Ask Slashdot: How to Pimp My Android Tablet?

Don't forget .. by OzPeter · 2013-02-23 07:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

Don't forget to ask for a Pony as well!

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Re:Don't forget .. by stephanruby · 2013-02-23 10:44 · Score: 5, Informative

The Android-derived tablet he got is horrible! The battery is the least of its problems.
As a rule of thumb, if someone offers you a tablet for Christmas with resistive touch, you shouldn't even open the box and you should try to return it for a full/partial refund as soon as possible. As to the security issues, the article he pointed to talks about apps being "security risks" or "malware" for requesting GPS permissions when they shouldn't (which is really FUD). In any case, since his tablet doesn't have a GPS chip in it, that issue doesn't apply to him.
Also since he doesn't have access to the official Android Market/Google Play, he should just look on the XDA forums, root his device, install Cyanogen on it, and go through the Cyanogen repo for apps. And he should refrain from installing apps from other locations.
His tablet will still be horrible after that, but it should be more bearable. And frankly, I don't think he should be spending any more money on this tablet to try to customize it, spending money on it will just be throwing good money after bad. Even if he resolves the battery issue and the app store issue, and makes a kick ass stereo out of it, the tablet will still need to be rebooted every hour or so.
Next time, he or the person who gave him this tablet should just spend twice the money initially, and just buy an Asus Nexus 7. That one is really good. And he won't even need to root it to do all the things he wants to do with it.
Re:Don't forget .. by BrokenHalo · 2013-02-23 11:07 · Score: 1

Even if he resolves the battery issue and the app store issue, and makes a kick ass stereo out of it...
Well, he'll never be able to make a kickass stereo out of it by adding wireless speakers. There just is not one decent example of these to be had. The best way (IMHO) of building a decent stereo is to find a combination of amplifier and speakers that you like and can afford (not necessarily in that order), and build a simple and stable linux box (for me that implies Slackware, but anything will work, even Fubuntu...) with a *good* (not necessarily expensive) soundcard and a big HDD, and use it to play your flac-encoded music with something like XBMC.
Re:Don't forget .. by aardvarkjoe · 2013-02-23 11:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

The Android-derived tablet he got is horrible! The battery is the least of its problems.
I think it's pretty obvious that timothy got trolled. The "top-notch security and monitoring" line should have been a giveaway.

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Re:Don't forget .. by SternisheFan · 2013-02-23 13:29 · Score: 3, Interesting

If you aren't a 'music purist', you don't need much nowadays to have a very good sound system. Several years ago I bought a Curtis brand 5.1. dvd system (300 watts) for $60 new. I'm listening to my music on it rigt now, and it sounds great. I could really piss off my neighbors if I cranked it up and pulled out the sock I plug the bass port! All I did was run a wire adaptor (1/8" to two rca jacks) from rhe device playing the Mp3s to the dvd's amp, routing it through an A/B multi-switch from Radio Shack. The 5 little cube speakers sound clearer and better than those huge expensive speakers from 20 years ago, thanks to the powerful tiny magnets that are made so cheaply today.This setup is not anything fancy, but it doesn't need to be, it just has to work and sound good.
The guy with this cheap-o tablet can use the stock player for music outputting and lite internet browsing. It's not even worth going to the trouble of rooting and installing any software to. Leave the electric plugged into it 24/7, and enjoy it as a capable mp3 player.
Re:Don't forget .. by sdsucks · 2013-02-23 13:37 · Score: 2

As to the security issues, the article he pointed to talks about apps being "security risks" or "malware" for requesting GPS permissions when they shouldn't (which is really FUD).

The article mentions a lot more than that - and the issues mentioned are real and potentially (depending one use scenario) very significant.
But beside that point - how is an app requesting location data when it doesn't need it NOT a significant problem? Do you review the code for all apps that request this permission or do you blindly trust them with your location data? Perhaps you just don't care if your device sends your location to others without you wanting it to? Imagine you were in charge of IS at a large enterprise (though size is really irrelevant) - do you think these types of problems are OK for your employees devices?
From a security perspective, it's unacceptable.
Re:Don't forget .. by stephanruby · 2013-02-23 17:29 · Score: 1

The article mentions a lot more than that - and the issues mentioned are real and potentially (depending one use scenario) very significant.
That's why you also depend on the ratings of an app before you install it. Not everyone checks permissions, but most people check the ratings.

But beside that point - how is an app requesting location data when it doesn't need it NOT a significant problem? Do you review the code for all apps that request this permission or do you blindly trust them with your location data?

This issue is present with all the app stores, including the iPhone app store.
Some apps, I do trust with my location data. It's the same with people. Some people, I do trust with my home address: My mailman, the UPS guy, the pizza guy, etc.
Re:Don't forget .. by sdsucks · 2013-02-23 18:28 · Score: 1

Relying on ratings for security? It's a start I guess...
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 19:42 · Score: 0

Don't forget to ask for a Pony as well!

Since you pointed it out nicely, let's go to the local Apple store, and... there's a pony for that.
Re:Don't forget .. by julesh · 2013-02-23 20:05 · Score: 1

The Android-derived tablet he got is horrible! The battery is the least of its problems.
As a rule of thumb, if someone offers you a tablet for Christmas with resistive touch, you shouldn't even open the box and you should try to return it for a full/partial refund as soon as possible. As to the security issues, the article he pointed to talks about apps being "security risks" or "malware" for requesting GPS permissions when they shouldn't (which is really FUD). In any case, since his tablet doesn't have a GPS chip in it, that issue doesn't apply to him.
Also since he doesn't have access to the official Android Market/Google Play, he should just look on the XDA forums, root his device, install Cyanogen on it, and go through the Cyanogen repo for apps. And he should refrain from installing apps from other locations
You're making an awful lot of assumptions about his tablet when he's told us nothing useful about it other than the price. FWIW, I suspect you're wrong on 2 of the 3 conclusions you draw here: it's perfectly possible to get an $89 tablet that has capacitative touch and Google Play these days, but GPS will likely be out of the question.
But your suggested solution highlights the real problem with buying cheap-ass chinese hardware: there will likely not be an open source build available for it. There's a small chance that this build will work for him, but it's quite unlikely. Probably, nobody even knows what hardware he has in there. So he can't put cyanogenmod, or any of the "kick-ass ROMs" he's asking for, on it. He's stuck with the slightly-dubious build of AOSP the manufacturer came up with. And for his information, "MID" is not the manufacturer -- it's an abbreviation for "mobile internet device" that's used by several manufacturers who prefer not to put their own branding on the devices they make.
Re:Don't forget .. by skine · 2013-02-23 21:00 · Score: 1

They don't even need to spend double.
About $120-150 gets an HP Touchpad that (from what I can tell) has only been used as something to install Android on through Cyanogenmod.
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 21:35 · Score: 0

There is no doubt that the Nexus 7 is superior to the MID 7" tablet. But I got my MID for $72, including shipping. You could also get three of them for the piece of one Nexus 7.
We ain't all rich my friend.
Re:Don't forget .. by dutchwhizzman · 2013-02-23 22:12 · Score: 5, Informative

