Tablet for photo backup and viewing - experience.

The SDHC cards are FAT32, Jeff.

I have a card reader that is like a memory stick with a normal sized USB on the end so I assume that would work with the Thrive.

I'd never heard of rooting until this weekend. A bit scarey for me I feel!

I've never used Android. Is the equivalent of Windows Explorer fairly easy to use consdering one is working without mouse or keyboard? I say that thinking of my wish to cull shots (aka delete them) on the backup card.

Tony

TonyGamble said:

The SDHC cards are FAT32, Jeff.

Click to expand...

Thought so, but wasn't sure.

TonyGamble said:

I have a card reader that is like a memory stick with a normal sized USB on the end so I assume that would work with the Thrive.

Click to expand...

I have several varieties of those (one for SD, one for micro SD, one for CF, and a regular card reader that takes all common types), and they've all worked fine. The only issue is that it can take 10 seconds or so after the reader is connected before it will be recognized, and you should wait for that before starting the file manager App.

TonyGamble said:

I'd never heard of rooting until this weekend. A bit scarey for me I feel!

Click to expand...

It is relatively trivial to do on the Acer unit, but it can be very hard to do on some other devices - I don't know how easy/hard it is on the Thrive. I haven't done it yet.

TonyGamble said:

I've never used Android. Is the equivalent of Windows Explorer fairly easy to use consdering one is working without mouse or keyboard?

Click to expand...

Android doesn't have a file manager. You need an App. The Thrive comes with one from Toshiba, which I haven't used, and there are many free ones - I use File Manager HD and Astro Manager (prefering the latter) and they're pretty easy to use on the tablet.

--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffp25
http://www.jeffp25.smugmug.com

What about the lenovo think pad tablet in android mode will it read raw files. I have a x201 but just travelled with it and far too heavy. The AC adapter is heavy. How heavy are the tablets connectors? Just I read the audio is really weak and I love my x201 speakers. what do you think?
--
fredyr

Just read it has no AC adaptor so does that mean I can charge the tablet via my android phone plugged into the ac socket and charge the tablet and phone at the same time? Answer much appreciated.
--
fredyr

Eric asked how I got on with my Travels with a Thrive so I felt it made sense to post my thoughts here as this is effectively where it all started.

I'd had it in mind that I wanted to go for my three week holiday in India with a tablet that could enable me to do a certain amount of cullling, some backing up and some viewing.

In the event, having got there, I decided the 'free' early evening sundowner time was better spent enjoying one of the many paperbacks we took with us rather than 'fiddling with a computer'.

Don't get me wrong. The Thrive would have done it. I had some software that extracted thumbnails from my Panasonic RAWs. The tablet read my SDHC cards and I could easily have copied them to other solid state devices.

I simply got it wrong. I'd forgotten how much I loved sitting with a large (cheap in India) G&T with a good book and watching the sun go down over the hills of Rajasthan or the backwaters of Kerala. I took the view that I'd wait to look at the 2,500 or so shots I took until I got home - and take a flyer that they did not get lost or stolen.

About the only time the Thrive came out was when I got a decent free WiFi link and used it to sort out emails and do a bit of journey based web browsing at things like Tripadvisor.

The rest of the time I used data roaming on my Samsung Galaxy S2.

The downside being that I had the extra weight in my camera bag of the 10" Thrive and its personal charger. I looked fondly at those sitting nearby with their Kindles! OK they could not do what I was capable of - but Oh for a lighter device and one that would work with the USB charger already with me for my Samsung Android phone.

What I plan to do over the next month is to buy a 7" tablet, almost certainly Android, that will give me a decent screen for emailing and web browsing. I'll look for one that charges via USB. It would be good to see if I can find one light enough to hold in one hand for possbly reading Kindle books. I will forsake the holy grail of full sized multi directional USB sockets as long as I can load pictures from my PC - it would be a shame not to be able to use it as a gallery.

I suppose I ought to look at Blackberry or Kindle but I think I am probably safer remaining with Android as it has the better range of apps. Not that I expect to need many apps but even the email and browsers I use are third party and much better than those that came with the out-of-the-box Android.

So its shopping time again. Please come on board all those who helped the first time round. I'll then see how well whatever 7" tablet deals with my other need for an Eye-Fi session tablet and, if it does, then pass on my Thrive to a chum. I sold my iPad 1 within a day of emailing some mates so I am not worried about finding a taker for the 10" Thrive.

