarden said:
Guys, can we stop replying to threads by just telling people what they want is a bad idea?
I think being able to use a mouse would be awesome. If you have a mouse, you can VPN into your home PC (or use Citrix) and use real software on the occasions you need it. Everyone says "get a real PC" but I'd only want a real PC like 1% of the time, and the rest of the time I want a tablet. That 1% may not be a lot, but the more utility I get out of it, the better.
That said, I'm sure this will be a possibility soon. CyanogenMod on the Nexus One (and likely others) supports using a bluetooth mouse. A cursor shows up and everything works great.
So... whenever Honeycomb goes AOSP (which is taking a looooong time), we'll probably see customized versions of Honeycomb with mouse support.
So it will probably happen. It just may be a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't say it was a bad idea, I said it's not going to happen anytime soon.
And the example you give unfortunately really isn't going to help him. Do you expect him to buy multiple Xooms, root them all, install custom software or a completely custom ROM on all of them to enable BT mouse support, then hand them to the employees? That's just not gonna happen lol.
cwizardtx said:
By the time your employees get done unpacking all of the necessary **** they will need to set up and use a "tablet" with their keyboard and mouse... they might as well be using a laptop or netbook....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean... a tablet, a bluetooth mouse, and a bluetooth keyboard?
Show me a touchscreen netbook that can be used while you're walking as well as it works on a table. A tablet + KB + Mouse means you can walk around with the tablet and use it in your hands, or you can place it on your desk and use it like a PC if you'd like. I had a netbook and it actually wasn't very good for either of those - I'd still get a BT mouse if I needed to use one, and they're impossible to use while walking around.
cwizardtx said:
As for covering 200,000 SQ of building with wifi you might want to check out the D-Link DES-1228P which is a 24 port PoE web smart switch that will run the DWL-3140AP. It's a small hockey puck sized AP which can be placed anywhere in your building in conjuction with the POE switch. All you need to do is toss CAT5 and you're done. You will get seamless coverage from AP to AP as the switch hands off the client.
The switch is about $400 or less, and the AP "pucks" are about $99 ea.
You could cover tons of building for $1k out of pocket
I'm not just trying to rain on your parade, in all seriousness... I just have to shake my head and ask why someone would want so badly to turn a tablet experience back into a traditional PC experience. Just get a PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Labor man, Labor. Sounds like this is a hospital. Concrete walls, lots of metal. You'd have to route an AP to every corner of the building. Thats a lot of work. However, I don't see how 4G would penetrate any better in most hospitals, so maybe its more like a doctor's office. Still, covering a 200k sf building with working wifi costs way more than $1k.
martonikaj said:
I didn't say it was a bad idea, I said it's not going to happen anytime soon.
And the example you give unfortunately really isn't going to help him. Do you expect him to buy multiple Xooms, root them all, install custom software or a completely custom ROM on all of them to enable BT mouse support, then hand them to the employees? That's just not gonna happen lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends. Installing custom roms takes maybe an hour max if you're used to it. If they are designing this software to be used in Doctor's offices, its possible that they are getting paid a lot for it. Pay a tech $20 an hour to install a ROM, charge $20 more for the end product, done. Or don't charge extra, its still only $20.
I work for a company that is considering replacing our custom touchscreen industrial testers with Xooms. In that case, we'd buy a xoom, install some software, and resell them for $2000 plus whatever bluetooth sensors our customers buy. Really we're just selling Xoom software for $1200, but its all the same. If we had to install a custom ROM it would still be worth it. Besides, it can probably all be done with a script (i'm not sure of that though).
-Taylor
Dell makes a cheap laptop that the screen turns around and it becomes a tablet. Just an idea...not saying you have to go this route.
