I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
Sent from my Sapphire/dream using XDA App
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.
Related
Had my Streak since Monday after finally deciding against the HD2. I've been a winmo user for years but didn't like the idea of being stuck with 6.5 for another 18 months.
I had built up a huge selection of fave apps for my HD and was reluctant to let some of them go, so I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for everyone's essential apps for the Streak.
Having only had the "phone!" for a few days, here's a couple of apps i'm liking so far:
1. RockPlayer - play avi files and more.
2. Google Navigation - although comes shipped in UK.
3. MyPlayer - BBC iPlayer.
4. AppKiller - although this is the only task manager i have tried so far.
5. EsFileExplorer - again the only one tried so far.
6. XDA app - nice interface and faster than using the browser.
7. ColourUp - i love editing photos and this is pretty cool.
8. Google SkyMap - works brilliantly.
9. Swype - only just started using this, for me it's brilliant.
Ok, there's my keepers for now, how about yours? I've not really found any great games that fit will on the screen yet although i'm liking Winds Of Steel.
Same as yours really, but would like to add Astro file explorer - great for installing apps outside market. And if you like reading as much as i do Laputa is a awesome ebook reader with ipad style bookshelf and page turning and loads of online books.
Tried quite a few games and at the mo playing Zenonia little rpg ala zelda which is a nice enough. Game Boid is a great emulator for all those classics. Mazeoid is a free pac man game runs great on the streak.
Im experimenting with different keyboards, the dell one works great but the numpad throws off the whole symmetry. Ive tried smart keyboard which is quite nice with lots of skins, but i found it slow so went back. Any suggestions would be very welcome...
Gonna add a new one as of yesterday....kindle reader.
just bought a couple of books and woopee for some reason you can buy them at american prices. Lot cheaper than the UK store/mobipocket etc.
Oh yeah and Rockplayer...rocks...will probably be my first 'purchased' app once it get's released (I've not had a need for anything else that requires paying for yet.)
oops. forgot I don't play many games but Bonsai Blast is really addictive and fits the screen great.
Cypher84 said:
Same as yours really, but would like to add Astro file explorer - great for installing apps outside market. And if you like reading as much as i do Laputa is a awesome ebook reader with ipad style bookshelf and page turning and loads of online books.
Tried quite a few games and at the mo playing Zenonia little rpg ala zelda which is a nice enough. Game Boid is a great emulator for all those classics. Mazeoid is a free pac man game runs great on the streak.
Im experimenting with different keyboards, the dell one works great but the numpad throws off the whole symmetry. Ive tried smart keyboard which is quite nice with lots of skins, but i found it slow so went back. Any suggestions would be very welcome...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, was looking for a decent ebook reader for the ebooks i already have, I also think the numeric keypad is a dumb thing - not thought about as it forces you to hold the streak lob-sided to type, as you, still looking for a decent alternative.
THJahar said:
Gonna add a new one as of yesterday....kindle reader.
just bought a couple of books and woopee for some reason you can buy them at american prices. Lot cheaper than the UK store/mobipocket etc.
Oh yeah and Rockplayer...rocks...will probably be my first 'purchased' app once it get's released (I've not had a need for anything else that requires paying for yet.)
oops. forgot I don't play many games but Bonsai Blast is really addictive and fits the screen great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, kindle reader looks lovely, but can't get it to work with the ebooks i "bought" from other sources. Will give the bonsai blast a try. Cheers.
THJahar said:
Gonna add a new one as of yesterday....kindle reader.
just bought a couple of books and woopee for some reason you can buy them at american prices. Lot cheaper than the UK store/mobipocket etc.
Oh yeah and Rockplayer...rocks...will probably be my first 'purchased' app once it get's released (I've not had a need for anything else that requires paying for yet.)
oops. forgot I don't play many games but Bonsai Blast is really addictive and fits the screen great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find, buy them cheap while you can
Gave Bonsai Blast a go and i agree looks great and a pretty fun and adictive thanks.