A music purist doesn't regard your $60 music system as a good alternative. The "power of the magnets" has nothing to do with how good you think it sounds, that's all to do with the DSP inside that will artificially boost the sound by adding a third harmonic component and widening the depth of field by adding negative difference to opposite channels. In fact, if you were to add those "huge expensive speakers from 20 years ago" to that system to replace those awful little cube thingies and you would use proper speaker cable (fine OFC copper) of a little bit more thickness, your $60 system would sound a lot better. The amp in your $60 system is a cheap class D thingy that will horribly deform the sound once you turn it up to volumes that would potentially have neighbor-pissing-off capabilities. The wire adaptor you are using will induce hum if it's anything over 2 or 3 feet long. The analogue bit of your tablet will be positively horrible since it also uses a class D amplifier and your audio resolution will be comparable to about 10 bits on a proper DA converter.
Any audio purist would not get "wireless speakers" since it will take dedicated wifi channels to guarantee phase correct transmission and even then it will be prohibitively hard and expensive to get stuff running. Setting up a proper system when you have moved around your speakers will take at least 15 minutes with an entry level audyssey fully automated configuration so moving around speakers is a no-no. Actually, if you have set up your system properly, you won't need to move the speakers around, since the entire listening area will already have a rather good sound quality. Most audio purists-on-a-budget would probably get something like an entry level receiver that has audyssey DSP functions and HDMI, second hand "huge expensive speakers from 20 years ago" and a raspberry pi to play their MP3s. The raspi will send the music to the receivers 24bit DA converters via HDMI and the cheap tablet that started all this can be used as a remote for the raspi. This all will set you back over $60, but less than $1000 and you'd probably amaze yourself, your visitors and your neighbor with the sound quality.
Word of warning: second hand receivers with audyssey and hdmi often suffer from manufacturing defects like bad solder joints and dried out capacitors. Make sure yours isn't one of the many models effected and if so, make sure that you, as a 2nd hand buyer, will get free repairs from the manufacturer. If you buy new, make sure you live in a country that has proper laws about this so you're covered, or get some form of extended warranty/insurance.

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Re:Don't forget .. by adolf · 2013-02-23 22:18 · Score: 1

Being deaf is not an excuse.

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Kid-proof tablet..
Re:Don't forget .. by AmiMoJo · 2013-02-23 23:19 · Score: 1

These free apps are tracking supported. They spy on you to generate revenue. Their TOS should state how they sell that data. If they don't you are free not to install or use them.
This is the price of freedom. You are free to do stupid things. You are responsible for making the decision, or helping your kids make decisions. If it is that much of a problem you can ask your government to help.
The alternative is a walled garden like iOS. Some people like that, some people don't. Freedom isn't free, as they say.

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Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 23:59 · Score: 0

The only "decent" BlueTooth speakers I've seen are 15" 350W RMS ones for auditorium/stage work and pop out at about $450/channel on eBay. Everything else is junk.
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 00:40 · Score: 0

Just turn off your gps when you arent using it. Its as hard as sliding the bar/tray at the top down and clicking "GPS" so its grayed out
Re:Don't forget .. by SternisheFan · 2013-02-24 01:08 · Score: 1

Wow Dutchwhizzman, that's one hell of an informative reply there! I'll be saving it for when I do upgrade, thanks. One day, down the road, I'll do it up right.
For now, it serves my needs, with the $40 RadioShack infra-red wireless headphones (Gawd, I am cheap!) hooked in for night use (so others in my house can sleep). What you detailed is the right way to do it up, one day.... :^)
Re:Don't forget .. by rjr162 · 2013-02-24 01:11 · Score: 1

And a family friend received one for christmas 2 years ago and asked me to check it out since she couldnt get online... the wireless absolutely blew. It was hard to even connect to any wirless (especially say our wireless wit the wpa2 aes) and when you did the range was maybe 15'. Also the device was crazy slow, the resistive screen blew (I know some in that range *may* have had a capacitive) and even doing the only 3rd party flash didnt help
I'd rather have 1 good tablet rather than 3 worthless POS' s that are just going to irritate the hell out of me with their major (or even somewhat minor but many) issues.
Car example: I can buy a used car for a reasonable price and have a car that works (say a early 90s honda) or I could buy a bunch of cheaper used cars for the same total price (say chevy citations/pontian pheonix or better yet a ton of trabants!) Is it really worth it for quantity over qaulity? Absolutely not for me
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 01:38 · Score: 0

My problem, is , who do you rely on to review the security of the app, and reliably? if it, the security, is not your security, but outsourced from you, do you trust them as much as if the security is yours? Would you have to firewall all applications on your unit, do you? Or do you not know all the security questioons to ask?
What questions are appropiate for the app to ask? is the question being asked by the app appropiate? What is the question needed for this app to operate.
Like I say, who rates the raters?
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 01:51 · Score: 0

Don't these app stores give your info away to the app developers anyway? Thought I read a recent article about how your name, address, credit card info goes out to the devs, even the 'free' ones.
Re:Don't forget .. by stephanruby · 2013-02-24 09:26 · Score: 1

Don't these app stores give your info away to the app developers anyway? Thought I read a recent article about how your name, address, credit card info goes out to the devs, even the 'free' ones.
No, if you go back to that original Slashdot story, and look down through the threads.
It turns out that if you paid for an app using Google Wallet, it would give the app developer your full name, your email address, and country/zip code (that last one for tax purposes, as claimed by one developer). It did not provide the exact address of the purchaser as the story originally claimed.
Nor, did it provide the credit card number. And nor did they provide any this information to the developers of free apps you've installed. Those two last bits, you've just tacked on. Nicely played Anonymous iOS Fanboy.
Re:Don't forget .. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 11:20 · Score: 0

no, but thank you

Unpimp ze auto by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 07:48 · Score: 0

Please don't... by The+Living+Fractal · 2013-02-23 07:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

Using your cheap DAC in that tablet to play music is practically a crime, or should be. It's going to sound terrible. There are some decent DACs out there for $99 that can run via Android with some customization. I realize this is more than the cost of your tablet... but seriously man, the sound is world's better.

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I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.

Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:07 · Score: 2, Funny

Oh, go buy more monster cables.
Re:Please don't... by turkeyfeathers · 2013-02-23 08:19 · Score: 5, Funny

I don't understand posters like you. Have you even tried Monster cables? I was skeptical about them at first, like you but when I hooked up a pair (making sure they were oriented in the right direction) I was blown away by how much better my collection of 128k MP3s sounded.
Re:Please don't... by blind+biker · 2013-02-23 08:33 · Score: 1, Flamebait

This is BS: the great majority of people don't hear any difference between the sound created by a "cheap" DAC or an expensive one.
Besides, the person who posted this Ask Slashdot has probably used headphones with his tablet and is satisfied with the sound quality, otherwise he/she wouldn't have asked this question in the first place.

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"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:15 · Score: 1

He wants a wireless connection to the speakers anyway. What that suggests to me is that he wants to connect a bluetooth receiver to his hi-fi and assuming the cheap tablet actually has bluetooth built-in then the sound will stay digital until it hits the bluetooth receiver and thus the cheap DAC in the tablet won't be an issue. You would then have the issue of diminished audio quality due to the audio compression used by bluetooth, but that is another issue and personally I use bluetooth headphones all the time and I'm happy with the quality.
Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:24 · Score: 0

I use Monster cables exclusively ever since purchasing a set for my guitar rig. However my tablet still sounds like shit unless I push it through my PC or guitar effect rig to clean up the poor signal quality.
You can pimp a pinto all you want. But it'll still be a shitty beater in the end.
Re:Please don't... by PopeRatzo · 2013-02-23 09:34 · Score: 4, Funny

(making sure they were oriented in the right direction)
That's right. I too thought Monster Cables were bogus until I arranged them along the earth's ley lines. Now, they totally rock!
The only problem is, the Monster cables and the ley lines have a multiplying effect on the amount of EMF radiation that they emit, which causes genetic mutations, so now I'm growing this silver-covered, foil-like substance around the crown of my head!
But I get kick-ass bass out of my mp3 files.

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You are welcome on my lawn.
Re:Please don't... by gander666 · 2013-02-23 10:29 · Score: 2

You can pimp a pinto all you want. But it'll still be a shitty beater in the end.
Funny you should mention the Pinto. In high school a buddy of mine did just that. By the time he was done, he had spent a shit-ton of money, dropped in a Boss 302 motor (from a wrecked Mustang) and he still had a fast piece of shit. Probably could have gotten a real Boss 302 Mustang for what he had into it.