Sent from my EVO
Facegarden said:
Depends. Installing custom roms takes maybe an hour max if you're used to it. If they are designing this software to be used in Doctor's offices, its possible that they are getting paid a lot for it. Pay a tech $20 an hour to install a ROM, charge $20 more for the end product, done. Or don't charge extra, its still only $20.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not that its labor intensive to root and install custom software on the Xooms, its that no matter what people say, a rooted phone (tablet) with custom ROM is never going to be as stable or user friendly as the stock software when it comes to handing it to a person who doesn't know what they're doing.
We're talking about having to install completely custom software in order to use a mouse. I think there are easier ways to accomplish this. Maybe I'm crazy.
Facegarden said:
Guys, can we stop replying to threads by just telling people what they want is a bad idea?
I think being able to use a mouse would be awesome. If you have a mouse, you can VPN into your home PC (or use Citrix) and use real software on the occasions you need it. Everyone says "get a real PC" but I'd only want a real PC like 1% of the time, and the rest of the time I want a tablet. That 1% may not be a lot, but the more utility I get out of it, the better.
That said, I'm sure this will be a possibility soon. CyanogenMod on the Nexus One (and likely others) supports using a bluetooth mouse. A cursor shows up and everything works great.
So... whenever Honeycomb goes AOSP (which is taking a looooong time), we'll probably see customized versions of Honeycomb with mouse support.
So it will probably happen. It just may be a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right. Settle for a stylus.
I have a dell streak when I had Steve's 1.1.1 Rom I did sync a magic mouse and had pointer and everything, I was running ADW Launcher by then.. perhaps is a Launcher thing? I also have a BT keyboard with a built in "mouse joystick" and when I sync the kb I am able to use the "pointer mouse" but it just doesn't show as a pointer on the screen, but when swype is up i can click and drag the mouse and see the line traces. Again this is running Froyo 2.2.
I saw mouse used on Notion Ink Adam without any problem. But that wasn't on Honeycomb. I need mouse for precise work through VPN (I plan to use tablet on notes stand on my piano to manage music sequencer through VPN). If honeycomb doesn't have a mouse cursor my plans are ruined.
Is capacitive stylus precise enough to - let's say - select something 8 pixels wide and 8 pixels high?
Facegarden said:
Guys, can we stop replying to threads by just telling people what they want is a bad idea?
I think being able to use a mouse would be awesome. If you have a mouse, you can VPN into your home PC (or use Citrix) and use real software on the occasions you need it. Everyone says "get a real PC" but I'd only want a real PC like 1% of the time, and the rest of the time I want a tablet. That 1% may not be a lot, but the more utility I get out of it, the better.
That said, I'm sure this will be a possibility soon. CyanogenMod on the Nexus One (and likely others) supports using a bluetooth mouse. A cursor shows up and everything works great.
So... whenever Honeycomb goes AOSP (which is taking a looooong time), we'll probably see customized versions of Honeycomb with mouse support.
So it will probably happen. It just may be a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good to hear. Now if I can get cyanogenMod on my thunderbolt that would be even better news
Facegarden said:
You mean... a tablet, a bluetooth mouse, and a bluetooth keyboard?
Show me a touchscreen netbook that can be used while you're walking as well as it works on a table. A tablet + KB + Mouse means you can walk around with the tablet and use it in your hands, or you can place it on your desk and use it like a PC if you'd like. I had a netbook and it actually wasn't very good for either of those - I'd still get a BT mouse if I needed to use one, and they're impossible to use while walking around.
Labor man, Labor. Sounds like this is a hospital. Concrete walls, lots of metal. You'd have to route an AP to every corner of the building. Thats a lot of work. However, I don't see how 4G would penetrate any better in most hospitals, so maybe its more like a doctor's office. Still, covering a 200k sf building with working wifi costs way more than $1k.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ding ding ding But I dont know why but 4 g covers the entire hospital very very well. There are 1 or 2 dead spots but it covers 98% of the area, which is why I was looking at a tablet in the 1st place.
Hello Vibe community,
I need opinions.