Kindle looks good but like Guest69 i have a collection of ebooks i need to be able to import, maybe this will be possible later...
Also found a few good widgets. Htc smooth calendar (other one was buggy) looks great, matching the dell theme better then the default and shows 3 appointments. VolumeWidget is on my home screen, gives you 3 buttons for preset volume profiles.
Finally the Zedge app is like the app store of ringtones, has search, preview and install functions. Theres also a wallpaper section, but i havent tried it as i have made my own seamless sets like the o2 wallpapers (cut up and resized some high res dual monitor wallpapers) ill post some here when i get a minute.
My favorite book reader is aldiko, and it has limited support for importing books as well as long as they are epub format.
Hi all,
Well I've had my Streak now for a little over 3 weeks and have now flashed my first custom Rom which comes Rooted and with Superuser permissions plus has allowed me to remove from the Rom the apps i had no need for.
So here are my installed apps in no particular order.
Astro File Manager: can be used to install apps that come as apk's as opposed to from the market
Barcode Scanner: easy way to install apps form QR codes or just reading Bar codes
3G Watchdog: Monitors your data use over 3G you can set your allowance and it will monitor and alert you
Live Calender: Will bring up upcoming Appointments on your Home screen
F1 Pocket 2010: all you need to stay up to date with F1
Moto GP Pocket 2010: all you need to stay up to date with Moto GP
iSyncr for PC: Easy transfer and sync of iTunes to your Streak
Google Sky Map: Map of the Stars and Planets
Engadget: Widget with scrolling updates
SystemPanelLite Task Manager:Shows you CPU and Memory use
myPlayer: BBC iPlayer
ShootMe: Screen Shots for Rooted devices
Speedtest.net Speed Test
Rock Player: Plays DivX Avi and many other formats in great quality.
Co Pilot Live: Sat Nav with POI'S and Speed Cameras
Gentle Alarm: Great Multiple Alarm app with some unique nice features
Seven Push E-Mail: Real time Push E-Mail with full folder support
Cloud List:Great: shopping or other list app also on line lists that can be shared with others
Tapatalk Pro: handy tool for posting on Forums
TVCatchup Mobile Live TV Streaming with lots of UK channels
Fring: Skype and IM chat app includes Skype Video chat
Superuser Permissions: allows rooted apps permission
Boot Explorer: File explorer and more for Rooted devices
Root Booter: Easy Normal, Recovery or Bootloader Reboot options
Boot Manager: Control over various options and apps on your device
Swype: simply the best keyboard and typing experience ever IMHO
I should mention although System Panel Lite is a task manager that's not what I'm using it for as it also shows CPU and Memory use along with all your Active applications and Inactive cached applications. Personally I'm just not using a task killer or killing any apps at all.
Wow having now made this list i can't believe just how many apps i have installed so far just as well the Streak comes with 2GB for installing them on.
Marc
is there a good Weather app out there
Is there an android application for windows live mail? I haven't found one.
Diane
Sent from my Dell Streak using the XDA application.
@ Dogman, Mate whats the name of the Barcode reader you use thanks
Hi lufc
It's called Barcode Scanner and it works better then any I've ever used before literally as soon as you frame the QR code it identifies it and gives gives you the option to open the browser which actually opens the download store with the app ready to just hit for download. It still amazes me very time i use it to download a new app just how fast and simple it makes the whole procedure.
Marc
Dogmann said:
Hi lufc
It's called Barcode Scanner and it works better the any I've ever used before literally as soon as you frame the QR code it identifies it and gives gives you the option to open the browser which actually opens the download store with the app ready to just hit for download. It still amazes me very time i use it to download a new app just how fast and simple it makes the whole procedure.
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Marc will give that one a try i have been using Mobile tag and its not much cop
I'm using loads !
