Greetings
I have a few perhaps off-the-wall questions (though maybe not, I don't know).
First off, I am an iPhone user (currently), but prior to my 3GS I did have an original Moto Droid (switched carriers so my wife could get an iPhone). My next upgrade (and hers) is coming up. I know she wants a new iPhone so she and the kids can Facetime with her mother. There are other programs that can do the same thing, but her mother is not tech-inclined so Facetime is the best option for her. Me, on the other hand...I'm not sure yet.
I remember back then that there was at least 1 program that let me sync to the Droid using iTunes, though it didn't work very well. Can anyone tell me the name of the program and does it work better now? Drag and Drop is always an option, but if iTunes is open, it might be easier.
The second question is a bigger one. Currently I plug my iPhone into a usb cable running from my car CD Player which both charges the phone and plays whatever I'm listening through directly through the stereo in the car. Is this something that I can readily adapt to Android? I would prefer not having to buy extra cables or anything like that to get the same functionality.
That brings me to my last question. During my commute (1 hr each way, 5 days a week) I mostly listen to audiobooks. All but one of these I have created myself by taking a book in mp3 format, converting it to m4a using iTunes, then changing the extension to m4b. This works perfectly. They show up in the audiobook section and until recently (5.0 update, I think) I could stop an audiobook, listen to actual music, then continue the audiobook right where I left off. That could be more related to the book being marked as listened to, though.
Does Android have an audio player that will play these books in this format? I don't want to reconvert them, and I don't want to have multiple copies of the same book taking up space (not much, but still) on my file server. If Android does have this, does said player also play chaptered/possibly drm'd audiobooks purchased through iTunes/Audible?
These are questions I would really need answered before I made the leap back to Android. I love the platform, and am currently rediscovering that love with my Nook Tablet; but there are some things that I am unwilling to compromise on with a phone when I know there is an alternative out there that works the way I want it to.
Those are some of the longest questions I have read in a while...
My advice: spend time researching instead of writing novel-like questions.
creeve4 said:
Those are some of the longest questions I have read in a while...
My advice: spend time researching instead of writing novel-like questions.
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Your post was totally unnecessary. The guy has legit concerns and he has every right come here and ask the experts.
creeve4 said:
Those are some of the longest questions I have read in a while...
My advice: spend time researching instead of writing novel-like questions.
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Click to collapse
While I appreciate your opinion, as the poster below you said: they are legit concerns.
Personally, I would rather read long but well thought out questions than a bunch of short questions that are answered quickly, but don't completely satisfy the anticipated or desired result.
I have been away from Android phones for some time now. Like any computing technology, things change; and the longer you're away the more things are different than when you left.
I have researched, but haven't found answers that completely satisfy what I'm looking for. That's why I asked the questions I did.
Apparently Mortplayer has an Audiobook version that is supposed to work, though I have no idea if it will. I haven't tried it.
And the answer to my usb playing question seems to be a resounding no. I would be forced to use 2 things: a usb charger and an aux input to the headphone jack. Not as all-in-one as I had hoped. Bummer.
Related
So there are a number of Android-based tablets on the horizon. These are presumably envisioned as intermediate devices to fill a niche between the smartphone and laptop, similar to the iPad. I'm not starting a thread to debate whether this niche exists, or the design of any specific device, but rather on how well Android and its apps can adapt to being used across multiple devices by the same user.
For me, when I try to envision a tablet in my life, I find it difficult to think of things that it could do but my phone (a Nexus One) can't. I think the point is a tablet doesn't really do new things, but it does them slightly better because of a larger screen. The thing is, I will likely want to switch back and forth between my phone and tablet depending on my real-world context, and I will generally want the state of those applications to stay in sync.