My two current tablet options are asus transformer tf300 and dock or Nexus 7 and keyboard. Heres a link to the possible keyboard for the Nexus: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00695OFE2
Im not looking for specs or price, i need to know what people think of convenience; i mean ill be carrying these in a bag, or possibly on my arm, ill be using them while walking, sometimes while in class, other times on the bus etc..
honestly i dont know if you guys will be able to help here but i do ask that you contribute something to tip my hand so that i dont spend hours wondering if i made the right choice myself and letting it ruin my experience.. thanks
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
Here is a thread similar to yours.
Can a tablet replace a laptop?
Here is my post from that thread too.
Woodrube said:
Well I don't have a TF300 but I do have a TF101 and all-in-all, I am extremely happy with it. In fact I use it more than my laptop. However, I do still use my laptop as a repository or sorts for hosting, downloads and some other Android-type things that a tablet just can't do.
There have been some stability issues with the whole line of Transformers in one form or another. But if you are experienced enough to figure out that it is not a hardware problem, then they all can be fixed one way or another.
I had always thought that tablets were nothing more than just large phones but then I used a friend's Xoom and realized that there was much more to them than that. So, I searched and searched and read and read some more about all types of tablets and what would best suit me. I wanted to know about support (XDA type support), Rooting, development as well as manufacturer support, O/S updates and basic compatability with my daily life.
After all that was done, I decided to purchase the TF101 (in Feb of this year) and have been happy with it. Later, I eventually bought a keyboard dock and between that and my usage patterns, it has beyond outstanding battery life (3-5 days with moderate use). There are several apps that emulate Xcel, Word, microsoft family as well as Polaris. Can watch HD YouTube vids just fine too. I had jury duty a few weeks ago and while I was waiting, I watched Netflix for about 3 hours and didn't put a dent in my battery life and it didn't get hot either.
Storage is unbeatable. Tablet comes with 16/32gb (I have 32gb version), External Micro-SD (up to 32gb) and the dock holds up to 32gb full-sized SD. So if you do the math that is 96gb of storage on a tablet.
I know you are thinking about the TF300 but this is my POV from the TF101. I say pull the trigger on it. You already have the laptop so it isn't like you have to choose between getting one or the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woodrube said:
Here is a thread similar to yours.
Can a tablet replace a laptop?
Here is my post from that thread too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks alot Woodrube; so you would say that a transformer would probably work best for me?
im just not sure that id ever use the transformer without its lapdock so im wondering if itll just be a bogged-down version of a netbook... the Nexus with keyboard, on the other hand, would be used separately when i just need portability and together when i need a 'laptop' of sorts.
Thanks for the opinion
You'd think that you would use it more as a laptop than a tablet, but that is the beauty of the dock. It comes off. I use mine as a tablet more than a "laptop", but I am not in college anymore. So mine is totally recreational. I bought mine in February at BestBuy for $399 for the 32gb one. Then while cruising Ebay one night,I found a dock for $70 (retail was $150). So I got the dock on the cheap.
I do use OfficePro and apps like that but I don't use it as a reader at all (for books and stuff). There are a few of us that have Transformers, of one fashion or another. Mr_Psycho, me, Globespy, Manus all have TF101's, DougFresh and Shreddintyres both have TPrimes and another RC friend of mine actually developed the exploit to root the entire Transformer line.
Obviously the N7 is a Google Experience device, so there is all that too. If you want anything more specific,feel free to PM me about your needs and what they might be and I can shoot you some more info and some app links.
Either way,one thing that I would suggest is to get you hands on both. They are cool,but are also very different from your phone-type use (if that make sense). Plus the chiklet style keys are a bit difficult to adapt too. I find that I mistype more than normal. But I use a full keyboard at work, have a laptop at home and my TF's dock,all with different sizes of keys and pressure points. Head over to BestBuy or MicroCenter and test drive one for a bit. Could probably go to Starbucks or school library too.