Fring - pity it doesn't support Fbchat yet, but it was a shock to have a video call from one of my aussie mates yesterday
phonebook 2.0 - so much better than the stock contacts for making phone calls.
fancy widget - (sense style clock and weather)
dolphin browser - can't decide which I prefer this or stock browser
opera mini 5 - for when I'm on gprs as it's faster there.
wifinder- neat little app
barcode scanner
osmtracker- useful for updating openstreetmap or gps logging
Vespucci - for ondevice osm editing
sportypal - used it in winmo, not as good as runsat though, maybe hollywoof will write an android runsat app one day.
floating image - ultra cool way of showing pictures
layar - more for showing off
laputa
Mytracks - works with runsaturday.com (via email)
Imeasy -fbchat
myplayer
panoramio-to use teh photo service
pkt auctions ebay
seesmic-much better twitter, crap widget though
tapatalk pro
slideit - great once you get past the stupid crashing installer
root explorer
goggles
bonsai blast
and a couple of spongebob games for my kids
My FAVORITE app is Swype. A month ago they were letting people download the app again and I got it for my Nexus One .. I loved it because for some reason I was having a horrible time typing .. When I first got my Streak I typed on it for about 15 minutes and then downloaded Swype again and that is ALL I ever use. I made it the default program for any text and you can always type letter by letter if you are having problems with a certain word. On YouTube there are several GREAT instructional videos on swyping from the maker. I am pretty sure I am getting faster swyping than I was typing on my iphone.
Double post...
Thanks for the barcode scanner tip Marc, its real fast and accurate definitely a keeper.
ROFL @ "XDA_devs is rapidly becoming the McDs of the winmo world, sadly full of rude chavs demanding crap immediately.. "
As for swype, I gave it a try but I wasnt impressed, guess its a preference thing but I can type fast as hell in landscape with a normal kb so long as it can keep up. I found with swype it takes much more finger movement to type each word and you have to look at what you are doing more, not to mention smearing crap all over the screen...
Im still searching for a good alternative to dells stock kb, tried everything in the market with mixed results, but I think I'll just wait till the froyo update and try the ported htc multitouch kb.
@Cypher84
If you mess around with the settings for Swype you can change how long the trace shows for and the same for word prediction i have reduced the time for both which i have found has made the world of difference. Also now Swype has learnt most of my most commonly typed words I'm finding it incredibly fast and accurate and also it's quite forgiving if your not totally accurate. Also for the suggested word to be put in you just start the next word so now after just a short while using Swype it defiantly is my by far preferred method of text input. But like anything just because it's best for me doesn't mean it has to be for everyone else.
Marc
Dogmann said:
@Cypher84
If you mess around with the settings for Swype you can change how long the trace shows for and the same for word prediction i have reduced the time for both which i have found has made the world of difference. Also now Swype has learnt most of my most commonly typed words I'm finding it incredibly fast and accurate and also it's quite forgiving if your not totally accurate. Also for the suggested word to be put in you just start the next word so now after just a short while using Swype it defiantly is my by far preferred method of text input. But like anything just because it's best for me doesn't mean it has to be for everyone else.
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried 6 versions of swype and i cannot seem to get them to work they install OK and i go to setting and tick to enable it but when i go to the keyboard its still the stock one is there something i am doing wrong
Dogman any chance you can upload the version you use thanks
lufc said:
I have tried 6 versions of swype and i cannot seem to get them to work they install OK and i go to setting and tick to enable it but when i go to the keyboard its still the stock one is there something i am doing wrong
Dogman any chance you can upload the version you use thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem but you just need to do this
After you have installed and enabled swype
Open a text input box (what I do is open up the browser, go to google and then hold my finger down in the google search box)
Hold your finger down in this box until a menu appears "Input method"
select Input Method and then it should give you an option of Swype or Android Keyboard, select swype and now it will use that as default
Hope this helps
Cheers
Payneardo
Basically I intend to buy this as a primary note taking device for lecture for this coming semester and beyond and I have some questions.