I hope this thread is not so old that it finds no takers. If it does then you must forgive me for a double post into a fresh one.

Oh..Having read the above before posting I'll mention that for backup (safety) I'd consider one of those little bespoke SDHC card copiers. OK that bumps up the total weight again - but it may be a good insurance.

Tony

Tony -

In view of your belated request on this topic I'll respond here to your other one on Tablets Forum..reply to my own little note I put on there about your trip and use of your Thrive...

But as soon as you started to ask or request any info on a possible 7" for future travel use.. I immediately had in mind one that I'd found by chance mainly, awhile ago now...and just wondered if it might be of some interest.
This is what I first found..
http://www.tangotablets.com/t72-android-tablet-pc---built-in-3g---7-inch-4-p.asp

I've not myself had any real interest in the 7" .. so know nothing much about them other than that of course they are not by any means quite up to the good or better 10" Tablets which we know of..but after reading about that one above I just had a feeling it may be just a little cut above quite a few others..maybe or maybe not - but it also occurred to me that their location could be a bit more 'usable' to such as yourself. Pretty easy telephone accesss of course.. and as it was when I first looked.. it's STILL marked as "Out of stock"...but they come from Notting Hill Gate so surely must be easy enough for such as yourself to make an enquiry if there IS any interest in it.

There is of course the Viewsonic 7" which you'll find right away if you enter the name on Amazon site...that looks to be of some interest in the smaller size.

And of course, there is the Iconia 7".. good enough by name anyway.. and their A100 as the 7" is known, is also to be found (a couple or so) on Amazoin site.

I think that generally , although the 7" do all seem to have a lot less going for them as against the 10"...for what YOU seem to be likely to find them useful.. there may well be one or other you would feel happy enough with - especially as a couple of decent ones do seem to be with both 3G and WiFi.

Maybe you'kll get back to let us know what you think and/or find out about these smaller ones - if you find one of any use.
Glad you enjoyed your trip by the way.. Best regards for this coming 2012 year.

Eric

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eric-UK
Staffordshire

I had a viewsonic small one 3 years ago and it worked well but ended up giving it to my grandson as when I travel I like to be on wifi and some of the hotels give me a cable so that I can have free wifi. So far it means a small laptop/ tablet but I am interested in the new Asus TPrime but read that it has weak audio. Is that true? the same with the new lenovo which is coming out. I guess I want it all in a small light package and think there will be a big improvement this year. Like Jeff I have large raw files and read books too. Oh yes I want to be able to see it sitting outside in a restaurant like my Samsung Galaxy Note. Any suggestions for me? 10" is the right size.
--
fredyr

I have just bought a Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket. The 4.5" screen is pretty good, and would work for reviewing photos. It has an OTG port, so I should be able to view photos on a CF or SD card with a card reader, and then back them up to the removable 32 GB microSD card, if I wish. Although I haven't tried that yet!
--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffp25
http://www.jeffp25.smugmug.com

Fredy Ross said:

I had a viewsonic small one 3 years ago and it worked well but ended up giving it to my grandson as when I travel I like to be on wifi and some of the hotels give me a cable so that I can have free wifi. So far it means a small laptop/ tablet but I am interested in the new Asus TPrime but read that it has weak audio. Is that true? the same with the new lenovo which is coming out. I guess I want it all in a small light package and think there will be a big improvement this year. Like Jeff I have large raw files and read books too. Oh yes I want to be able to see it sitting outside in a restaurant like my Samsung Galaxy Note. Any suggestions for me? 10" is the right size.

Click to expand...

Fredy -

I cannot say anything about the TPrime audio - I just haven't read anything at all that refers to that - although I have read all that I can find in various UK online features about it...

But I CAN tell you that certainly so far as the Iconia is concerned (the 10" which I have) .. the audio is quite excellent for the quite small speakers these Tablets do contain. On this one (maybe same on others... I don't know) in the 'Settings' you can adjust the Dolby sound - both Treble & Bass - more or less as you wish or how sounds best for you.. there are very many different Options to set all kinds of sound effects and to adust both Treble & Bass by up to + - 5 on a scale..and it CAN sound very good indeed for the type of source.

But if I want even better sound..I plug in a very excellent set of small 'closed back' SONY headphones that I've had for years..originally came with a SONY portable casette recorder LONG ago..but sound-wise these are incredible..and I'm a LONG time sound man !!