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Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress ... but I repeat myself. - Mark T
Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 10:43 · Score: 0

So the Russians have you to blame for that meteor last week...
Re:Please don't... by monkeyhybrid · 2013-02-23 10:51 · Score: 2

Exactly.
I have one of these £24 / $36 Logitech Bluetooth audio receivers connected to my hi-fi and then send audio to it from my tablet, phone or PC. The weak point of the audio feed is then either the DAC in the Logitech device (seems good to me), the analogue RCA cables (again, fine by me), or the Bluetooth A2DP profile. I'm not sure about the specifics any more, but the Bluetooth A2DP profile is more than adequate for my MP3 collection.
Oh, and I use Google Play to host my ~100GB MP3 collection so it is accessible and streamable from any device.
Re:Please don't... by Larryish · 2013-02-23 14:31 · Score: 1

I got a Cobalt Tab s700 for Xmas, and use it at work quite a bit.
Found a pair of USB-powered external speakers on sale at Wallyworld; they plug into the tablet's USB port and 3.5mm jack.
Good sound, very loud, and can run for about 2 hours before needing to recharge.
Re:Please don't... by guevera · 2013-02-23 18:52 · Score: 1

Guy I know has a Pinto that's been turned into a seriously sweet dragster. Naturally aspirated Chevy 350 and it turns high 11s in the quarter mile. Of course, it may be the only Pinto on the planet that isn't a POS, but still....
Re:Please don't... by dotancohen · 2013-02-23 21:31 · Score: 1

He built a 'sleeper'. Imagine the show-off in the Boss 302, Mach 1, or even Camaro SS, who get his doors blown off by a Pinto.

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It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Re:Please don't... by AmiMoJo · 2013-02-23 23:27 · Score: 1

If your hifi has a digital input of some kind you can get a cheap USB soundcard with optical or SP/DIF output for under a tenner on Amazon. Might need to install Cyanogen to make it work, but on most ICS4 devices with USB host support I have tested it just works.

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const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:Please don't... by iSrzMan · 2013-02-23 23:40 · Score: 1

There was a hot rod type magazine that featured a Pinto built by Todd Kaneko in the 80's that did exactly that - blueprinted 4 cylinder, turbo, nitrous, etc. He spanked lots of sports car owners with it.
Re:Please don't... by rjr162 · 2013-02-24 01:18 · Score: 1

... id hope he runs better than that. My brothers fwd 2.2L 4 banger honda prelude (about 2900 lbs car) does high 10's (using a gt-4x turbo.. iirc its a gt-42 but may be a 40 and 1600cc injectors). Obviously the internals are built and a replacement ecm/ecu is used which is something a setup like your buddy's removes the need for (which is always nice to keep it simple!), but in a car that light id expect a littls faster out of that setup).
Plus the track closest to here has a nice grade the whole way down the track (I have to use the ebrake to not roll off the line) instead of thd normal slight downhill grade to half way then the uphill grade)
Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 02:15 · Score: 0

...and having those 'gold gilded' rca jacks really improve the sound quality! And they're so pretty and 'shiny'. I invite friends over and totally impress them when I show off the back of my stereo to them. Totally worth paying over 10X the price of those ugly standard wires. In fact, the entire sound system is powered completely off of my own smug sense of self-satisfaction!
Re:Please don't... by rwa2 · 2013-02-24 07:33 · Score: 1

Nice... I still get a laugh from http://www.turbovan.net/van.html too
Re:Please don't... by guevera · 2013-02-26 17:59 · Score: 1

Yes, but the difference is when I see a Prelude my first thought isn't "watch out, she's gonna blow...." I give mad props for the chutzpah required to look at a junked out Pinto and say "awesome, just what I was looking for!" But turning 10s in a 4 banger -- even a largish 2.2 -- is pretty sweet.

That's a seriously underpowered device by tlambert · 2013-02-23 07:51 · Score: 4, Informative

It has 200M of RAM available to the system.

Expect that most of it's capability is going to be used in running the display. Here are the stats in case someone else needs to understand how limited it is:

http://www.osnews.com/story/24619/Review_MID_M80003W_Tablet_with_Android_2_2/

Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by robthebloke · 2013-02-23 08:16 · Score: 0

Why would anyone need more than 640Kb?
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by dukeblue219 · 2013-02-23 08:44 · Score: 4, Informative

Wrong device I'm sure. There's an M9000 that was available for $89 this year (that one you linked is from 2011). The newer one has Android 4.0 and 512MB RAM (same as iPad 2, for comparison). No idea if it's any good, but definitely not the same as the M80003 you found.

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Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:46 · Score: 1

Submitter didn't specify, but I assume it's the M9000, which is Android 4.0, 8GB Flash, 512MB RAM, Capacitive screen. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1M80E16107
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by SternisheFan · 2013-02-23 08:47 · Score: 2

You can put a bow on a pig, but it'll still be a pig.
Thank you, I now feel much better having paid 11 dollars more for a 1ghz Arnova/Archos 1ghz A10 chip tablet, ICS 4.0, HDMI out tablet that gets maybe 5/6 hours of battery. (If it lasts at least a year it will have been worth it.)
Seriously, your tab's way underpowered for what you want to do. It doesn't get market/playstore, that's a security problem right there since you're forced to get apps not from outside the android playstore. No HDMI/USB port.
Leave it plugged into electric, fill up a 32 gb sdcard with Mp3s and use it as a hard wired mp3 player plugged into your stereo/amplifier. Copy any video files to the card. Then just go and buy a more capable tablet/laptop. Accept that this tablet's best suited for cruising the internet with, and a music player.
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:06 · Score: 0

The Mid M9000 has a 9" screen, so that isn't the tab in question.
http://7inchtablets.net/reviews/midpad-mid-m9000-review
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by Jeremy+Erwin · 2013-02-23 11:02 · Score: 1

From the m80003 review:

To show you how impossibly little test this device has gone through, consider that it runs the Android Dialer and Bluetooth services, even if there's no hardware to support these functions. Wasted RAM. The camera app crashes, the browser reports that it's running Mac OS X. Basically, the whole device feels like "it compiles? ship it". For the first time possibly, this meme can be taken quite literally.
The ipad 2/ipad mini may be cursed with only 512MB, but Apple's programmers are at least semi competent.
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 11:19 · Score: 0

Why do people continue to caw on this old shit in 2013?

Your meme is old and you brought absolutely nothing else to the conversation. Epic fail.
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by ultrasawblade · 2013-02-23 11:33 · Score: 0

-1 Microsoft Shill detected.
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 16:15 · Score: 0

"Apple's programmers are at least semi competent"
You've obviously never used iTunes on Windows.
Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by julesh · 2013-02-23 20:18 · Score: 1

It's highly unlikely the random "MID" tablet you've picked is the right one. He could have any of these:
http://www.manta.com.pl/pl/mid08/
http://www.rakuten.com/prod/android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-mid-7-capacitive-touch-screen-wi-fi-g/230139359.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfH_AZ3AAUs
http://www.amazon.com/Google-Android-Capacitive-Gsensor-MID70404B/dp/B008XLCUF6
or thousands of others all using the name "MID".

Well, of course. by TrekkieGod · 2013-02-23 07:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

I'm confused why you're asking here. It basically sounds like you're saying: "I've got this whole project but research is a pain in the ass." You listed a bunch of things you want but showed no real effort into figuring it out yourself (saying that trying apps is scary is not research).

Also, why would you trust this group to tell you "safe" things more than any other bunch of random internet yahoos?

Why the hell ELSE would you post a question on slashdot?

I don't get people like you. The entire point about of asking a group of people who may be more informed about a subject than you are is to cut down on the amount of research needed by narrowing down the topic to a handful of options. What do you think ask slashdot should be used for?

