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Ask Slashdot: How to Pimp My Android Tablet?

Posted by timothy on from the ain't-easy-but-it's-necessary dept.

New submitter capsfan100 writes "At Christmas I got an $89 Android tablet by MID. The 7" tablet has sufficient RAM, etc. The battery, however, was rather pathetic out of the box. It's already fading, so we know where this is headed — decent tablet, but it constantly needs the plug. How would you take this 'old' tablet and turn it into a rockin' stereo component? Is there a ROM build out there titled Pimp My Tablet Into An MP3 Player? The current music app can look up lyrics on-line. I'd like to keep that feature. Any ideas on a good app for syncing music videos with my *ahem* random music collection? Any fun, off-beat party apps this middle-aged suburban dad hasn't heard of? Since the Android security nightmare is so well documented, I'd rather not use services that require passwords. I also need top-notch security and monitoring software so I can see what my kids and their friends are doing with it next year when I'm not home while keeping them anonymous and safe on-line. As for my living room stereo system, how best to mount a sleek MP3 tablet? I was thinking velcro, but it would ruin the feel. Maybe a wall-mount arm like my HDTV has? We want to be able to unplug it and move around the room, so I'll need to upgrade the speakers to wireless. Any thoughts there? I'm not afraid of the command line — indeed, I insist on one — but no Gentoo-type projects, thank you. Just a good sleek and secure ROM for optimal tunage with all the top apps the kids are using today."

36 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Don't forget .. by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    1. Re:Don't forget .. by stephanruby · · 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.

    2. Re:Don't forget .. by aardvarkjoe · · 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.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    3. Re:Don't forget .. by SternisheFan · · 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.

    4. Re:Don't forget .. by sdsucks · · 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.

    5. Re:Don't forget .. by dutchwhizzman · · 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.

      --
      I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
  2. Please don't... by The+Living+Fractal · · 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.

    --
    I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.
    1. Re:Please don't... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh, go buy more monster cables.

    2. Re:Please don't... by turkeyfeathers · · 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.

    3. Re:Please don't... by PopeRatzo · · 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.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:Please don't... by gander666 · · 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.

      --
      Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress ... but I repeat myself. - Mark T
    5. Re:Please don't... by monkeyhybrid · · 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.

  3. That's a seriously underpowered device by tlambert · · 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/

    1. Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by dukeblue219 · · 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.

      --
      -Ted http://www.freemathhelp.com/
    2. Re:That's a seriously underpowered device by SternisheFan · · 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.

  4. Well, of course. by TrekkieGod · · 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?

    --

    Warning: Opinions known to be heavily biased.

    1. Re:Well, of course. by Anonymous Coward · · 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.

    2. Re:Well, of course. by epyT-R · · 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

    3. Re: Well, of course. by Xeranar · · 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.

    4. Re: Well, of course. by Decker-Mage · · 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
  5. recycling by SethJohnson · · 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!
    1. Re:recycling by sesshomaru · · 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."
    2. Re:recycling by MangoCats · · 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...

  6. Put it in an ipad mini case and sell it? by mveloso · · 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.

  7. Hard to asnwer by obarthelemy · · 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.
  8. Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · · 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.

  9. pimping is for idiots by hb253 · · 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!
  10. What's with keeping kids safe? by loufoque · · 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?

    1. Re:What's with keeping kids safe? by cffrost · · 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
  11. Replace the battery by Zinho · · 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
  12. What's to know? by interval1066 · · 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".'
  13. Make a wall clock out of it by cjb-nc · · 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.

  14. Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask /. by symbolset · · 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.
  15. Re:Does anybody know by Larryish · · 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.

  16. I've had a similar recent thought myself by Teknikal69 · · 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.

  17. Re:Bashing Android tabs is the point of this Ask / by symbolset · · 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.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.