Woodrube said:
You'd think that you would use it more as a laptop than a tablet, but that is the beauty of the dock. It comes off. I use mine as a tablet more than a "laptop", but I am not in college anymore. So mine is totally recreational. I bought mine in February at BestBuy for $399 for the 32gb one. Then while cruising Ebay one night,I found a dock for $70 (retail was $150). So I got the dock on the cheap.
I do use OfficePro and apps like that but I don't use it as a reader at all (for books and stuff). There are a few of us that have Transformers, of one fashion or another. Mr_Psycho, me, Globespy, Manus all have TF101's, DougFresh and Shreddintyres both have TPrimes and another RC friend of mine actually developed the exploit to root the entire Transformer line.
Obviously the N7 is a Google Experience device, so there is all that too. If you want anything more specific,feel free to PM me about your needs and what they might be and I can shoot you some more info and some app links.
Either way,one thing that I would suggest is to get you hands on both. They are cool,but are also very different from your phone-type use (if that make sense). Plus the chiklet style keys are a bit difficult to adapt too. I find that I mistype more than normal. But I use a full keyboard at work, have a laptop at home and my TF's dock,all with different sizes of keys and pressure points. Head over to BestBuy or MicroCenter and test drive one for a bit. Could probably go to Starbucks or school library too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats actually a great idea, going to test them out.. I'm going to do that and see what i think. Thanks again bro, youve been a big help
Like Woodrube I have a TF101 as well. Besides when I capture video and render, I use my tablet 90% at home. It has 100% replaced my laptop, 90% replaced my desktop, and 20% replaced my work desktop. I use my desktop and NAS to store files, so having 44GB~ of space is not a problem (which on a tablet shouldn't be anyway.)
I would say that a tablet should be able to do what you are looking for, but I would get a feel for them in person before buying. I could not live without a tablet the size of the TF101, but my wife would not go above 7 inches (she loves her Nook and plans on replacing it with the Nexus 7 most likely).
badxkarma said:
Like Woodrube I have a TF101 as well. Besides when I capture video and render, I use my tablet 90% at home. It has 100% replaced my laptop, 90% replaced my desktop, and 20% replaced my work desktop. I use my desktop and NAS to store files, so having 44GB~ of space is not a problem (which on a tablet shouldn't be anyway.)
I would say that a tablet should be able to do what you are looking for, but I would get a feel for them in person before buying. I could not live without a tablet the size of the TF101, but my wife would not go above 7 inches (she loves her Nook and plans on replacing it with the Nexus 7 most likely).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i went to best buy and the 10 inch ones def felt way better in my hand. I decided on the galaxy note 10.1 because i can take my math lecture notes on it and save paper
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
buy note 10.1 its super good for college....
akarshfrevr said:
buy note 10.1 its super good for college....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i think i will, thats for the input
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
Do you mind if I ask what field you are going into? If it is a technical field you might have a real need for a laptop instead of a tablet that is all I was thinking about.
ZieferD said:
Do you mind if I ask what field you are going into? If it is a technical field you might have a real need for a laptop instead of a tablet that is all I was thinking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im going for a BS in physics.. at least for the first 2 years, i dont anticipate needing a laptop
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
younix258 said:
Im going for a BS in physics.. at least for the first 2 years, i dont anticipate needing a laptop
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that is true and there should be a computer lab for any software they require you to use.
When I went to college the first time, I was going for a BS in physics too. I got all the way with only 4 classes until I graduated. Then I cracked and couldn't do any math at all. I couldn't even add up golf scores or bar tabs. Quit school for 2-3 years and went back and got my history degree.
This was a long time ago, but when I was in the program, was the same time that Linux (not Unix) came out and when I first learned about kernels and command lines. I still dabble in the physics program. Actually, I have employee access the the internal CERN website (don't ask) and I am on there quite frequently.
Younix, if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Also take a look at my profile, you'll see something funny in my "Interests" section.
Woodrube said:
When I went to college the first time, I was going for a BS in physics too. I got all the way with only 4 classes until I graduated. Then I cracked and couldn't do any math at all. I couldn't even add up golf scores or bar tabs. Quit school for 2-3 years and went back and got my history degree.
