I recently purchased a Nordic Track 9500 Elite Pro. This bad boy has a 10" android tablet built in. They really don't want you messing with the android part much, but I am sure there are plenty of other users out there like me that want to do more!
This is my first post so I am unable to show the pictures via the link. Hopefully you can copy and past the text to view the images. I will try to repost on my website so it all flows.
I don't see where a post like this would go, I am not sure if at some point it would gain it's own device forum... That would be exciting. So for now I will post here. I will also post my initial findings for others in the community that may want to purchase this treadmill and can't find any information regarding the built in Android Tablet with WiFi.
This image shows the version information. From what I can tell it looks like they purchase an APAD from someone and then stick it inside of their device. They also must have wrote some special drivers and software to interface with the equipment and hardware. I was very happy to see a mainstream current android OS.
Android OS 2.2
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0027.jpg
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Here are the pre-installed apps. Pretty basic. (note: I was able to find an APK and install Last.FM that wasn't included) Also a major bummer to see was that there wasn't a market application.
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This is the typical workout screen you see.
hungrykzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMAG0024.jpg
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I also noticed that the device doesn't have very much memory. This could be due to the built in applications taking up so much space. It only had about 57MB of internal memory free, but it had a built in 2GB SD Card. I have not gotten to the point where I have needed to take it apart yet to see if there is a replaceable SD card. I may wait another 5 years for my warranty to end to do that.
I have tried to install some apps but have not had very much luck. The only app that was I was able to install was the Last.FM.
I tried the follow apps, and they didn't install:
1. Market
2. Angry Birds
3. Pandora
Other disappointments:
1. Designed to not be in the Android Interface. They have an application that runs, and makes it tricky to get to the android desktop. It takes about 3 clicks to get from the main workout screen back to the Android Desktop.
2. The screen is not capacitive, it is resistive. I don't know how much more I need to say about that.
3. Only 3 buttons. Back, Menu, Home. Home takes you to their software not the android home screen. Long press on home does nothing.
4. When i go to the desktop the Time is all over the place. I have tried changing settings in every spot possible but something is telling it what time to think it is, occasionally it is correct... Just don't get it.
Even with the disappointments this thing is sweet. I wish i could install more apps, stream videos from a PC over the WiFi connection and stream music from a PC over the WiFi connection. Maybe with the help of the community we will figure some of these items out... Or I will be the only one who has this that knows about this website!
ntsteele,
How is your experience up to now with your 9500? I am looking at getting the c1250, which is the same as the 9500, but with a smaller motor and no decilne. Is the 10" screen worth it? The rep at Nordictrack told me the only differcence between the 7" screen is the web browser, the google maps display, and some basic apps. But overall the workout system is the same as the 7' display of the 1750 commercial and that you can view the google maps by logging in on ifit.com. Thanks for the info and screen shots.
iFit Android App
Have you or has anyone else been able to pull the apk files off of the NordicTrack Elite 9500 Treadmill. I would be interested to see if it works on any adroid phone to view the menu system.
I played with this today at Google IO. The rep said that the integrated tablet was rev 1 and that they wanted to eventually let users connect their own devices.
what do you need to press to get to the android home screen?
Where I work at there is a Proform Trailrunner 4.0 treadmill that has 10" Android tablet screen. From what I have been told nordic track and proform are made by the same manufacture or something. It was returned because of a broken display unit. Of course I wasn't going to let them throw the old one away so they let me keep it. I trashed the main display and now I have the 10" tablet but cannot power it because the treadmill doesn't operate without a magnetic key. How could I power this thing and see if it works?
I got the new incline trainer x9i which has the 10 inch android interface. I am interested to get in and try installing apps as you have but I am unable to even get to the android home screen. The only time I see it is when I turn the machine on and it is booting up, the screen comes up for a few seconds to where I can hit on the applications button and see what is on it. But within a second after I see the apps it automatically gets routed into the machine exercise interface and I have not figured how to get back to the android home screen from there. How did you do it? It would sure be nice to install a different browser. I hate the fact that I cannot create my own shortcuts. Anyway, love the machine.
How to get to the Android Home Screen
Any luck finding out how to get to the Android Home Screen? I am wanting to do that also. I was able to get to it one time accidentally, but haven't figure out how to stop the machine interface from loading since.