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Warning: Opinions known to be heavily biased.

Re:Well, of course. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 07:59 · Score: 0

The point is:
I've research these options A, B and C. A has widget type one, B. has widget type two, and C. has build it yourself widgets. Is anyone using A, B, or C, and can you share your experience? Right now I'm leaning toward B, but think C could be useful, and A has a great price point.
Re:Well, of course. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:22 · Score: 2, Funny

Agreed. And here's the answer he's looking for.
If you want to pimp your Android, beat it nightly until it's giving BJs for coin. Then beat it some more. Remind it - with a beating - that you want your money rolded, not folded. And don't forget to beat it. A lot. That's pimping, in a nutshell.
Re:Well, of course. by TrekkieGod · 2013-02-23 08:35 · Score: 1

The point is:
I've research these options A, B and C. A has widget type one, B. has widget type two, and C. has build it yourself widgets. Is anyone using A, B, or C, and can you share your experience? Right now I'm leaning toward B, but think C could be useful, and A has a great price point.
By the time you've narrowed it down that much, searching for and asking questions in specific forums related to A, B, and C is a far better choice than slashdot. Slashdot is a far more generic location, useful when you're not yet sure even where to start your search, but think there are lots of geeks around who have gone through the process and might help guide you to save you the time they had to spent during their research.

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Warning: Opinions known to be heavily biased.
Re:Well, of course. by WoOS · 2013-02-23 09:38 · Score: 1
Why the hell ELSE would you post a question on slashdot?
I think the point of the parent is that the question has this nice, fuzzy "I didn't do my research, please do it for me." feel, which will get you into trouble on any serious forum. One can even see it in the question. It asks: "Any fun, off-beat party apps this middle-aged suburban dad hasn't heard of?" But never lists which apps he has heard of.
The OP also asks for a ROM but never tells us the modell of tablet (except that it is 7'' and from MID, hope they have only one of those). Basically it asks at least two questions where IMHO the only answer a self-respecting nerd seeing the lack of research can give is LMGTFY:
1. What custom ROMs are there for my device - Google leads in its first entry to xda-developers the ROM source.
2. What MP3 player apps are there - (ignoring the play store) Google finds quite some
Mentioning Gentoo in a negative conotation doesn't help either (and no I am not using any beta ROMs either but neither do I compare them to Gentoo).
Re:Well, of course. by epyT-R · 2013-02-23 10:01 · Score: 4, Informative

yeah.. asking for help AFTER showing evidence of trying yourself is one thing. We aren't paid, so the pay off is in personal reward for helping someone who has shown interest and a desire to learn on his own. This article reads like a half assed forum post by someone who wants it fed through a needle and didn't bother reading "How to ask questions the smart way" by ESR. Lazy, lazy, lazy..especially in this era of easy to use search.
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Re:Well, of course. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 10:37 · Score: 0

Seriously, yo. You saved me the trouble of making a "get off my lawn" type post about this stupid new definition of "to pimp."
Re:Well, of course. by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2013-02-23 10:44 · Score: 1

"Let's all share our favorite apps!" is always welcome, if you want to branch out from Farmville and Birds.
Granny: My tablet used to be all farmville as far as the eye could see.

--
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Re: Well, of course. by Xeranar · 2013-02-23 12:14 · Score: 2

Every question like that on here has an obvious answer because the other options are ludicrous. This guy asked a great question that may help other /. types with their goals.
Re: Well, of course. by Decker-Mage · 2013-02-23 12:42 · Score: 2

I consider it a pretty great question as well as one of the recurring options people ask me about is "what if a buy [whatever < $100 tablet]?" What can I do with it rather than spend the big bucks?

I'm really interested in the answers here and I'll be checking in later to get them all. Not for myself, my Great Googley, CM'ed, rooted Nexus 7 suits me fine, thank ye.

--
"[I]t is a wise man who admits the limits of his knowledge or skill, and that pretending either causes harm." --Terry Go
Re:Well, of course. by julesh · 2013-02-23 20:12 · Score: 1

The OP also asks for a ROM but never tells us the modell of tablet (except that it is 7'' and from MID, hope they have only one of those).

Unfortunately, this just betrays the fact that he doesn't know what he's talking about: MID isn't a manufacturer at all, but an abbreviation that several of the cheaper manufacturers use to identify a "mobile internet device", i.e. a tablet.
Re:Well, of course. by metrometro · 2013-02-24 06:52 · Score: 1

A good Ask Slashdot will be educational to 95% of the readers and interesting to 5% with expertise in that discipline. "I don't want those 'apps' on it" is more like arguing with a version of me from 2004.
Re:Well, of course. by rwa2 · 2013-02-24 07:21 · Score: 1

Yeah, so to actually address the guy's question, I think most Android music apps are pretty crappy. There I said it.
I think he was hoping to get some recommendation along the lines of "just install rockbox" ( http://www.rockbox.org/ ) or the Android edition of XBMC ( http://xbmc.org/download/ ) ".
My experiences with those:
Rockbox: buy a cheapo Sansa media player. Futz around with the neat but futzy interface. Finally the thin gets bricked after a month of use (not firmware updates or even updating the media library, just occasional use). That was a few years ago, so "it's probably better now"
XBMC : haven't played with it on Android yet, maybe soon. I wasn't impressed with it on the PC, but probably because I'm not a big fan of TV-style menu interfaces.
After playing briefly with the other Android media players (Apollo, Google Play, TwistedPlayer), I ended up shelling out money for Winamp Pro. The lyrics plugin mostly works (a lot of my music is too obscure, I guess?), the album art lookup plugin works, it has nice desktop control widgets, and I found the interface a bit less confusing to navigate. Also it supports internet streaming radio, which is good because I mostly can't be bothered to spend time maintaining my own playlist.
But nowadays I mostly stream internet radio using the SomaFM app (another paid app :/ ), because it's even simpler and more stable at keeping a stream playing than Winamp.
I figure the less time I spend getting background music up and playing, the more time I have for doing stuff I actually enjoy. My personal library of music just needs to be searchable enough for when I want to bring up something specific.
Re:Well, of course. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 18:08 · Score: 0

Or maybe he was looking to find some interesting suggestions outside of his normal understanding of reality? We all live in valleys and some people find things that others do not?

Well by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 07:53 · Score: 0

You require too much things for a poor man $89 Android tablet don't you

recycling by SethJohnson · 2013-02-23 08:00 · Score: 5, Interesting

Sounds like a trip to the electronics recycler. For all the time you're going to invest into getting some very limited use out of that device, you could just get a decent $300 tablet that will be suited for many uses. Since you're a dad, you know that your time is valuable. More valuable than making this thing marginally more useful so you can save $212.

Put some edutainment apps on their and hand it over to your kids. No need to ruggedize it.

--
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!

Re:recycling by sesshomaru · 2013-02-23 08:23 · Score: 3, Funny

Dr. Evil: No, we'll leave them alone and not actually witness them dying, and we'll just assume it all went to plan.
Scott: I have a gun in my room. Give me five seconds, I'll come back and blow their brains out.
Dr. Evil: No Scott.
Dr. Evil: ....you just don't get it, do you?

--
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
Re:recycling by MangoCats · 2013-02-23 14:35 · Score: 3, Interesting

Normally, I would agree with the one good device trumps four pieces of junk approach, but in the case of 7" tablets, there's a great deal of power in junk. There are a lot of dedicated use scenarios (such as OP's music station) where a junker tablet will do that job quite well, and with the cash you saved from buying a "great" tablet, you can get a Kindle Fire HD for handheld media consumption - still not the ultimate tablet, but great at what it does, and I thought it was a pretty good buy at $249...
Re:recycling by Nexzus · 2013-02-23 16:32 · Score: 1

Agreed. I bought a cheap Aliexpress 7" tablet and night vision IP camera to use as a baby monitor. Total cost was just north of $100, and it has better quality (video) and can do more (pan/tilt and internet streaming) than the dedicated sets costing thrice the money.