This was a long time ago, but when I was in the program, was the same time that Linux (not Unix) came out and when I first learned about kernels and command lines. I still dabble in the physics program. Actually, I have employee access the the internal CERN website (don't ask) and I am on there quite frequently.
Younix, if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Also take a look at my profile, you'll see something funny in my "Interests" section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow huge coincidence huh? Saw the advanced physics thing.. nice lol.
So what do you think? Is it a good career/degree choice?
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1
Sigh. Just had some disturbing problems with polaris office and I think this may be the straw that causes me to return the note before my date comes up on it. I just post this here in case other people are thinking about purchasing one or want to know its limitations.
I would preface this by saying I absolutely love this note, it works amazing, is fast, light, amazing build and am continually impressed by it. All the shortcomings are more of the android ecosystems issue.
So the issue, Ive been editing documents in Polaris office during meetings, and finally have noticed that polaris has been quietly corrupting my documents. Sure they look good, even edited. But when I open them in Word there are small but aggravating issues. The biggest is it breaks paragraphs, and I have no idea how to fix them in Word.
For example paragraphs st
art looking like this with th
e wording and word spacin
g all disjoined. And Micro
soft says if this happens yo
ur Document is corrupt.
I have found other people online and even on XDA complaining about this issue over a year ago, don't know if there is a solution but it doesnt seem like. I also wonder how I would get updates to Polaris (why isnt it in google play?).
Other problems include SNote not quite being up to par, and not being able to find a suitable replacement, although lecturenotes tries hard and may get there. Not being able to find a lot of high quality apps in other categories (e.g. childrens books/learning games). And it not playing nice enough with my groupwise/exchange appointments.
Darn I like this thing. But I keep thinking on the 26th Ill get an amazing SNote replacement (one note) with complete office integration, pluse my email will work fine. Oh and Ill be able to get unlimited learning games on an x86 tablet. Only downside the thing would probably only last 7-10 hours in battery life instead of the 2 days my notes been going. Hmmmmm
Anyone else notice this problem in Polaris? Solution?
Get a different app and keep your Note. Samsung doesn't make Polaris.
hanexs said:
Sigh. Just had some disturbing problems with polaris office and I think this may be the straw that causes me to return the note before my date comes up on it. I just post this here in case other people are thinking about purchasing one or want to know its limitations.
I would preface this by saying I absolutely love this note, it works amazing, is fast, light, amazing build and am continually impressed by it. All the shortcomings are more of the android ecosystems issue.
So the issue, Ive been editing documents in Polaris office during meetings, and finally have noticed that polaris has been quietly corrupting my documents. Sure they look good, even edited. But when I open them in Word there are small but aggravating issues. The biggest is it breaks paragraphs, and I have no idea how to fix them in Word.
For example paragraphs st
art looking like this with th
e wording and word spacin
g all disjoined. And Micro
soft says if this happens yo
ur Document is corrupt.
I have found other people online and even on XDA complaining about this issue over a year ago, don't know if there is a solution but it doesnt seem like. I also wonder how I would get updates to Polaris (why isnt it in google play?).
Other problems include SNote not quite being up to par, and not being able to find a suitable replacement, although lecturenotes tries hard and may get there. Not being able to find a lot of high quality apps in other categories (e.g. childrens books/learning games). And it not playing nice enough with my groupwise/exchange appointments.
Darn I like this thing. But I keep thinking on the 26th Ill get an amazing SNote replacement (one note) with complete office integration, pluse my email will work fine. Oh and Ill be able to get unlimited learning games on an x86 tablet. Only downside the thing would probably only last 7-10 hours in battery life instead of the 2 days my notes been going. Hmmmmm
Anyone else notice this problem in Polaris? Solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of the faux-Office products are great; on the Note or any other Android device. I do OK editing existing documents but the more complex ones (outlines, tables, charts, graphs) can be challenging. I pretty much don't use formatting when I'm creating a documents from scratch and import it in to Word as text and finish it off there. You sound like an excellent candidate for a W8 tablet. Speaking of which, MS has said (via Europe) Office for Android is due late this year via TechNet and early next year generally.