I suspect that ANY Tablet can sound enormously better if you are prepared to use small 'phones...they need not be the bigger kind..good small ones ARE available... and for listening it can make an incredibly good method if that suits you.

--
eric-UK
Staffordshire

Thanks Eric I think i will wait for ces to be over and then read the reviews or wait until they are selling in israel. in the meantime it is winter and I am not travelling so it can wait.
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fredyr

This is very interesting.

I have an Acer A100 tablet (running Android 3.2.1) and a Canon EOS350D camera. I bought the A100 at least partly because the Acer website said that it supported various USB devices. Then I trawled the various forums and became thoroughly confused as to whether or not this was possible. Some people say that the tab simply can't act as a usb host. If that's so, why do Acer say that it can?

So can anyone help me here?

Ideally I would like to be able to connect the camera directly to the tabs micro USB port. Failing that, to be able to take the Compact Flash card out of the camera, put it in an adapter and connect that to the tab.

Are either of these possible? If so, how do I 'see' the files on the camera/CF card? I've tried connecting a simple usb memory stick (formatted to FAT32) to the tab and tried using various file browsers but with no luck. I've also tried connecting the camera directly and have tried both connecting propocols (Print/PTP and PC Connection). I havn't tried taking the CF card out and connecting that up - I think I gave up hope at that point because I decided that I don't know where to look to see the files. I did see a post from a guy using an A500 and he gave instructions for using the app 'ES File explorer' but his instructions don't line up with what I'm seeing when I use that app. It's like he's describing a completely different app to the one I'm using.

This tablet stuff is new to me and is all very confusing. If the OP or anyone else could carefully talk me through connecting up and using a file browser app, I would appreciate it.

--
JohnB47

JohnB47 said:

I did see a post from a guy using an A500 and he gave instructions

Click to expand...

Well, I connect USB flash drives and card readers to my A500 all the time using the built-in USB host port, and I've started doing it with my phone's (a Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket) micro USB port using a cheap adapter. Not all file managers can read the external memory. I like Astro File Manager, which works well with both devices.

To test you A100, it's best to use a USB thumb drive that lights up when it connects. If you plug it in and it lights up, the hardware is fine and you just need the right setting/file manager App.

One final thing: sometimes my A500 won't see the thumb drive. When that happens, I need to power down the tablet (completely) and restart it. Then everything is fine.
--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffp25
http://www.jeffp25.smugmug.com

Thank you for the quick response.

My A100 tab has a micro usb port and the connected usb doesn't light up. I've just read conflicting info on Acers home page. Under the heading 'A100', one answer says : "To copy or move files from an USB drive, or micro-SD card, to the internal memory of the tablet and vice-versa, a so-called file manager is needed."

Then elsewhere it says says that the A100s micro usb doesn't act as a host, so you can't connect a usb device! Totally confusing.

I've sent them an Email to clarify but it's looking like the A100 simply can't do what I want in that respect. Perhaps that's why I can't see the folder you mentioned using the browser app - it's maybe just not there on the A100.

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JohnB47

You need to look in the right place. I don't have my Acer in front of me right now but I'm pretty sure it's under \mnt, where you'll see the folders for SD (internal memory), External SD (the memory card), and USB (anything plugged in to the USB).

Noe that your folder layout may be different - the one on my phone is totally different.
--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffp25
http://www.jeffp25.smugmug.com

Thanks.

I certainly can't see anything to do with USB under mnt.perhaps this tab won't do what I want after all.

Thanks again.

--
JohnB47

John-

I have the Iconia A500 Tablet with which I must say I have been more than pleased since I bought it. It certainly does about all that I think I have wanted or expected to do .. but that does not include anything such as a direct connection to a camera or things like that - it is just not what I want to do...

But I am interested and perhaps a little sorry if it is the case that your A100 Tablet is not now maybe fulfilling some of your hopes in what you say.

But I generally 'collect' about every bit of literature I can find in relation to any item of equiment that I'm interested in and I do have a copy of the User Manual for your A100.

Firstly - I see from the general description of sockets etc on yours, that on page 69 the Micro USB port is clearly noted as a 'Slave'... and I'm afraid that is likely to mean that you will not be able to get all that pehaps you had in mind.