--
Karma: Can only be portioned out by the Cosmos.

You're aiming too low... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:00 · Score: 0

I'm sure you can ask for more. Just want the best media oriented tablet with great security and remote access. You certainly can get much more from a low end android tablet

Put it in an ipad mini case and sell it? by mveloso · 2013-02-23 08:04 · Score: 3, Insightful

Try and pass your device on as a broken iPad mini and sell it on craigslist or ebay. That's pretty much the only way to turn that thing into something useful.

You could maybe use it as a picture frame too.

Re:Put it in an ipad mini case and sell it? by MangoCats · 2013-02-23 14:32 · Score: 1

I have a couple of these, they make great security camera monitors.

Hard to asnwer by obarthelemy · 2013-02-23 08:25 · Score: 2

Hard to answer with so few details.

If it's that tablet (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1M80H28093), the good news is that it has HDMI out, so if your stereo also has HDMI, you can get good sound by wiring the tablet to the stereo. Wireless sound broadly sucks (it goes through bluetooth, which compresses sound a lot); I'd just forget about it. I'm assuming your music collection is accessible via a network share or DLNA. That tablet can access both (ES File explorer and BubbleUPnP respectively). I am not aware of any program to automaticalle DL videos for your music; you're better off doing that from your PC, mot probably.

Thinking of an Android tablet as a Linux PC isn't very useful: Android is a very customized version of Linux, so regular Linux software won't work. And installing a new distro, or even another, tweaked, version of Android requires a skilled hacker to build it specifically for your exact device, which probably won't happen in this case. You're better off combing through the Google PlayStore for apps that suit your needs. You'll find "kid's safety" apps, antiviruses... If you don't enable 3rd-party apps install (thus only get stuff from the playstore), risks of hacking are fairly low. Moreso with an antivirus, especially since most hackers just want to dial for-pay phone numbers, which your tablet can't do anyway. I wouldn't be too worried about viruses, I'd even skip the antivirus in your case because your tablet is not very powerful.

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.

Re:Hard to asnwer by kwark · 2013-02-23 11:25 · Score: 1

>Thinking of an Android tablet as a Linux PC isn't very useful: Android is a very customized
>version of Linux, so regular Linux software won't work.
"Android" is binary compatible with "Linux". Any static compiled binary for the architecture the tablet is running will work if display output is available. Building dynamic files is a little harder (it's not glibc environment). The hard part to get a generic distribution running is the storage, but if the installed Android environment has ext[234] FS support you can chroot to a full distro. I've been running a debian chroot on all my Android phones so far, at first for openvpn (is now available native), rsync and occasionaly firefox.
Re:Hard to asnwer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 11:48 · Score: 0

I've got a 7" Allwinner10 tablet and a 10" Allwinner10 tablet, both were 100$ ish. ( a Visual Land 7" and a Stealth 9.7C)
Both have ubuntu as well as android on them. In fact, ubuntu on both run out of a partitioned "sdcard" (that nand that's in there, all chopped up it is). chroot into an instant glibc environment. For a desktop I use xvnc and some stupid (ARGH) android VNC viewer. Still on the lookout for a properly working X11 server for the things.
None of this matters, since both tables are super pokey with their single core CPU's.
I agree with the above though. Hook the tablet to your Amp via headphone or HDMI, use a DLNA server to host and stream the music (I even set up a shoutcast server to play a randomized largish (2 weeks worth) playlist).
I would recommend using BubbleUPnP as the DLNA client since it will do both DLNA as well as shoutcast/icecast streams.
If you want all that meta-data available to your player, then you need to figure out some way of mounting a network share. Totally possible with the addition of a glibc Linux environment, rather difficult with just Android. I just use sshfs to mount a ssh "share" on a folder in the /sdcard tree and then let the built-in media scanning slurp up all the music metadata it can stand. Android, on the other hand, doesn't do that easily, and if you want to mount any other kind of network share, then you're looking at a bunch of work to get the correct kernel modules built and working... Might as well go with CyanogenMod if it supports your tablet in that case.
You can also get Pandora, Digitally Imported, and several other online music services on that android, allowing for even more variety in available music.
(I did, however, upgrade to a Nexus 10 for daily use.... So I might do this with the 10" tab, and maybe even the same thing with the 7" tab in my car)

I did something similar. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:27 · Score: 0

I did something like this, only I found that the tablet wasn't the best solution for the actual media centre, so instead I built a mythtv box and then download one of the remote control apps. My tablet is now the fanciest TV remote in the world!!

Don't waste your time by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:30 · Score: 0

The specs are a joke. I agree as a dad also. Give it to the kids. Slashdot please don't attack me for this link but Best Buy for example has 60+ tablets running ICS probably all with better specs than that tablet. For your security concerns toss Lookout on the tablet and don't download active wallpaper apps from China and take a few seconds before installing any apps to look at the permissions.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=cabcat0500000%23%230%23%232cw~~cpcmcat209000050006%23%230%23%239~~cpcmcat209000050008%23%230%23%231~~f1147||24313030202d20243239392e3939~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~f865||416e64726f6964~~nf1024||416e64726f696420342e302049636520437265616d2053616e6477696368&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&ks=960&usc=abcat0500000&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&list=y&iht=n&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01&gf=y

Does anybody know by Mister+Liberty · 2013-02-23 08:31 · Score: 1

Where I can find a blacklist with those questionable apps?

Re:Does anybody know by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 13:50 · Score: 0

Where I can find a blacklist with those questionable apps?
Just download them from playstore or amazon if you can and they should be okay. Some of the 3rd party app sites can't be trusted, apps might have been tampered with and had viruses or malware added to them. There are antivirus programs out there that will scan them for you. Stick with reliable sources when downloading them, if at all possible. If you can't access playstore, get a friend who can to make backups of the apps, and copy them over to a microsdcard and install the apps from the card.
Re:Does anybody know by Larryish · 2013-02-23 14:40 · Score: 3, Informative

If you can't access playstore, get a friend who can to make backups of the apps, and copy them over to a microsdcard and install the apps from the card.
THIS.
My wife and I have tablets which will access the Play Store.
Our daughter has a tablet which will not access the Play Store. This was intentional, because we want to vet what she uses on the tablet.
When we have an app that our daughter likes, I use SaveAPK on my tablet to export the apk file and then copy it to her tablet across the network.
It works very well.
Re:Does anybody know by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 00:02 · Score: 0

I've seen 1mobile.com recommended as a good place to get apps if the play store lists apps as incompatible, it supposedly has all the free apps from the play store, but not the paid ones. But I haven't looked into it myself so I can't vouch that it is trustworthy and malware free, so if you want to use it as an replacement for a missing play store app you'll need to judge it for yourself.

I was thinking... by MouseTheLuckyDog · 2013-02-23 08:34 · Score: 1

of getting something like this as a second tablet, to do stuff like play videos when I'm using my other tablet. The videos I'm talking about are not movies or such, just talks of one form or another, while making notes on my main tab. It bothers me to hear the battery is dying because to me that would be a real killer. Is it possible to open it up replace the battery and use it as a second tab?

Re:I was thinking... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:03 · Score: 0

..or you could use one laptop instead of two tablets.
Re:I was thinking... by MouseTheLuckyDog · 2013-02-23 10:26 · Score: 1

The laptop sucks for taking notes. Right now I use a laptop and a tablet.

easy. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:36 · Score: 1

1. Murdered out tint over the display
2. Gold spinners
3. Huge wing bolted to the case
4. Light kit
5. Neon running lights
6. Low-pass filter on the audio for thump

I'm sure there's more but that should get you started.