Before you send it back, try this app as it is supposed to resemble MS Word really well, there is a free trial if you give them your email and register your interest:
http://www.softmaker.com/english/ofa_en.htm
hanexs said:
Sigh. Just had some disturbing problems with polaris office and I think this may be the straw that causes me to return the note before my date comes up on it. I just post this here in case other people are thinking about purchasing one or want to know its limitations.
I would preface this by saying I absolutely love this note, it works amazing, is fast, light, amazing build and am continually impressed by it. All the shortcomings are more of the android ecosystems issue.
So the issue, Ive been editing documents in Polaris office during meetings, and finally have noticed that polaris has been quietly corrupting my documents. Sure they look good, even edited. But when I open them in Word there are small but aggravating issues. The biggest is it breaks paragraphs, and I have no idea how to fix them in Word.
For example paragraphs st
art looking like this with th
e wording and word spacin
g all disjoined. And Micro
soft says if this happens yo
ur Document is corrupt.
I have found other people online and even on XDA complaining about this issue over a year ago, don't know if there is a solution but it doesnt seem like. I also wonder how I would get updates to Polaris (why isnt it in google play?).
Other problems include SNote not quite being up to par, and not being able to find a suitable replacement, although lecturenotes tries hard and may get there. Not being able to find a lot of high quality apps in other categories (e.g. childrens books/learning games). And it not playing nice enough with my groupwise/exchange appointments.
Darn I like this thing. But I keep thinking on the 26th Ill get an amazing SNote replacement (one note) with complete office integration, pluse my email will work fine. Oh and Ill be able to get unlimited learning games on an x86 tablet. Only downside the thing would probably only last 7-10 hours in battery life instead of the 2 days my notes been going. Hmmmmm
Anyone else notice this problem in Polaris? Solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return your Note 10.1, and wait for the Surface.
Another great app worth looking at is OfficeSuite Pro and remember that sNote should receive a very nice update with the JB release that I am hoping/expecting before month's end.
Wait for the 4.1 update and maybe it'll be resolved
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
Livebyte said:
Return your Note 10.1, and wait for the Surface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to wait on W8 that's all good but bring money. Getting the same level of performance as the SGN10.1 with pen input will cost you many hundreds more.
Don't get the Surface - it's junk with that silly soft keyboard. How the heck do you even use it on your lap? I guess it's called "Surface" because you have to have a flat surface to use it.
Returning a device you love because an app that's available for it sucks? That's ... an interesting decision. You know Samsung's decision to bundle Polaris Office doesn't mean you have to use it, do you?
Softmaker Office is a very popular alternative among XDA members. Last time I looked, they only had the word processor available on the Play store, not spreadsheets, presentations etc. You can probably get them from the developer's website.
There are also plenty of other alternatives. Kingsoft Office gets VERY good reviews on the play store - I'm tempted to try it just from the reviews. OfficeSuite Pro is also apparently good on a tablet.
BarryH_GEG said:
None of the faux-Office products are great; on the Note or any other Android device. I do OK editing existing documents but the more complex ones (outlines, tables, charts, graphs) can be challenging. I pretty much don't use formatting when I'm creating a documents from scratch and import it in to Word as text and finish it off there. You sound like an excellent candidate for a W8 tablet. Speaking of which, MS has said (via Europe) Office for Android is due late this year via TechNet and early next year generally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And there are reports (take with grain of salt) that MS will be offering a version of Office Mobile for android.
I just did a round of budgeting at work on my Note 10.1 using OfficeSuite Pro and had no issues. Primarily Excel. No problems with formulas at all.