Take reading an ebook, for example. I will still want to read on my phone sometimes, when I just have a minute to spare and don't have the tablet with me, but when I sit down to a more lengthy reading session, I want the tablet to remember where I am in the book. This should be automatic. Similarly, any games I play should have my progress saved, and my bookmarks/history/etc should be synced too. The simple fact is, the additional value of a tablet seems so small, that if I have to put up another non-synced device in my life, it won't even be worth bothering. I'll just keep using the smaller screen of my phone.
Now, of course there are already things that DO sync. Email, calendar, contacts, etc. But those are distinct things with custom implementations specific to that type of data. Certainly every app developer could add a web service that syncs their app data, but why make everyone do that individually. Does anyone know of any plans to create a generalized Android app sync solution? (let me know if there's something out there and I missed it) This seems like something google would want to build at the OS level, but I haven't heard of anything like it.
Thoughts?
I just came across this post after running up against this problem in the real world. Just received my Notion Ink Adam and quickly started looking for a solution to sync things like my eBook placement and game save-state between my Nexus One and the tablet. Titanium Media Sync looked promising but as the product description indicates, it is only capable of one-way synchronization. This means you would have to manually run the sync task each time you started using one device or the other. Perhaps something that could be achieved with tasker and some scripting, but that's more management overhead than anyone would want.
I wish I was better at software development cause this is not a solution that could be tackled with the app inventor.
This is going to be a big shakeup for awhile... SugarSync, Dropbox, Bump, Hoccer, Titanium, Listables/BlueMuze (my apps), Amazon cloud sync, Google Books -- there are 100 solutions coming from different directions and for different puposes.
Then there will be video (which is even more insanely competitive) as everyone trys various DRM, cloud hosting and streaming. Then you have the carriers sitting in the middle putting data caps on stuff wondering if they can get a slice of the pie. Roku, SlingBox, Tivo, Boxee, TimeWarner, Viacom, NBC-Comcast, Verizion, Cablevision, ATT, Apple, --- SO MANY companies in this market.
This is partly why I created my apps, so that people could send data without the cloud sync ideology/methodology forced on them. But that's sort of tangential to the conversation, and specific for types of media as you said above.
Anyways, I think the competition will be good mostly. But we'll have to be careful to reward those who dont try to restrict usage arbitrarily. And be sure to punish those that stand in the way.
Also with regards to programming sync oneself, beware that it's one of those things that's deceptively simple sounding until you try and work out the actual code/details of how to do it.
We need this now more than ever!
Any new products out there that can help me synch my Captivate with my Color Nook?
Seraph321 said:
I find it difficult to think of things that it could do but my phone (a Nexus One) can't. Thoughts?
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I can't agree with you more. I came to the same conclusion when I was looking at tablets.
However there are certain things I don't use right now because my battery temp will exceed 103°F when I'm using them (music apps, navigation, etc.) Phone is overclocked to 844 MHz so that obviously plays into the battery life, but if I had a tablet I could use those apps on the tablet to conserve my phone battery; currently my phone battery won't last more than a day :^(
There's also the possibility that because tablets would be more powerful than my MyTouch 3G Slide that I could scale back my phone CPU and use certain things on the tablet.
I'm holding off on tablets right now, I want to see where they go with the capabilities first before I jump on board.
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
You said "I'm holding off on tablets right now". If you want to get your feet wet on the cheap, pick up a Color Nook of Craigslist. I've bought 2 now for $170 each.
At that price, who cares where the tablet market goes. When something comes along you like better, buy it, and give the Color Nook to someone as a gift.
I'm pretty confident the community will make a tablet more than worth owning. Even without the source code the xoom has been pretty handy. But from the first day of ownership I was wondering why it wasn't built in to have the phone and tab sync up. Even something more basic like chrome to phone for the phone to tab would be nice.
Just thinking out loud mostly.
My favorite tab sync mod,
Grab Google voice and grooveIP and have texts and voice calls come to the tab at the same time as the phone.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
Great topic! As a developer and Droid X owner, I've been debating about getting a tablet, but my tablet would be an iPad so I can cross-platform develop.