Firstly what is the best tablet office apps that work well with the hardware keyboard? I had a play with Polaris in a shop on the original Transformer but I'm just wondering if there is better out there.
It'd be nice if there was like an automatic save every 30 seconds/minute or similar feature.
Also it'd be VERY useful if there was an app that allowed me to open two files at once. So I could, say, have an editable .doc open on one side of the screen and a .ppt on the other...
Secondly how is the physical keyboard? Like I said I played with the Transformer recently and the keyboard seemed pretty nice. A little bit small but something I could get used to/fast on.
Might add more if I think of them.
Thanks, G.
Don't have keyboard so can't speak to that but for office apps I like Google docs and smart office
smart office is a lot better and is very good sure you will like it
tylermaciaszek said:
Don't have keyboard so can't speak to that but for office apps I like Google docs and smart office
smart office is a lot better and is very good sure you will like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I nabbed the Smart Office APK in the Getjar $0 sale and it seems decent on my phone, does it have a tablet interface?
See I would love to use Google Docs but I heard it requires internet to work and due to the way my university's WiFi security is I'll only be able to use internet with apps that support proxy routing (as Android doesn't have this built in to the OS).
Yes the tablet interface is very nice I like it a lot
tylermaciaszek said:
Yes the tablet interface is very nice I like it a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the screenshots!
Is it possible to have the edit option on screen always/in easy use?
I'll be keen to change formatting to underline/bold/italics etc quite often.
Also, how quickly can one jump in and out of list options?
EDIT: also how quickly can one "tab" in an indent and then get back out of it?
I would say for what you want this may not be for you
edit bar does not stay open but jumping into options is just a press of button
For you, you may want documents to go or office suite 5 I read good reviews of those
tylermaciaszek said:
I would say for what you want this may not be for you
edit bar does not stay open but jumping into options is just a press of button
For you, you may want documents to go or office suite 5 I read good reviews of those
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
Anyone else have input? Specific to my needs if possible
I had an original transformer, just got my prime yesterday.
I used my tf last two semesters for all my classes.
I usually use the pre-loaded supernote app to take notes. It takes kb input and you can draw as well (useful for science classes).
my teachers give us power point lecture slides and for that the polaris office is pretty good, I haven't tried the other office apps, but polaris should do most of what you throw at it.
Some of my teachers give pdf lecture notes, I use repligo reader to annotate on pdf.
Sent from my Galaxy S2
Just gonna bump this in the hope that someone can direct me to something that might help me more.
This PDF annotation software will help as I need to deal with a lot of case law etc.
I'm guessing that there is nothing out there currently that supports having two documents open at once side by side as I said above?
Main requirement would be snappy formatting (Bold/Underline/Italic), can this be done in Polaris with CTRL+B/U/I?.
Also the list thing, I know it's not automatic when tabbing like in Word but an easy/quick to use button is fine.
G8D said:
Just gonna bump this in the hope that someone can direct me to something that might help me more.
This PDF annotation software will help as I need to deal with a lot of case law etc.
I'm guessing that there is nothing out there currently that supports having two documents open at once side by side as I said above?
Main requirement would be snappy formatting (Bold/Underline/Italic), can this be done in Polaris with CTRL+B/U/I?.
Also the list thing, I know it's not automatic when tabbing like in Word but an easy/quick to use button is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, there is currently no way of running two apps at the same time, it's a limitation of all mobile based OS's, everything essentially runs in full screen mode.
the CTRL commands should work fine, i'm pretty sure i used them for various things on my tf101.
Are any of these aforementioned office suit apps compatible with odt (OpenOffice format)?
adiliyo said:
no, there is currently no way of running two apps at the same time, it's a limitation of all mobile based OS's, everything essentially runs in full screen mode.
the CTRL commands should work fine, i'm pretty sure i used them for various things on my tf101.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not about running two apps at once. It's about one app having two files open at once.