Re:easy. by dr_dank · 2013-02-23 11:30 · Score: 1

Yo dawg, I heard you like tablets, so I put a tablet in your tablet so you can tablet while you tablet.

--
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?

Throw it away...or use as remote for XBMC by Bearhouse · 2013-02-23 08:38 · Score: 1

Cannot think of any other options, sorry. If you want a rocking sound system, get a cheap PC and install XBMC. Cannot understand why you think a tablet would be good as your main media sever / player.

Seriously?! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:39 · Score: 1

You can't polish this turd, don't even try. Just throw it away & start over.

Recycle; Buy a Raspberry-Pi if you want control by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:41 · Score: 1

A cheap Android tablet is meant to get you into Android and want to spend more for the next one, not to be useful. You are learning this now.

Android is a "personal tracking OS" - so forget about security. If you ever hook up a gmail account to the device, you are being tracked. If you don't, get used to the cheesy apps pre-installed. Every app that you install has an ulterior motive - that is to get personal data and report back to the vendor. That is how they make money.

If you want logging, do it on your pfSense router. Do not expect that from any Android device.

If you want a cheap device that lets you have control, get a Raspberry Pi and run Debian, though I doubt the audio processing will be very good.

Being anonymous on the internet is extremely hard. Tor is a step, but hardly the whole solution. Being secure on the internet is extremely difficult too, especially for untrained end-users.

Re:Recycle; Buy a Raspberry-Pi if you want control by Jeremy+Erwin · 2013-02-23 11:05 · Score: 1

> A cheap Android tablet is meant to get you into Android and want to spend more for the next one, not to be useful.
Lesson learned. To the Apple Store!
Re:Recycle; Buy a Raspberry-Pi if you want control by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 04:28 · Score: 0

Any i OS device is a "personal tracking OS" - so forget about privacy (how does user behaviour sent to one company equal security violation?). If you ever hook up a i tunes account to the device, you are being tracked. If you don't, get use to not having the device run at all. Every app that you install has an ulterior motive - that is to get personal data and report back to the vendor. That is how they make money.
See what I did there?
If an app developer on Android tries to track you, the same developer will likely try to do the same on all the platforms they make the software on. See: Rovio / Angry birds with their Golden Eagles.
If you think any platform that has ads on it - especially one their forced to use (i Ads, since about 2010) - won't try to track you, you're an idiot.

Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:47 · Score: 2

Get a Raspberry Pi, run mpd on it, use the tablet as a mounted remote control. I've looked at getting cheap tablets and flush mounting them in walls next to light switches using a build to measure frame to hid the wires but i still use a pi or itx format computer to actually run my stereo, tvs, home automation, etc.

pimping is for idiots by hb253 · 2013-02-23 08:50 · Score: 4, Funny

Pimp is such an idiotic term to use, I'm sick and tired of it.

But if you insist, I suggest a fur fedora, gaudy mink coat, glass platform shoes, and you must mount the tablet in a late 70's Cadillac with pink padded vinyl roof, V-shaped TV antenna on the trunk, bordello red upholstery, and fringe hung around the windshield.

Plus, you can only use it to listen to the Shaft soundtrack.

--
Self awareness - try it!

Re:pimping is for idiots by couchslug · 2013-02-24 01:49 · Score: 1

"I suggest a fur fedora"
Is that new?
The latest Fedora release I've heard of is Spherical Cow.

--
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Re:pimping is for idiots by hb253 · 2013-02-24 04:58 · Score: 1

Well played!

--
Self awareness - try it!

Bedazzler? by dbug78 · 2013-02-23 08:54 · Score: 1

Perhaps some puff paint? Maybe some stickers?

What's with keeping kids safe? by loufoque · 2013-02-23 08:55 · Score: 2

You want to make this into a music listening device. What do you want to protect kids from? The evils of R'n'B?

Re:What's with keeping kids safe? by cffrost · 2013-02-23 13:47 · Score: 2

You want to make this into a music listening device. What do you want to protect kids from? The evils of R'n'B?
Maybe he lives in suburban development? In any cultural vacuum, "keeping the kids safe" isn't merely a way for uninspiring parents to interact with their poor offspring — it can be practiced as a completely enveloping way of life. :o)

--
Thank you, Edward Snowden.

"Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
Re:What's with keeping kids safe? by uvajed_ekil · 2013-02-23 18:30 · Score: 1

You want to make this into a music listening device. What do you want to protect kids from? The evils of R'n'B?
Well, don't you know about R Kelly?

--
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.

wm8650 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 08:57 · Score: 0

If it's a wm8650-based device, check out Uberoid.

Replace the battery by Zinho · 2013-02-23 09:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

If the biggest problem you have with it is the battery life, then fix the problem - just replace the battery!

Since you're posting to Slashdot I'm going to assume you are willing to do some soldering if you have to.

Invest $15-25 and you can get 2x or 4x the battery life; that tablet only came with 2500 mAh if the other posters here guessed your model correctly.

Make sure the new cell will fit, then have at it!

--
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin

How to Pimp My Android Tablet? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:27 · Score: 0

News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters.

What's to know? by interval1066 · 2013-02-23 09:44 · Score: 3, Funny

You cover it w/a shitload of mylittlepony stickers and your pimped. What else do you need, really?

--
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'

Re:What's to know? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:58 · Score: 0

What he really should do with it, is fix it on the wall in the bathroom, and have a slideshow with porn pictures. I'd say to stream movies instead of pictures, but it's probably too underpowered for that
Too bad it's battery is so weak, you could have hidden it under a friends bed use it to wake him up at random intervals with strange noises.
Re:What's to know? by RubberDogBone · 2013-02-23 10:12 · Score: 1

Well, I have a cheap Chinese JXD S6600 Android tablet which works ok as a photo gallery display, little more than a glorified digital photo frame.
But. The screen res sucks. It's dim, the colors are something "other than photo realistic" and it does weird scaling and resizing. So this makes porn pics look weird, off-color, and just not very appealing. By comparison, the same images look stunning on a Nexus 7. I've tested this quite a lot.
Perhaps a cheap tablet stuck in a humid bathroom is fine though.

--
Sig for hire.
Re:What's to know? by uvajed_ekil · 2013-02-23 18:32 · Score: 1

And don't forget to bedazzle the shiznit out dat mahfucka, gnome sayin bro? Can't pimp w/o bling yo.

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This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.

Pathetic. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:50 · Score: 0

"pimp" your android tablet? Like that's going to make you feel better about not being able to afford an iPad?

Get a job.

Stupid Post, Good Idea by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 09:58 · Score: 0

That whole "gimme a chance to control my children - the world so bad"- part is really stupid imho (as ist the idea of running "all that cool" android apps on such device - has it even google play ?). But the basic idea behind is quite interesting, using your android tablet as an high-end remote to control your media playback systems. There are many apps for all types of (new) av-receivers, as well as for popular media centers like xbmc. If you don't have any of those i recommend you buy an old laptop (PIII or better) install the linux-distro of your choice and install the media-player demon which you can control with apps like droidmpd or threempd.

Front end for Amarok perhaps? by See+Attached · 2013-02-23 10:14 · Score: 1

Put a good sound card in a basic small form factor PC, and run Amarok on it (or some other Music Front end) and figure out how to make it web friendly... That way, you can screw the MID to the coffee table hardwire it in to 120VAC and make that your effective music console. Am assuming the MID can DHCP into your home network? Not really a tablet, but it becomes a quasi-dedicated device as you seek.

--
Time for a new Political party in the US (or two!) One is off the rails Other cant pony up a leader.

Re:So you're feeling lazy I guess? by AK+Marc · 2013-02-23 10:21 · Score: 1

Tablets are getting to the age where some have issues. I'd like to know what I "could" do with mine. Not how to do something, but what are good ideas for what to do with it. He is a little more specific with some media things he'd like, but it's still mostly a generic request for ideas (and maybe an app or two for his media operation).