Home Screen
Ok, same question. I just got a C2150 which is a similar model to the 9500. Slightly smaller motor and belt, but same basic thing with the 10" tablet. I believe it's capacitive now, but still not great as far as that goes.
I too have hit the setup icon when it's booting and it goes to the Android setup screen for a second and then continues to boot into the Nordictrack IFit proprietary stuff.
So I can't believe the posts with the images and no explanation of how you got there? Please share with the rest of us.
Also, my console has a USB connector at the top of the thing. Any idea what if anything that'll let me do?
Thanks!
Anyone figure this out? Seems a shame to have a 10' screen and not be able to install apps on it. There must be some button combination that the Icon service team would use to stop the auto load of the iFit interface.
Internal Pictures
I took the tablet apart to see what information can be gathered. Apparently, HANNSTAR (TAIWAN) manufactures the board (HANNSTAR J MV-7); which uses a Samsung ARM8 CPU(5PV210AH-A0 1044); has 512MB; and a 4GB SANDISK FLASH (SDIN2C2-4G).
I haven't been able to find sufficient info to track a compatible ROM, yet I can't imagine for the life of me that HANNSTAR would design this just for Nordic. I am posting some pics hoping that someone might be able to id the hardware, which in turn might help point to a more fruitful search for a workable ROM.
Try to upload pics but not sure if it worked. It's late, and I can't figure out how to do it smoothly yet.
I'm gonna do another bump. I have a similar treadmill (or maybe the exact same one, I lost the the manual with product name). It is of the X9i series and when I saw it in the store, I had to go for it. I was a bit irritated to see that you are locked to the iFit application and you cannot return to the launcher. I need a male to male USB cable to see if I can get a bit of ADB on it.
From the (crappy) performance of it, I can tell it has about 512 MB RAM, a dated CPU clocked at around 600-800MHz, the screen looks like a crappy TFT display at 1280x700. Lastly, this thing runs Froyo. Mine features a full USB port and an Audio in port. Not much to screw around with. Downloads are disabled in the browser, and the Menu key does nothing.
I think something can be done though. The application that controls the treadmill can't crash as it is, and if it ever does FC, the motor shouldn't stop. NordicTrack doesn't have a recovery image up for some reason (thanks, NordicTrack -_-) so that's even less to work with.
Nevertheless, something can be done. It's not really a fun thing for an Android enthusiast to pick up an Android device with such dated hardware (the tredmill itself, as just tredmill is amazing).. Plus, it was $2,100 at Sears.
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here is a video of the Treadmill and the board;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyf6MHIefk
USB and Audio in is on the right side of the console.
I've had my Nordictrack 9500 Pro for about a year now. Still working well for the most part (I do have messed up deck tension adjuster that I need to call support about).
Would love to be able to unlock the Android device to at least install Netflix, Pandora, etc.
I have had one over the air firmware upgrade that went pretty smoothly. Was hoping more updates would come from Nordictrack, but it has been a long time since that one.
Has anyone else noticed that the Speed Calibration utility under the iFit controls says that it isn't enabled yet? Maybe there's hope for future updates.
fanVrARCHITECT
Greetings,
I have been following this thread as a 9500 owner as well, and looking at what has been posted and see if there is any follow up.
1.) like everyone else what startup combinations may have disabled Nordic Tracks proprietary software.
2.) the usb socket on the top of the console, has anyone had anyluck attempting a usb male to male connection on a laptop? If so what has been tried?
3.) any idea of maybe porting something over via the Ifit updates or account? I noticed the HDvideo inside of the program is pretty descent from what I've seen, and looks like the video plays in the center of main app..just a thought.
I'm looking at getting the male to male usb cable and trying to interface it with the below. .. at least curious if the cable will talk, and most likely this unit is not root so view only but maybe a start if it works.
//www*howtogeek*com/howto/42491/how-to-remote-view-and-control-your-android-phone/
Cheers,
devmo
Did anyone figure out how to get android home screen????
I read somebody was able to email themselves an apk and install it? The tablet enables sideloading? Ding ding ding! I'm going to try sideloading launcherpro or any other replacement launcher to attempt to hijack the home screen
Update: Didn't work on my c2150's tablet. Bastards.... I did however get my c2150's to boot into "safe mode" which I have no idea what that entails. While it was powering on, I held down home and back I believe was the combo.
