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Tiny tablet for specific purpose
Inge Jones
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A few days ago I bought my very first handheld device to try out. I bought a very cheap Polaroid 4.3" running Android 2.3. I knew it wouldn't be great, but I wanted to get the idea of what they were in order to know what questions to ask, if you see what I mean.
Anyway my ultimate purpose in buying one of these tablets is that I tend to watch things that are being live streamed on the internet - things like NASA events, and live streamed criminal trials from the USA. Now these trials go on for ages and I don't want to be stuck in front of my desk all day so I wanted something I could carry around in my pocket while I work and listen to the words via earphones. I can fish it out of my pocket when I can hear something dramatic is happening and spend a few minutes watching the screen too.
So the minimum spec is:
1.Small and light enough not to get in the way when I am decorating or doing housework. Prefer 5 inch or under
2.Easy to use and set up Flash Player in browser for all manner of video I might find - which is invariably flash based.
3.Earphone socket (my work can be noisy so the sound has to be delivered direct to my ear)
4.Wifi - might as well use my home internet connection rather than cellular.
I installed Puffin for my Polaroid (it didn't come with Flash preinstalled), and while it does play the videos I needed it to, it invariably crashes to "desktop" after a few seconds. I didn't enjoy Puffin as an interface anyway - I found whatever I clicked on with my pen, it usually selected something else nearby. I didn't have that problem clicking on stuff on the other apps so it's not just a shaky hand.
NB. Not *too* bothered about price.
Anyway my ultimate purpose in buying one of these tablets is that I tend to watch things that are being live streamed on the internet - things like NASA events, and live streamed criminal trials from the USA. Now these trials go on for ages and I don't want to be stuck in front of my desk all day so I wanted something I could carry around in my pocket while I work and listen to the words via earphones. I can fish it out of my pocket when I can hear something dramatic is happening and spend a few minutes watching the screen too.
So the minimum spec is:
1.Small and light enough not to get in the way when I am decorating or doing housework. Prefer 5 inch or under
2.Easy to use and set up Flash Player in browser for all manner of video I might find - which is invariably flash based.
3.Earphone socket (my work can be noisy so the sound has to be delivered direct to my ear)
4.Wifi - might as well use my home internet connection rather than cellular.
I installed Puffin for my Polaroid (it didn't come with Flash preinstalled), and while it does play the videos I needed it to, it invariably crashes to "desktop" after a few seconds. I didn't enjoy Puffin as an interface anyway - I found whatever I clicked on with my pen, it usually selected something else nearby. I didn't have that problem clicking on stuff on the other apps so it's not just a shaky hand.
NB. Not *too* bothered about price.
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I'd suggest the Galaxy note.
Edit: Found it - Galaxy Note 2!
(Galaxy Note 2 is 5.5" http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note2/index.html?type=find )
However, nip down to Argos and you might find the 4.2" Samsung S 'smart' media player. This appears to have only Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), so loses the ability to run the Chrome browser, but will do Flash (but don't quote me on that). Problem is, it's likely to be a low power (as in processor power) device, so Flash performance might be terrible.
Alternatively, there is the Blackberry Playbook, which has Flash built in, but fails the size criteria with its 7" screen. We streamed Felix Baumgartner's sky dive direct to the TV in a remote cottage (with WiFi) while on holiday using the Playbook. Quite gripping.
You will not find a Windows device with a 5" screen or less unless it's a phone, and AFAIK Windows Mobile 8 doesn't support Flash at all.
Yes sorry I should have been more specific. Generally anything with a screen around 5 inches is more likely to be a phone and if you want it to stream live TV then you might as well get something with 3G or you'd have to tether or use a wifi hotspot.
Your other option might be a 5 inch proper computer. I have a Wibrain micro computer that runs Windows XP and has a 5 inch screen. Before tablets came around I used to use it for presentations as it saved having to lug a laptop around.
There are plenty of the market, of course you'd still need a data connection either using the built in wifi these devices have or a USB dongle or similar.
This is the one I have.
http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20070806/wibrain-b1-umpc/
I have an alternative approach using video sender in mind, but I'll start that thread in a different section.
1. If you have ready access to a PC on the WiFi network, then an android device could control and view the PC desktop via an app like splashtop. That would mean that you wouldn't need Flash and could access anything that you can view on the PC on the android device as well.
2. Use a device, of any screen size or flavour, plus a Bluetooth headset. You could listen to the audio that way and headsets/receivers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so you should be able to find something suitable.
e.g. http://dx.com/p/jxd-s18-4-3-resistive-screen-android-4-0-mini-pad-tablet-pc-w-tf-wi-fi-g-sensor-black-161536
Has ICS, has Flash 11 preinstalled I believe and ticks the boxes. At £28 it may be worth a punt. JXD aren't a completely unknown manufacturer and have a decent reputation in the Android tablet/handheld games console sector (I have such a device and it seems to be well put together).
Further progress is that I managed to install the Flash APK on my polaroid, but have no idea how to get the default browser to use it - here we're up against my own ignorance of things tablet in general I think. I no longer get the "you need flash" error message, but when I try to play the videos the play button turns into an icon that looks like a frame of an old celluloid film, with something that looks like a play button arrow inside it. I have no idea what the icon signifies. Does anyone know? It's not clickable.
My son came around last night with his new Blackberry Phone and he couldn't play the flash videos either.
Try installing Google chrome, it works well with flash
So now I've had to come back to my main PC to try searhing for it, then I'll have to write down the url and then go back downstairs to where there is a wifi signal to type it into my tablet...
...oh - it's not a supported device so thats the end of that idea lol.
The things you have to think about when choosing one of these little monsters! :eek: So unfortunately that's both Splashtop and Chrome out, for this particular device.
It might work.:D
That is typical of the type of video live stream format I am trying to receive. At the moment the trial is not actually on - till Monday, but if it will work, you can expect it to display a sort of testcard with that annoying testcard whistling sound, rather than the blank screen I am getting.
Anyone who actually gets that far, please post what device you have, then at least I'll know for sure a shortlist of any that will probably work.
mines the cheaper one.
Yes, that's what it streams while the court is not in session. Thank you
It's H264 video delivered over HTML5. Welcome to the world of iPad.
If this is the only site you watch videos on, then that could well be problem solved, but not all video streaming sites are set up so accessibly - so if there are other sites you also use, it may well be that you need a tablet that will support Flash (to the extent that Flash can be supported these days).