HasC said:
Before you send it back, try this app as it is supposed to resemble MS Word really well, there is a free trial if you give them your email and register your interest:
http://www.softmaker.com/english/ofa_en.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the tip. I just got this from the play store and it seems really good so far
Thanks for all the tip. Installed OfficeSuit Pro, and Softmaker and QuickOffice pro. Softmaker worked the best, but none of them had the ability to input with the stylus (e.g. freehand draw) like polaris does. Polaris really sold me on this tablet, I mean sure, it doesnt have onenote, but who needs onenote when i can instantly open the doc from my dropbox, make the notes I need, and finalize when I get back to the office. But it doesnt really look like thats possible yet with polaris corrupting so many files. And if Im going to type out my nights, I have an amazing Lenovo Thinkpad X100e that blows any tablet out of the water for keyboard entry. I was really hoping for stylus support, but the apps just arent here yet, Ill look again on Jelly Bean update, seems like this stylus computer dream has been in waiting for sooo long.
Incidentally my 2 year old daughter really loves the tablet. shes been the one reason I've been wanting to keep it, all the touch games, shes been doing puzzles and books and learning her letters with it, quite amazing. Now I just have to decide what to get her, Nexus is pretty cheap, or there might be some used ipads kicking around with better app support (might as well get a toy to be used as a toy after all).
Samsung made an awesome piece of hardware here, all the talk about it feeling cheap is wrong, its slick, fast, small, light and just awesome to hold. Just wish it had some better app support. Soon hopefully.
Get 7Notes with mazec. It's an HWR keyboard you Can use almost everywhere.
Here's the thing MS has for years worked real hard to keep their office suite and word processing software proprietary and have been quite sucsessful at this. So any time you try to use a system that is not controled by MS with MS software you will find this problem to some extent. Whether it is a tablet, laptop or desktop. This is one of the reasons I refuse to use MS products, but that is me. What all this means to you is until you find a MS compatible tablet running MS software that MS has said is compatible with their office suite you will have these problems. On top of that there is (as yet) no evidence that a Windows tablet will be 100% compatible with all Windows software. In fact there are reports that there will be programs that would run on Win 7 that are not expected to run on Win 8.
My question to you is do you want the features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.0 or do you want to give up those features and hope a MS Windows machine will fulfill your needs without compromises? I personally have never seen an OS or a computing device that did not have compromises.
Think I read last night Microsoft are releasing office for android soon.
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*DELETED*
Sparksltd said:
Think I read last night Microsoft are releasing office for android soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... and today they denied the statement.
smrsxn said:
... and today they denied the statement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's coming...just like a lot of their Xbox live features made their way to the iOS ecosystem. Of course they denied their slip, it is just a few weeks until their new tablets become available. I am sure a big selling point of Surface and other Win 8 tabs will be the availability of MS Office products, if they did not deny the rumors; those who were going to switch from iOS and Android because of Office would have just stayed with their current devices instead of dropping $$$ on MS's new Hardware. MS is smart, they know they can penetrate other ecosystems with their products. They will just wait until the hype surrounding Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT dies down so that they can capitalize on hardware sales out of the gate.
Having said that, I dropped my PC and have moved on to just using the GN10.1. I am a freelance journalist, and I do all of my writing on the tablet. Polaris is good, but Office Suite Pro 6 is excellent. I have zero problems creating and editing pieces in .doc format. It just works.
Its back and I already miss it! lol
The microsoft atoms should be able to fill what I need, but I suspect they'll have their own problems. Still, samsungs making one with a keyboard dock and s-pen. Might be enticing.
The other office programs worked better, but they didnt have the ability to free draw on top of the document like polaris has. I want a tablet because in my many meetings, when someone is commenting or we are discussing a plan, I want to quickly mark it up. I can go back to my top to do the real work, but the thoughts I'd like to write, directly on the document in question. I can't do that in snote because my pc cant modify snote. And if I have to type it I'll just bring my netbook. Has anyone found an office program that works well with an ability to free draw? I bought a few last night but couldnt find one.
I may get a note 10.1 again in a couple months, who knows the app I need might be in development