Say a word document on the left and then a powerpoint on the right.
I doubted it'd be available. Maybe it'll come.
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
See the Guide for NOOBS sticky at the top of this forum ^^^^
thinguy said:
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used kies with either my captivate or infuse. Don't see the need with other apps, as well as the fact that you can just drag and drop files onto your phone's storage. Syncing reminds me of an iphone, and is stupid in my opinion. Drag and drop allows you to only add the files you need/want, and is much faster in the long run.
I suggest using Google Music for your music, it automatically uploads up to 20,000 songs automatically from your itunes or windows media player to the cloud so that you can access them wherever.
If you use grooveshark at all, check out Dood's music streamer. Allows you to use grooveshark on the go without paying for premium service. If you have not used grooveshark before, check it out on your computer.
Google voice provides a simple, visual voicemail system, though I think I have read somewhere that the note has visual voicemail built in? Could be wrong.
XDA app is a must, though I assume you use that on your Nook already.
Dropbox is useful for documents, as well as google docs.
The note comes with S Note and other various apps that make use of the S pen.
Dolphin Browser HD is a great replacement browser that I have used with all of my androids.
Evernote is useful for taking notes that can be accessed on your phone or any computer. I hope the S pen can have some functionality with this app.
Root explorer is definitely worth the few bucks it costs to have access to all of the files on your phone.
Titanium backup is a must if you are into ROMing your devices, as it will allow you to restore your apps after every flash with ease. The free version works, but you have to approve every app install. I suggest buying the full version, as the restore process is fully automated and can run in the background or with your screen off, making the process much less cumbersome.
Other than that, we will have to wait and see if apps such as rom manager and such will be of any use to the flashing process once the devs get their hands on the device and start pumping out custom roms.
OP, i'm also as green as you on the Android platform. I have an iphone 4s and got the Note just to explore Android.
jpeg42 said:
See the Guide for NOOBS sticky at the top of this forum ^^^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you read it? Its just Android definitions and reserved spots for future use. No specific info on tips, advice or apps.
welchertc said:
I have never used kies with either my captivate or infuse. Don't see the need with other apps, as well as the fact that you can just drag and drop files onto your phone's storage. Syncing reminds me of an iphone, and is stupid in my opinion. Drag and drop allows you to only add the files you need/want, and is much faster in the long run.
I suggest using Google Music for your music, it automatically uploads up to 20,000 songs automatically from your itunes or windows media player to the cloud so that you can access them wherever.
If you use grooveshark at all, check out Dood's music streamer. Allows you to use grooveshark on the go without paying for premium service. If you have not used grooveshark before, check it out on your computer.
Google voice provides a simple, visual voicemail system, though I think I have read somewhere that the note has visual voicemail built in? Could be wrong.
XDA app is a must, though I assume you use that on your Nook already.
Dropbox is useful for documents, as well as google docs.
The note comes with S Note and other various apps that make use of the S pen.
Dolphin Browser HD is a great replacement browser that I have used with all of my androids.
Evernote is useful for taking notes that can be accessed on your phone or any computer. I hope the S pen can have some functionality with this app.
Root explorer is definitely worth the few bucks it costs to have access to all of the files on your phone.
Titanium backup is a must if you are into ROMing your devices, as it will allow you to restore your apps after every flash with ease. The free version works, but you have to approve every app install. I suggest buying the full version, as the restore process is fully automated and can run in the background or with your screen off, making the process much less cumbersome.
Other than that, we will have to wait and see if apps such as rom manager and such will be of any use to the flashing process once the devs get their hands on the device and start pumping out custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I forget that it can be handled like a normal usb device/storage.