--
Learn to love Alaska

Make a wall clock out of it by cjb-nc · 2013-02-23 10:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

That's what I did with my MID tablet. I wanted a clock that could display NTP-synchronized time. I had an old MID lying around doing nothing. Rooted it. Added NTP software to run over the wifi. Setup the desktop with a big clock app and a smaller 3-day weather app. Stuck velcro to the back and hung it on my cube wall at work, just over my monitors. Just leave it plugged in all the time, as my MID also has under-1hr battery life. Works great.

Re:Make a wall clock out of it by uvajed_ekil · 2013-02-23 18:34 · Score: 1

Naw, it isn't even a good clock. The one I bought at Walmart for $4 keeps time, doesn't crash, and works for months on one AA battery.

--
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.

Wrong way round. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 10:38 · Score: 0

Find a ROM you like and then find a tablet its been ported to. Universally the stock roms suck asinus phalii.

In the process you exclude tablets whose hardware design is so poor no one is intending to put in the work to port new roms.

What Android security nightmare ? by Pop69 · 2013-02-23 10:40 · Score: 1

Some damning with faint praise going on there, the only link in the whole thing is to a piece on security FUD

decent? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 10:50 · Score: 0

"decent tablet, but it constantly needs the plug"
I would toss it in the trash.

Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask /. by symbolset · 2013-02-23 10:50 · Score: 2

"The battery, however, was rather pathetic out of the box." General description that pretends Android doesn't have myriad media player options everywhere. "Since the Android security nightmare is so well documented"

I have three of these $89 tabs. The media play - including Netflix, Pandora, yadda yadda, myriad media formats - is freaking excellent right out of the box and more options are available on Google Play. No Rooting, ROMing or odd nerd skills required - just turn it on, log into your Gmail account and go. Still no Hulu Plus though. Battery life is good and with nonstop use since Christmas is holding up fine. With a 16GB uSDHC added storage is just fine too - the Android 4+ versions they come with natively let you offload almost all of the apps to the SD. Security is not a problem if you're not scanning Russian warez sites for a hacked pirated version of an app you could just buy for a buck, or looking on Google play for apps that are clearly sketchy from people who have only pushed 100 downloads ever.

They're pretty durable too. The kids throw them around, step on them, spill beverages and sometimes throw up on them. I was worried about the ruggedness and got the "extended service" plan, but it looks like that's not going to be a problem.

Pushing these "unreliable, insecure, inadequate Android" tropes in the form of a question isn't really what an Ask Slashdot is for. It's more of a "Mohave Project" or "Get The Facts" sort of thing where you pay for placement of your BS, or at least place it with the usual cNET, ZDNet, RedmondChannelPartners and such and run ads against it for the "Amazingly versatile and universally lauded Windows RT Tablet" that you've got warehouses full of that you can't seem to shift despite hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing.

--
Help stamp out iliturcy.

NOT “a decent tablet“ by gig · 2013-02-23 10:59 · Score: 0

Needs to constantly be plugged in, runs viruses, only runs phone apps, has taken up a bunch of your time, and cost 30% of the very best tablet in the world, which gives you 10 hours per day for 2 years of AC-free, weight-free, desk-free computing. How in the fuck is that “a decent tablet?”

Forget local music, use it as a remote. DLNA FTW. by Anonymice · 2013-02-23 11:03 · Score: 1

I use my 7" tablet almost exclusively for reading the news & as a remote for my media centre.
Video & CPU intensive stuff slows it to a halt & kills the battery, however it's superb for the less demanding work.

If you enable DLNA on whatever device you store your media on, it will be automatically discoverable on the network & controllable via the tablet.
You can stream music to/from the tablet, or any other DLNA enabled device. It's very straightforward to setup on Windows, Linux & (I would assume) OSX.

For my personal setup, I have an XBMC box connected to my TV & Hi-Fi which I control via Yatse (way better than the official XBMC remote) & 2player.
As well as acting as an XBMC remote, Yatse allows me to organise playlists, browse & preview (album/movie art, reviews, trailers, lyrics, etc.) my entire library & then command my media centre to play it.
2player is just a straightforward DLNA controller, allowing you to play music from the selected source, to the selected destination.

None of this needed any geeky fiddling around or delving into config files. I simply enabled the appropriate network sharing options on my devices & it *just worked*.

Another possible use by CdBee · 2013-02-23 11:03 · Score: 1

Look up (on Youtube) a MightyCarMods video called 'iPad Dash Install' or similar. they cover installing a tablet into a Double DIN car stereo mount with some widening (a 7 inch tablet would fit a double DIN car stereo mount unextended). If you have a car worth improving this way you can use a tablet to get onscreen album access while driving, extra car gauges (engine temp, mileage, boost, emissions) via OBD-2 interfaces, FM or DAB radio on-the-go cia USB dongles, etc

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I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU

How to pimp Android tablet by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 11:16 · Score: 0

Throw in garbage. Get iPad.

Don't Pimp It by DFurno2003 · 2013-02-23 11:26 · Score: 0

Punt it into the trash instead.

First, use these: by ultrasawblade · 2013-02-23 11:41 · Score: 1

http://mamajiwatulip.blogspot.com/2010/10/tulip-bling-bling-stickers.html

Put a couple of those on and you'll be "Pimp"(tm) in no time.

Huh? by Sir+Holo · 2013-02-23 12:22 · Score: 1

I'm not even remotely clear on what you are asking for.

Is this some device that you find gives you underwhelming performance, yet you want to configure it to be a mounted, in-home, ultra-secure but child-monitoring, tiny-screened media player?

If that's the case, then you should not waste your valuable time. Just buy a used laptop off of ebay and set it up as a media center. Then you're done!

subsonic.org by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 12:38 · Score: 0

Install a media PC somewhere and use the tablet as a remote. Subsonic is *excellent* for this purpose as it allows both streaming to the android device or playing on the media PC (using tablet as remote). Automatically downloads podcasts and allows video viewing also.

Free to try. Donation ware.

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by Decker-Mage · 2013-02-23 12:45 · Score: 1

Toddler proof is damned good to know, even if I'll never use that info. Thank you.

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"[I]t is a wise man who admits the limits of his knowledge or skill, and that pretending either causes harm." --Terry Go

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by LoverOfJoy · 2013-02-23 12:57 · Score: 1

They're pretty durable too. The kids throw them around, step on them, spill beverages and sometimes throw up on them.

Sometimes? Wait, how many times have your kids thrown up on them?

Maybe you should have them put aside the tablet for a sec and get them a bucket.

My Little Pony by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 13:41 · Score: 0

It is the only way. Also get a cutie mark tattoo.

I've had a similar recent thought myself by Teknikal69 · 2013-02-23 15:10 · Score: 2

I bought myself a cheap 10,000mah portable battery which is flat and basicly the size of a very thin ereader for charging my phone if the powers down but the shape and size got me thinking I know my Sony T1 reader has what's a tiny 1000mah battery and yet lasts a month or so, so what if I could alter the case and put this 10,000 mah into it. I'm thinking it would last at least a year between charges, it also has me wondering why no manufacturer has put a really big battery in one, maybe there is a flaw in my thinking. It's something I'm not likely to try however although if I had a 3d printer or something it could probably be done quite well.

dsploit by p0p0 · 2013-02-23 15:55 · Score: 1

Install "dsploit" and mess around with your friends and family. It allows for changing all the image in someones browser with a specified image, and you can do the same with text. Made my friend think she was being haunted by changing her name on Facebook to "you're next" and all her images to scary faces that say things a virus wouldn't know.

And she had no idea because I was on my tablet.
There is also password sniffing and such but I'm not interested in that.