Update: SUCESS!!! So by booting into "safe" mode, you can hit the preferences launcher while the device is booting to interrupt the ifit loading. From there, go enable unknown sources. Then launch the browser and google "z4 apk" and download it and run it. Did permanent root on mine and it worked.
ENJOY
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
jsteelm said:
I forgot. Once you get the device into safe mode, install "smart taskbar" by sideloading. It'll make you able to view a task bar over ifit.
EDIT: Since we don't have a custom recovery, or for that matter even a recovery at all it seems, I've not attempted gapps. Could anyone give a detailed response on how to install this? I assume just unzip it in the root directory? I'm worried about permissions, I always forget what to set there. Also, the device comes pre-bundled with busybox, fyi Another must have for this is adbWireless. I tried editing the init.rc but it seems those changes were for nothing. I'll keep people updated as I discover things etc. I'm by no means a dev, but do know a little.
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Sorry - can you tell me the exact steps involved here. How do I get to safe mode and then what? I tried Home Back while powering on and it still goes to the ifit screen
You know I'm really not sure what trick it is to make it stay. I had good luck getting it to stay in android rubbing home/back/menu while it booted and as soon as I saw the android home screen, hit the preferences launcher and then grabbed the top menubar and half pulled it down. All I know is that when you get it to stick in android, its always in safe mode which is triggered by some combination of those buttons on boot. Even then it will boot into iFit, but if you go to the settings first, in safe mode, it wont exit that screen.
Nordictrack commercial 2150 Android Safemode
Very simple folks. Turn treadmill on and once you see ANDROID appear in the center of the screen, begin pressing the dashes button that is between the home and back buttons on the console. Not sure if holding down works any better. An "unable to load widget" will be seen in middle of screen once the I-FIT software has stopped and safe mode will appear at the lower left hand corner. You'll then be able to check out the various Android options etc for your tablet. Be careful in editing anything unless you know what you are doing! Wouldn't want to brick your treadmill unnecessarily. It took awhile to find the key to safe mode access, due to limited info out there, but I hope users will continue to make some progress on exploiting this device and maybe we'll be able to use it to our liking. I would like to stream my dish television to the tablet like I do on my i phone or i pad. Being able to install the dish app via google app store is what I'm looking forward to. I want to be able to watch tv on my treadmill while exercising. Please keep this thread going! I'm sure that future software updates may allow for a better user interface. The challenge is certainly in the storage capabilities in the tablet itself and the sd card inside.
I'm wondering about how the apps are handled for Android.
1. Do some apps (like games) open using a phone's resolution? Is it stretched or just left being displayed in a small window not using the entire screen?
2. If an app has been purchased on a phone, does it have to be repurchased on a tablet?
3. Are some apps unavailable if the Market recognizes a tablet device?
skinien said:
I'm wondering about how the apps are handled for Android.
1. Do some apps (like games) open using a phone's resolution? Is it stretched or just left being displayed in a small window not using the entire screen?
2. If an app has been purchased on a phone, does it have to be repurchased on a tablet?
3. Are some apps unavailable if the Market recognizes a tablet device?
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What is this, a thread that's actually asking a legitimate question about the device and not just rehashing the same old questions about pre-orders and shipping and delays?!? Who do you think you are?
In answer to your questions:
1. Yes, some apps stretch (and there's an option to scale to the screen size or stretch at the same resolution; which is better depends on the app) and some work better than others at high resolutions. I've found that most apps are usable, if not particularly attractive.
2. No, apps don't have to be repurchased unless the developer specifically makes separate apps and charges for them. Most often, you can download an app to any number of compatible devices.
3. Yes, some apps don't show up as available on Honeycomb tablets.
You don't have to worry all that much about the app compatibility between tablets/phones since Ice cream sandwich will natively support both the sizes.
It might take a few weeks after the arrival of ICS, but finally we will see all the apps updated to work across the board on both tablets as well as phones.
Right now, most apps made for phones do work with tablets but are generally "stretched".
Thanks for the replies!
@wynand32 - sorry, I won't do it again.
skinien said:
I'm wondering about how the apps are handled for Android.
1. Do some apps (like games) open using a phone's resolution? Is it stretched or just left being displayed in a small window not using the entire screen?