I need to try Dolphin, using Opera on Nook now and it's better than the default but still lacking. The firefox app seems terrible/incomplete.
thinguy said:
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a captivate and have used froyo and gingerbread. I suspect you will find the gingerbread used on the g-note okay but not as polished and as smooth as your iOS. That said, the new android ICS (using cm9 alpha, build 16) is is incredible. Smooth, clean, powerful and intuitive. A pleasure to use, I believe It offers the best of both worlds. The ease of apple and the configurable power of android.
Since you have a nook you can try it out, the nook ics rom is very usable and will give you a hint of the g-note goodness to come with the ics operating system the xda guys will cook up. I have a nook to, and if you have rooted it, the ics install will be relatively simple.
The following list are some Apps you might find worth looking at, and depending on your interest, might even be worth paying for.
Music; I use Power Amp, paid app. clean seductive interface, lots of audio magic for the music lover, and great developer support.
Files; Webdav; paid ver. Nice little app let's you wireless mount your android as a drive so you can cut/paste files and folders as you would to and from any other drive on your PC. Great for lots of audio book files, movies, or just cleaning up your phone. You can use 3g instead of wifi but I've never tried it.
Podcasts; Dogcatcher, paid app. simply the best. Its biggest competition is Mypod. I used it for over a year, but never was able to get comfortable with its interface. Dogcatcher....you can just start using it, and it has lots of options.
Sling player, TV goodness, paid app and home box. Watch anything straight from your home cable, sat., or ota tuner, perfect if your a sports nut.
Launcher; Nova , free app. I am still testing but it is just so sexy and free so I figured I give it a mention.
Radio; Tune in , free app. music sports news radio stations with easy search presets. It is to good to be true but I haven't found a downside yet.
Browser; Dolphin HD, free app. I can't get excited about this one. It works, the speed is good, and it is not going to choke on flash. I would like to recommend Opera but it has been very buggy lately, I don't think it is playing nice with ics.
Google chrome is getting great reviews but it doesn't support flash. Then there is Boat browser and Quick Ics browser both show great promise but not sure about them yet.
I've got a G-note on order, for the lte and its monster screen. The thing is, since I got ics, my captivate is such a pleasure to use and play with I don't know how I'll survive waiting for a ics port.
Oh, and samsungs kies program might have some use but I've never found it.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
vizographic said:
Browser; Dolphin HD, free app. I can't get excited about this one. It works, the speed is good, and it is not going to choke on flash. I would like to recommend Opera but it has been very buggy lately, I don't think it is playing nice with ics.
Google chrome is getting great reviews but it doesn't support flash. Then there is Boat browser and Quick Ics browser both show great promise but not sure about them yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very disappointed to hear that Opera is buggy with ICS--it's my favorite browser by far. <sarcasm>Fortunately</sarcasm>, we probably won't have a working ICS ROM for I717 any time soon. For the OP, this is Opera Mobile, not Opera Mini--the latter handles all traffic through opera's servers and compresses images to speed up browsing for slow phones or phones with poor connections, but the result is that many webpages with active (javascript or flash) content just don't work right.
Also a word of warning for the OP: if you choose Dolphin, make sure you are rooted and block en.mywebzines.com (and maybe some other related URLs) through your hosts file. The spyware seems to be removed in the latest update, but I still won't trust a browser that, at any time in its history, forwarded essentially all of your web activity to a third party server. There's a long thread around here that discusses these issues in more depth.
Browsers are very much a matter of personal preference though; also, if you use a browser that matches your desktop browser, it makes syncing the two much easier--firefox, opera, and chrome all have great sync capabilities between their desktop and mobile counterparts.
Thanks for the link, a very disturbing read regarding the Dolphin Browser HD. I took aggressive data mining for granted, but damn the DB-hd boys are into strip mining personal data...... thanks again for taking the time to post...
OP, please forget i even mentioned Dolphin
(i going to.. ; ) and give Opera a shot. He is right were not gonna be on ics for good stretch, and by the time we are any quirks will be ironed out. It is a great overall program with lots of features. It has usually been my daily driver since the long gone days of windows mobile.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
root question?