Cat got tongue? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-23 16:20 · Score: 0

I got a Pierre Cardin Tablet and it died after a year of mid usage. And nobody offers support for it, only I can find "Oh Pierre Cardin did launched an Android tablet. Kekekekeke!". Tablets are disposable so bad luck if yours are lame like mine. Save for a new one and good luck!

From the sound of comments here by Provocateur · 2013-02-23 16:32 · Score: 1

Take a snapshot of the wall and put your tablet n front of it to make it appear like it's 'see-through'. And that about sums up the usefulness of said device. As an example, refer to http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewiscraik/2463912247/

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WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.

better suggestion by stenvar · 2013-02-23 16:44 · Score: 1

I suggest you give the Android tablet away and get yourself an iPad. Why? A $89 Android tablet is low-end, and unless you bought it knowing its limitations, it is never going to satisfy you and you'll just keep whining about how lousy Android is. And given your silly dig at "Android security nightmare", it is pretty clear that you are prejudiced anyway. Really, just do yourself and the rest of us a favor and don't use Android.

Use it as a thin client by jampola · 2013-02-23 21:09 · Score: 1

Install some bare bones rom onto it with VNC viewer, install with vncserver and all of a sudden, you've got a tablet that is acting as a wireless monitor with touch capabilities. I've done this before where I have installed Unity in a VM, used the tablet to connect to that in an VNC session and it works a treat. You'd probably noticed a hell of an improvement with the battery life also.

here's how you pimp it by slick7 · 2013-02-23 21:20 · Score: 1

Slap it around, take it's money and tell it to get back on the street, biatch!

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The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by symbolset · 2013-02-23 22:16 · Score: 2

Once children discover that projectile vomiting leads to a hooky day from school it takes a while to negotiate them back to normal digestion. Especially if they're socially awkward and dislike school and/or are bullied, or a high-stress test is impending. Most especially since it's not acceptable any more to refocus your children with a cattle prod, tazer, paddle or switch. So yes, there is a phase of modern parenting where vomit happens a lot. Buckets don't help any more than hovering over them every moment does: in the latter case they'll just spray you to make their point more efficacious, and in the former they will miss. Making them go to school anyway just ensures they vomit all over the school, in which case the school is required to send them home, but at least you don't have to clean it up. If your children are gapped just right a normal person can enjoy this vomit state for a very long time objectively, or nearly an eternity subjectively.

Vomitology is just a primer for the pain that is Teen Angst.

I think I've earned an off-topic mod here.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by SternisheFan · 2013-02-24 01:36 · Score: 1

Toddler proof is damned good to know, even if I'll never use that info. Thank you.

They aren't totally toddler-proof. If bashed against a hard enough surface the screen glass will shatter into really sharp shards flying everywhere. These aren't made of safety glass like a car's windows are. For that reason alone you might want to apply a tough clear screen protector on it. Best Buy sells good ones for $20, cheaper on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/electronics/2348631011

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Tablet-Accessories/Tablet-Screen-Protection/pcmcat242000050005.c?id=pcmcat242000050005

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 02:03 · Score: 0

Jesus. Your children have some serious issues! I don't know if the problem is digestive health of mental health, but I assure you that what you describe is NOT normal.

What do you expect for $89? by DavidinAla · 2013-02-24 05:31 · Score: 1

What you have is a piece of junk. There's a reason that it sold for $89. If your time and effort are worth anything to you, the smartest thing you could do is throw this junk into the garbage and buy a decent piece of hardware, if you really have a need for a tablet. Junk like the hardware you have is going to do nothing but cause continuing frustrations.

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by symbolset · 2013-02-24 06:47 · Score: 1

This is quite normal. I remember doing this myself. Eventually the issue remediates without treatment. Medical intervention is not required. It's just one of the many joys of parenting.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.

Re:Uhhh...$89 tablet? by Decker-Mage · 2013-02-24 08:49 · Score: 1

No idea why anyone (any reasonable moderator) would mod this down for a BestBuy link, but I was over on NewEgg and found some nice tablets, dual-core A9, at least as much memory as an iPad, 5 point touch, etc., and at or less than the $100 price-point I'm looking for here. Definitely nice enough for a roommate who would have to ten dollar it to death when I get it for him if I don't make it an outright gift.

Prices are coming down nicely, so this is a good question to ask.

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"[I]t is a wise man who admits the limits of his knowledge or skill, and that pretending either causes harm." --Terry Go

Mp3 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-24 10:10 · Score: 0

Thank goodness the OP didn't ask about Android support for flac.

Why not iPad or iPod touch? by pyrothebouncer · 2013-02-24 10:56 · Score: 0

Why do people get a shitty piece of equipment and try to pimp it to the standards they are expecting from something 4 to 10 times more expensive? I don't think I'll ever understand that. You have to pay for quality these days.

No, that tablet you see at Kohls does not actually do everything an iPad (or similar device, I just don't like the others, so iPad is my example) does and never will, so stop buying that SHIT!!!

Sell the $89 device (Craigslist, eBay) and put that amount towards a more reputable piece of equipment. Then use the proper store on the proper device to access all the apps and stuff you are looking for.

Oh, and tell the person who got it for you to just give you a gift card with a printout of the intended item next time, so you don't have to return it and can use the gift card to buy proper equipment.

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Mumble mumble mum....

Re:Why not iPad or iPod touch? by DavidinAla · 2013-02-24 14:59 · Score: 1

Unfortunately, a lot of nerds are under the impression that great products can be built and sold for almost nothing. These same people believe that if a product is more expensive, you're "obviously" just paying for high profit for the maker and paying extra for a brand name. It's bizarre that such delusions continue to be so relatively widespread. The sort of person who believes these things buys according to specs and laughs at the notion that one product can provide a better experience than another because of better components and better design. (Hint: Design doesn't just mean what a product looks like, but rather everything about it.)

Do the basic tests first! by ukoda · 2013-02-24 15:18 · Score: 1

I do a lot of commercial audio products, including evaluating cheap Chinese tablets. My ears are not picky about quality so I never make the final call but even I can hear the problem with some of them. One common issue is they are designed to play audio to headphones while running on battery. Connect then to decent speakers while running on external power and you can get terrible audio. The reason can be as simple as ground loops or more detailed problems with the switching in the charger circuit.

Many people here are rubbishing your idea but really the simple thing is to try it first and see if it sounds ok to your ears. Just remember to try it connected as you will actually be using it, presumably with the charger connected, before you invest time in finding apps and mounting options etc.

Tell it... by Spugglefink · 2013-02-24 22:52 · Score: 1

Say "Look you fucking whore, your paycheck comes out of this cock. Suck this cock like your life depends on it. Suck it hard, suck it fast, and claim your reward, or I'm going to throw your bitch ass out on the street and your fucking babies will starve." That's how you pimp anything.

I have it on good authority, since I have a buddy who is a retired pimp. I wonder how you get an Android tablet to suck your cock? If it won't, then how do you pimp it? I need to ask my buddy this question. I'm confused.

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by Decker-Mage · 2013-02-26 12:58 · Score: 1

That's a given, but thank ye kindly for the links as the screen protectors would be very high on my list of modifications.

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"[I]t is a wise man who admits the limits of his knowledge or skill, and that pretending either causes harm." --Terry Go

Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by SternisheFan · 2013-02-26 15:03 · Score: 1

Ye art quite welcome, sir. I can personally vouch for thr InvisibleShields brand, the U.S. Army developed that plastic to protect their helicopter blades from the elements. I got one for $20 at BestBuy over a year ago when I bought an android phone. Any scratches wipe right off, clean it once in a while with hand sanitizer. No special case, I just pocket it without having to worry about the screen.

Tip: When applying it, make sure the any cutouts are aligned perfectly before the adhesive quick-dries.

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