2. If an app has been purchased on a phone, does it have to be repurchased on a tablet?
3. Are some apps unavailable if the Market recognizes a tablet device?
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Click to collapse
1. There are 2 modes of displaying phone apps on tablets.
The first is to stretch, in which the framework of the app will change to fit the screen size. The fonts will be in normal size. Kind of like what happens when you drag the edge of a window on Windows.
The other one is to zoom, Which just magnify the app to fit tablet screen.
You can switch between the 2 modes and both will take up the whole screen.
2. If you log onto the same Google account on both devices, no need to purchase again
3. Yes, market hides apps that claims not compatible with the device browsing the market. (Actually most of them does run on tablets)
In most case the phone made apps are perfectly stretch to the screen size.
What I mean by "perfectly" is that it s not a blow up 10 inch version of the phone apps with big pixels big text and big box.
It's actually a well done stretch of the UI. Text are smaller , liste are longer, wider. Buttons takes less space. There is more space for content, the UI is proportionnaly smaller on the tablet screen than on the phone screen.
In short, ergonomically it s the same thing but with good use of the extra screen space.
That s for every classic well coded phone apps.
Now some apps which are developped with android 3+ in mind are made to appears differently on tablet and phone, using différent layout depending the screen size.
Overall it works really well.
OK, cool. Thanks again for the replies everyone. Sounds like the API is designed well enough so that the resolution jump isn't really an issue.
skinien said:
Thanks for the replies!
@wynand32 - sorry, I won't do it again.
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I'll be watching you......
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amtrakcn said:
2. If you log onto the same Google account on both devices, no need to purchase again
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Yes, but do note that some developers do make tablet-specific versions of their apps that you do have to pay for separately. An example is Ultimate To-Do List, a nice Toodledo- and Google Tasks-syncing app. They have a phone-specific version and a tablet-specific version, and each has to be purchased for each device.
Before it was needed that you have a HD app and a mobile app versions. But Android Market was updated at some point so that developers can release multiple versions under the same app, it would download the HD or non-HD version where appropriate.
Of course some app developers won't use it since it allows them to charge separately for HD and non-HD version, should the same user get two devices.
I'm looking to be able to use my Galaxy Tab as a second PC display. I've been searching for hours for a way to set this up and I've found a few solutions, but so far they've all been lacking. I'm hoping others might have some experience or thoughts on the subject. Here's what I tried or looked into so far:
iDisplay - Available on the Market. So far about the only solution that works, but it's god awful slow. If you try to use a browser with a couple tabs open, it practically stands still. It also disables Aero on Windows 7.
Screenslider - Available on the Market. Disables Aero. Doesn't like web browsing, FF and IE won't redraw when clicking anything (links, Java objects, tabs, etc).
Air Display - Available on the Market. Disables Aero and DirectX. This one was extremely responsive, but you just can't do anything on it. Not compatible with FF9 or later and can't handle dynamic web content.
Remote View - Available on the Market. Disables Aero and Background. Honestly, I don't even remember why this one didn't work. Pretty sure browsers just froze. Have to jump through hoops on their website to even get the server.
Splashtop XDisplay - iOS only. Looks like it would be perfect, but it's not on Android yet. They said they were working on it 6 months go, so I'm not holding my breath.
Virtual display + a VNC connection - This is the most promising, so far. The idea is to use software to create a virtual display that's normally hidden, then use a VNC server (that can deal with individual displays) to send that extra display to a VNC viewer on the Android device. It seems like this would be the most responsive, plus you shouldn't lose Aero or specific applications since you're essentially just sending out a video stream (I think). Some apps even combine the virtual display and VNC server into one. In reality, actually setting this up has been a royal PITA (due in no small part to my complete lack of experience with this sort of thing).
Other Android RDP or VNC apps that have this sort of functionality built in - ?
So, has anyone actually accomplished this, or have any interest in figuring it out?
I'm looking for a similar application for my Galaxy Note's display. I want to use it as a live display tablet for Photoshop. I tried iDisplay and Remote View. Both were too slow to update phone display. iDisplay also BSODs my Samsung laptop (primary work machine), so it's not a viable solution. I could always use my phone as a regular tablet (one that just moves a cursor on screen), but hey, it'd be cool to have!