Still, a very valid issue as to iPhone/iPad or Droid/Xoom synching. Haven't given it much thought, but the OP brings up some valid points.
If you have an e-book, grocery list manager and any other number of apps, *physical* synching would be a PITA in my opinion. I think some cloud-based solution like DropBox would be the best solution.
How this gets implemented is surely open to debate.
I haven't tried it yet but there's an app on the market called SyncIt Beta:
https://market.android.com/details?id=jug6ernaut.net.syncit
It's supposed to be able to sync your app data across multiple devices.
^ Shift Faced
I am sorry for bringing back a dead thread, however this is still something i am in looking for. I have a nexus S and a toshiba thrive tablet. As opposed to cloud based or something along those apps, i think an even easier solutions would be a device direct streaming type service so to speak. Have the devices communicate directly with each other over wifi or bluetooth. I mean to be perfectly honest, if i use it on the road, my phone is with me anyway so bluetooth is perfectly acceptable. and when i am at home, both are connected to wifi even if they aren't close enough for bluetooth. That would remedy the need of a cloud based service, and the issue of data privacy. As long as the data gets synced locally to the device, i should be able to break the sync and still continue to operate, then when the 2 devices are reconnected to each other they can just update the changes. I am not a developer, so i apologize if these requests seem monumental. However i was going to make the change to webOS because it natively had support for these features, which were immensely helpful. Until webOS sort of fell off the grid obviously (even though it was never really on it to begin with)
Try "Tablet Talk" the paid app is really worth it, it allows users to communicate from tablet to phones.
It's well worth the money
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Old thread. New Idea.
I came across this thread while searching for a solution to my problem. Thought it appropriate to post here.
Does anyone know of any virtual assistant apps or anything of that sort that will sync with other versions of the app on other devices?
For example, I have two android devices. I want to be able to talk to one and set a reminder at the house, and have the reminder come to a different device i have on me elsewhere.
So far the only way I can come up with to do this is to set a reminder through Google Calendar but was wondering if there was any other less clunky alternatives.
So I have a note ii and a precedent. Here is a list of things id like to do
Sync my note ii audio a2dp out to play ober the precedent
Sync alert and alarm awnsers n dismissals across devices as well as read emails
Power off device remotley [power on?]
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Questions should be posted in Q&A forums, not Development forums.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?a=81
See rule #15
Thread moved.
TL;DR
This is an awesome little machine, and I'm very happy with it. And even though the price is slightly premium for a netbook and there are some issues you should not expect from such a pricey device, it's still definitely worth buying in my opinion. If you think you like the idea of the transformer (as in, a modular keyboard dock) or are impressed by the specs, then you should get it! It's as good as it looks and you won't be let down!
So, I was really looking forward to getting the Prime, as I needed a replacement for my laptop for studies, and I thought that the Prime would be the best investment as a laptop (which doubles as a tablet, sweet). Though, as I was looking around, I saw lots of reviews praising it as the best tablet ever, but on the other hand I saw a lot of complaints on the XDA forum from people who actually own it about what a terrible experience it is. So I just wanted to share what my experience is, and if you're considering getting the Prime (and particularly as a laptop), then this sums up what I think of it and if it's worth getting.
To start with the issues:
I've never even had the chance to test out the GPS, which should not be functioning, as you probably know. I sometimes wish the WiFi signal was stronger, but I don't think it's any worse than the other gadgets I have lying around the house. I just recently started getting the random reboots. Yeah, that's annoying. I think it has to do with the flash player (2/3 times it was with flash in the foreground, and the third time I just opened flash and switched to something else). You know what, I'm not worried because even though it will probably start to bother if it continues, I'm sure updates and fixes will follow.