Since ICS is a ways off, If we root for TiBU, or Root explorer to remove certain system apps, will we get ICS FOTA, or will we not get it without unrooting and replacing all bloat we removed?
So my question is -any advice for those of us who root but want the OTA ICS when it comes out?
Should have put this out first- will the method for the international version for root work for the ATT one?
So I've watched the ICS Motorola Webtop Beta 3.0 video and it may be me but it looks very similar to the Evo Desktop PC in concept and function. Considering that ICS wasn't even available this time last year this would have been the logical progression of the project. I'm not asking for Moto to send me a check but I'm waiting to see how the credits roll out. If the Sun here on Mars has baked my brain then feel free to say so.
Lokifish Marz said:
I'm not asking for Moto to send me a check but I'm waiting to see how the credits roll out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow
The check is in the mail.
CCallahan said:
The check is in the mail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you going to send it on their behalf?
Actually I've been in contact with Moto since the videos surfaced and am getting the "hot potato" treatment. All I'm looking for is to have a civil dialog with them about it. All I'm getting is being told I need to contact Department A by Department B after just being directly referred to Department B by Department A. I have even gone so far as to include the direct referral and names in my communications. You probably have a good idea as to how well that's working.
The odd thing is that with 200+ views nobody has said I should have my head checked. Is everybody on XDA being nice?
Interesting question, locki. Definitely a fair one. If I understand correctly, from watching the video (I had the volume down - A cold and a headache coming down so I'm trying to minimize the noises). In any case, your version looks to me like phone mirroring with a keyboard and a mouse. Not sure how it's set up (you probably said it in the video). But I don't think the ICS demo is a complete demo. This looks like he just reviewed the phone mirroring version, but didn't do a complete webtop review. Also, webtop on the current system is also pretty limited. From that video, I don't see much difference between the ICS and what we have on our phone, except that this is a proof of concept. In any case, you could say the same thing about a comparable presentation from the webtop experience on the mopho if you only show the the phone window usage. could also say the same thing about your ubuntop if you only show a limited version of the capabilities. I guess my point is I don't think you have a fair comparison at this point. But my head is stuffy and I am on my way to an early bedtime, so maybe I'm missing something...
I replaced the video of webtop 3.0 with one that shows webtop3.0 in use. I also have a copy of the ICS RAZR leak and osh (or anything related to that partition) is nowhere to be found. Neflix is obviously Netflix for tablets. The desktop look of Chrome appears to be a ui switch for the mobile chrome browser. If the ICS leak is anywhere near what the official release is, then the tech/android reports are correct that the new webtop is nothing more than modified tablet mode mirroring.
I'm not saying it's not good work. Had HCL Launcher, Chrome mobile browser and Netflix for tablets been out when I released Evo Desktop you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.
My other concern is if the leak I have and the videos are correct this does not bode well for Webtop becoming a true desktop with ICS like many had hoped.
So If I am understanding things correctly, the new webtop is just tweaked phone mirroring, as opposed to now where there are 2 operating systems running side by side. I guess ubuntop won't work on that system then. very disappointing.
As nice as Evo Desktop was there were tons of drawbacks. So I can tell you from experience that this is going to be a serious step backwards for "Webtop". Open up a mobile browser and visit a page that has flash based chat embedded. You cannot leave that page (view another page in another tab) because as soon as you leave the chat page tab everything gets suspended. When you go back to the chat page tab you have to log back in and start over.
Document editing will also be an issue as you have to use cloud based editors like Google Docs because to my knowledge none of the current office apps have that tablet switch needed change how the ui is rendered. When you combine this with the browser tabs issue and that Google Docs puts a fairly heavy load on the browser, you can say goodbye to any real doc editing.