Virtual display+VNC? Sounds too contrived, but I'll try to read up and figure out how to get it running. If that's as responsive as a regular display, I'll post the method here.
bloodyhippo said:
I'm looking for a similar application for my Galaxy Note's display. I want to use it as a live display tablet for Photoshop. I tried iDisplay and Remote View. Both were too slow to update phone display. iDisplay also BSODs my Samsung laptop (primary work machine), so it's not a viable solution. I could always use my phone as a regular tablet (one that just moves a cursor on screen), but hey, it'd be cool to have!
Virtual display+VNC? Sounds too contrived, but I'll try to read up and figure out how to get it running. If that's as responsive as a regular display, I'll post the method here.
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i guess it didnt work..
Personally, I never went back and gave it another shot. Still think the VNC thing will work well with some effort.
I am trying to find an application that will share notifications between two android devices via Bluetooth.
heres the scenario.
i have a note 3. its my main phone.
i have a full fledged android powered watch (Iconbit Callisto 100 SW).
I want my phone to send all notifications to the watch.
I first thought of an app called tablet notifier... i find it lacking though ...
is there something better? something obviously that would have a host and client (client on the watch and host on the phone)
cylent said:
I am trying to find an application that will share notifications between two android devices via Bluetooth.
heres the scenario.
i have a note 3. its my main phone.
i have a full fledged android powered watch (Iconbit Callisto 100 SW).
I want my phone to send all notifications to the watch.
I first thought of an app called tablet notifier... i find it lacking though ...
is there something better? something obviously that would have a host and client (client on the watch and host on the phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I am planning on doing. Have you found any better solution yet?
ALSO how is that watchphone? Battery life, etc? (I'm still trying to find the best one out there)
I would suggest one of my own apps to share notifications which are in same wifi network...its called anywhere notifications. You can find it in google play and in a post in this same forum.
cylent said:
I am trying to find an application that will share notifications between two android devices via Bluetooth.
heres the scenario.
i have a note 3. its my main phone.
i have a full fledged android powered watch (Iconbit Callisto 100 SW).
I want my phone to send all notifications to the watch.
I first thought of an app called tablet notifier... i find it lacking though ...
is there something better? something obviously that would have a host and client (client on the watch and host on the phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there!
Have you managed to do this in a better way??
Cheers
So the goal here is to have a tablet in our home gym that I can cast music to a nearby receiver and to have a timer displayed. The device in question is an ancient Xelio tablet and I believe the model to be P900BK if that's of any use. It's currently running Android 4.0.4 and doesn't come stock with the Android Google Play App Store although it has Slide Me and I partially side loaded the Play Store but most of the newer apps I'm trying to install fail some form of validation that occurs in the background whenever I try to run them. I found an APK for Google Play Music that was compatible (I think) with Android 4.0.4 and casting wasn't an option then so it wasn't there.
In a perfect world I'd be able to install Google Play Music (Now has to be YouTube Music though I suppose) and this app here: Hero Timer - WOD Timer Crossfit and HIIT Since it's free and easy to see like the timers most gyms use. I could also use Flex Timer or something else but most all I would want to use for ease of viewing from a distance don't appear to be compatible. The Slide Me app store has nothing of any use that I can find.
I guess the easiest solution would be to find 2 apps in the Slide Me app store that stream music via Chromecast and one that's a good timer that allows for intervals and is large enough to see from a distance on a smaller tablet but as of now I can't seem to find anything that fits that bill. My guess is I won't either on the former due to Google locking that streaming feature down and the latter is mostly trash from what I can tell.
So, any thoughts on this? I'd rather not invest a boat load of time into rooting and potentially bricking this device if I can avoid it but if it's the only option I guess I don't mind. I'd just have to wait until I can carve out enough time to do this which may not be right away. If I do explore this option, one of my concerns is hardware. I'm not sure the ancient hardware this device sports can handle much in terms of ROMs or latest whiz-bang apps or features.
I'm not sure it even has the guts to do what I'm asking but I was hoping someone here who knew the answer could offer up some solutions as I've been out of the custom Android device game for a number of years now.
Thoughts?
This low-end tablet was released 2013-07-09. It runs on Android IceCream. You only can install and run apps on it what are compatible with this Android version.
jwoegerbauer said:
This low-end tablet was released 2013-07-09. It runs on Android IceCream. You only can install and run apps on it what are compatible with this Android version.
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Right after you finished typing that and you read it back to yourself did you think "Yeah, he'll find this useful" before you clicked submit?