What I'm really bothered by is some ICS tweaks to make it more keyboard-friendly and more desktop-like instead of phone-like. For example, I'm still looking for a decent browser that can be set to desktop user agents (to show desktop sites instead of mobile sites). Also, multitasking on this thing is awesome, until you have to open two files of the same kind (you need to get two PDF readers if you want to have two PDF files open at once). These too will be fixed with software updates or app updates. Soon people will realize that Android is also a computer OS and not just a phone OS. These software issues have nothing to do with the Prime and will get ironed out as time goes along, and it won't matter if you have the Galaxy Tab or the Prime.
But I should stress that I am in no way regretting getting this thing. This thing is comparable to a netbook in size and a laptop in power, and better than both together in battery life. The whole package is incredible: the looks, the screen, the power, the keyboard dock, the freakin' battery life, everything is just top notch. I literally can't convince you enough how pleased I am with the hardware. You couldn't find a netbook out there that competes with this on any scale - on ANY scale. And you'd have a hard time finding a laptop of this price with this kind of power. Just take a look at Shadowgun on youtube. Then imagine it looking three times better when it's actually in your hands.
I'm using it for studies, and I take notes with Google Docs - which could use some work, but you can bet Google will be updating it to work better on tablets. The best thing I like about this is that I use this as a laptop (which don't get more than several hours if you're frugal), and this one can run for almost two full (and I mean FULL) days without a charge. Before I got it, I had a hard time finding a review focused on the keyboard dock as a central input device (as if to replace a laptop). I'm glad to report, as a student, that it is. I can totally see myself seeing slides and taking notes on this, and never worry about finding a wall outlet. I'm hoping to post a video review on YT for students considering this tablet as a school device. Highly recommended.
All in all, I'm very pleased with this thing. If you're considering the Prime, ask away here if there's anything you're unsure about, I'll try to answer as best I can. But if you're reading this much in to the Prime, you should probably just go ahead and get it.
good honest review.
The complaint about being unable to open more than one document type at a time is a legitimate one, and applies to just about every mobile OS in existence. It really crystallizes why these devices are really good for some things, but in general do NOT replace notebook computers.
As an aside, one mobile OS that fixes this limitation is webOS, which DOES allow multiple instances of a document type to be open at once. Emails, PDFs, Web pages, you name it, all can be opened as separate documents and used as one expects--for example, refer to other email messages when writing a new one, jump back and forth between open Word documents to compare versions, etc. I really do wish that Google would adopt the webOS "cards" multitasking metaphor for Android. It's really too bad that webOS has generally been such a failure, because it really does have some unique strengths.
Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I think just needed to be said.
So glad we have yet another one of these threads... Oh wait.. That feeling is gas... Closing this thread before it stinks in here.
Sent from my Epic 4G Touch using Forum Runner
I just got my lapdock and it's neat, no doubt about it. But what do you actually use it for?
rvbarton said:
I just got my lapdock and it's neat, no doubt about it. But what do you actually use it for?
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I'm gonna wait for this one to get going before I input my wit!
VERY basic web browsing (email, facebook, xda, etc) and that's it. Don't try to fire up too many youtube videos or you'll get the low memory popup. I'm going to take my lapdock for a weekend wedding trip instead of my laptop in May...I should be ok. Looking forward to possible improvements in the future ICS build .
CaelanT said:
I'm gonna wait for this one to get going before I input my wit!
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Oh please, offer your wit. I need a good laugh today.
rvbarton said:
I just got my lapdock and it's neat, no doubt about it. But what do you actually use it for?
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I got my new bicycle today........It's really shiny and cool. What's a bicycle do anyway?
Why did you buy something if you don't know what to do with it?
(Sorry, but it's either of two things..............you worded the OP in a way that doesn't convey what you really meant, or you really did just buy a lapdock without knowing what it's for)
CaelanT said:
I got my new bicycle today........It's really shiny and cool. What's a bicycle do anyway?
Why did you buy something if you don't know what to do with it?
(Sorry, but it's either of two things..............you worded the OP in a way that doesn't convey what you really meant, or you really did just buy a lapdock without knowing what it's for)
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My main curiosity is what most people use it for, as each person finds different value in different items....