What it comes down to is that many app devs are going to have to add the needed ui switch and changes to keep the new webtop from being trash. This will not be easy. I fought for months to just get a browser with a "desktop ui" look with no success. Even with thousands of users on the Evo project nobody would touch it. I ended up having to modify an existing browser to give my users a desktop look. Multiply that by how many commonly used apps that would need a ui switch and Moto is just asking for failure.
My other concern is what happens to the, now wasted, 1.3GB osh partition? The leak has no mention of it in the install script. It looks like it will still present but only accessible via vnc which has it's own issues and drawbacks.
I've dreamed of having this on a tablet ever since they came out. I cannot believe iOS got this before any Android implementation, Cornerstone is ok, but this beats it hands down!!!
http://thebigboss.org/quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
demandarin said:
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
luminus69 said:
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I stated, I know the Prime is a much better device, and can handle a ton more, just a feature "wish we had it" post.
RubenRybnik said:
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree. i want any app to be able to be windowed. Maybe those developers will make something that can do that. they seem to be the only developers, creators of stickit & overskreen, that seem to be going in that direction. the people from tablified app also created a floating messaging client. so its only a matter of time before more n more apps will be able to be windowed just like on a PC. thats why i love overskreen, stickit, aircalc, & floating air terminal so much.
Oh god here we go. ****storm imminent. Massive buttrage incoming. FLAME WAR HAS BEEN IGNITED I REPEAT FLAMEWAR HAS BEEN IGNITED.
But, the ipad's gonna have a monster log load of compatibility problems with that because apple locks down their stuff so it's going to be insanely hard to adapt screen sizes especially because there is little variation in resolution for ios devices. For android, this is much easier because you've got devices from 320x240 all the way to the upcoming 1920x1200 tablets.
Sent from my tf9001 with XDA XD.
They make this operating system called "Windows". I suggest you check it out.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Cydia is a nice touch to ios. Makes my iPhone somwhat bearable.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA
/me really hopes they can get this to work in all apps.
lol are they just now getting widgets???
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Kailkti said:
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Screwedupsmitty said:
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I'm talking about, 15 vids at once. I believe we have enough ram to make a feasible implementation, I personally am not looking to have even 4 or 5 intensive apps running windowed, but having my RSS reader, a terminal, a video and a 'casual' game def. seems doable to me.
I stand corrected. Just tried leaving real racing 2, browser and YouTube in memory but I still have roughly over 100mb free.
With 6 tabs open on all flash intensive sites did I start to near the limit. (+ the real racing &, youtube)
$1 gets you a reply
we already have the source code for android for windowed apps. it just needs to be included into roms. but that is no easy task. so apple is actually late in the game.
i for one would like to see tiling window-managers on android, since i am a tfp+dock user.
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Ever heard of Linux
Many flavors of Linux all have window based desktops available for years. Why would having this function on Android be any different.
rorytmeadows said:
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In what world is Android an alternative for Windows? You could say Mac, Linux, Unix, hell even Chrome desktop, but Android? I don't think so. Android is an alternative to iOS, Palm, Windows -Phone-, Blackberry OS, etc... but don't compare a mobile( phone and tablet ) OS as an alternative to a Desktop OS. And yes, if you added Windowing and a couple other features to Android, then, maybe, you could make that comparison, but saying that "you'll eventually have a slow bulky java app" just by adding a Window manager is not logical. Hell, if I run 2 instances of Crysis, while watching a move, torrenting and compiling a project Windows will get slow also, it's on the owner( or limiting number of windows apps, or some other preventitive method ) to keep your system running smooth.
That being said, Android as is, is great for most people, hell just keep using it that way, but isn't Android all about options and customizability? Why not allow people another option for those who know how to manage their systems and wont go loading 10 intensive apps at the same time, what the hell would you do with that many apps open anyways on such a small screen? Guess you could video out, but the resolution wouldn't be great anyways. I'd imagine this to be a very light weight window manager, for lightweight multitasking, not for playing a tegra 3 game while listening to music and having 2 videos playing, lol.