I know what it is for and I'm enjoying using it in my own fashion. The main reason I bought it, so you will know, is because I found it for $50 bucks and it will increase the value of my Atrix 4g as a package, if & and when I go to sell it, should I ever find a phone I like more.
Also,Congrats on your new bicycle as well. I hope it serves you well. Just wait until you take the training wheels off! You'll be REALLY happy.
Thanks, I'm really happy with it! It has streamers on the handles!
I bought the lapdock in a deal also, but unfortunately mine is off to Motorola as there was something wrong with it when I received it. I think the lapdock will change somewhat in functionality once Webtop 3.0 becomes available to us. It should have more of a "laptop" functionality at that point I think.
I used it for very little until I installed webtop2sd, and turned it into a very serviceable portable connected computer. I have replaced my current laptop with the lapdock, and have been quite happy using Openoffice, and PDF reader. Professionally, I now have used it in court 3-4 times to hold reference materials (instead of printing volumes of online records), and I do email with it. I have also heard that it is very functional in a remote desktop setting, but aside from testing this, I have not pursued it.
The one issue that I have is installing firefox extensions. My lack of linux knowledge is holding me back, and I would like to be able to read .tif files from within the browser, but as of now cannot. Other than this, I think it is safe to consider this as functional as a regular (lower end) laptop.
Again, I cannot reiterate how much more useful webtop2sd makes this device. Who knows what the ICS update will bring?
Meh, id rather have an actual linux distro than android on a screen: Ubuntu is made for a mouse and keyboard, android, and specifically the apps for it, are made for touchscreens that our lapdocks do not have, so i dont see it translating well.
Hi All,
I joined XDA because I needed to ask this question, then watched the noob video and wondered if I should ask this. However i've spent hours researching both this forum and others and there are no answers I can find.
I have an HTC Evo 3D and I love it. I've done some relatively professional live sound mixing in the past (32 channel in recording plus live sound), however would love to have something mobile.
My HTC is much more powerful then the first computer i started recording on so it only makes sense (in my little brain) that it should be able to record better.
What I would like is 4-8 channels USB into my phone, that can record simultaneous. or even one decent USB mic, I know i have hosting capabilities, just no software to tell me what these thing are.
i Havn't rooted yet but am willing to root, and go the whole nine yards (except sell out to apple, they're dead to me) are there any roms that do this sort of thing, any apps? anything in development?
Thanks so much for the help
Hi Guys
apologies if this has already been answered i did search and found a few pots but they didn't give me all the information i was hoping for or match my criteria exactly.
Ok so i have a 3 year old son,
his hand to eye coordination is coming along and ever since he's been able to unlock his mothers ipad we cant get him off it.
i have no problem with him using the technology at such a young age in moderation and im sure it can be quite educational with the right apps etc.
however using his mothers ipad is not ideal, its totally open he could accidentally press anything from in app purchases or anything that is available on the internet which is a scary thing.
we came to the conclusion that he needs his own tablet, that we can load with selected app's and he can play etc.
i looked at the tablets designed specifically for kids like the vtech's leapfrogs etc but im not exactly sure they will be the best way forward because they wont really grow with him yes they are probably great for a certain age range but as he gets older it will loose its usefulness.
i need something that's going to be pretty much a disposable price (£30/£60) lets be frank this is probably going to be destroyed on several occasions.
so i want want an android tablet the bigger size the better. I need it to be able to root the device as i want to take advantage fully of titanium back and restore direct to a replacement device if needed.
needs to be able to run sort of childrens apps available i know the can be a broad spectrum but lets just say the average ones (processor / memory consumption wise)
i have seen lots of different softwares to lock the os down, so only use certain apps etc but any other suggestions would be great. or anyone who has made something similar.
cheers guys
cap
There's a dedicated thread for such questions here,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1620179
I'll close this thread.
Good luck!