On page 63 it does clearly state that you can use the MicroUSB socket .. with the cable supplied in the box (as with mine also)..to connect the MicroUSB plug on that cable, to the MicroUSB socket on your A100..then in plugging the other end (standard USB) to your computer , you will get the Tablet showing as a seperate item in WinExplorer on your computer.. and THAT does enable you to make all sorts of transfes to or from the Tablet to your computer.

I use this very much in order to transfer one way or the other, various files of such as pics/Movies/PDFs...whatever.. soi that I have at any time...ON the Tablet.. a selection of such as the above items which I can then view on the Tablet.. watch a Movie..listen to music files etc etc..

Whatever is on the computer of this kind at any one time, is of course easier if not indeed necessary.. to be able to 'manage' and/or choose.. and for that of course some decent File Manager really is needed on the Tablet. Astro File Manager App does this admirably for me and I see no reason at all why it should not work just as well for you.. When installed, a click on the Home icon wil open it and then a click on the icon on Astro screen in the TOP RIGHT corner, gives you a few choices and one is Preferences which allows you to set whichever will first show when you open the App..I've got mine set to first show that MicroSD card which contains my variables.

But as to making any sort of direct connection with the Compact Flash from your camera - well. I think that is unlikely..indeed I'm not sure if you can get a direct input from a Compact Flash card that easily to most Tablets.. well. on second thoughts..I suppose you could do - if you use a small Card Reader with provision for plugging in a CF ...AND with a STANDARD USB plug out.. (the Iconia A500 would allow this...) but of course you do not have that.

The only thing you can do I think, maybe a bit of bother as it is... is to transfer all the contents of your CF ... AS THEY ARE .. (not RAWs of course) to a MicroSD then plug that into your A100...THAT would then allow you to see and view any of that content when it is on the MicroSD card which can be plugged into your Tablet.

By the way...have you done what it says in the Manual and got onto the Acer site to make sure that you have ALL the latest Drivers properely on your Tablet. I had to do this when I first bought my A500 (about 5 weeks or so ago now..) and it CAN make a difference .. so the Tablet and your computer or other things can work as they should..

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eric-UK
Staffordshire

John,

Are you sure you cannot access the USB?

This message says that it may not give you 'notification' but the device will be available from something like Photo Gallery.

http://www.acer.co.uk/ac/en/GB/content/online-support

Tony

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I had a feeling that this tab simply can't act as a host, despite what the Acer website says. The info you quote from the user guide confirms this, sadly.

I'm wondering if I could fit a microsdhc card in a SD adapter and that pair in a cf card adapter then fit all in the camera. I would have to format that first and if it converts my camera to microsd successfully could I then remove the microsd card, insert it in the external sd slot of the tab and hope that it could read it? I.e could the tab read a card formatted in a canon EOS 350?

Anyway, thanks for all the input. I'll have a look at driver stuff.

Cheers.
JohnB47

Yes, that's the sort of thing that gave me hope that I could do that sort of thin

I think the Acer site is simply confusing. They give the impression that you're looking at a100 related info, then give you info for the a500 only (cos it has the larger USB port).

Thanks.

--
JohnB47

JohnB47 said:

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I had a feeling that this tab simply can't act as a host, despite what the Acer website says. The info you quote from the user guide confirms this, sadly.

I'm wondering if I could fit a microsdhc card in a SD adapter and that pair in a cf card adapter then fit all in the camera. I would have to format that first and if it converts my camera to microsd successfully could I then remove the microsd card, insert it in the external sd slot of the tab and hope that it could read it? I.e could the tab read a card formatted in a canon EOS 350?

Anyway, thanks for all the input. I'll have a look at driver stuff.

Cheers.
JohnB47

Click to expand...

John -

Now there's a thought..I gave up dSLR awhile ago and got a nice bit of return cash for the gear last year..so I cannot try it out exactly myself... but what you suggest above sounded very interesting ...AND a possibility...

And with what I thought a good attempt at some sort of answer...I've just taken out of my 'best' compact , the SD card which is perfectly clear of content.. fully formatted ready for the next use, and checked the card on my computer in the Disk Management manner.. and that card shows via 'Properties' as formatted 'FAT'.. just FAT.. nothing else.. such as FAT 32 which Tablets do require... but is the '32' almost sure to be the same anyway on a formatted SD Card in camera (or MicroSD in this case of course.. same really.. just in a holder to suit the size...

Ah.. a better thought.. why not actually TRY it with a picture file.. so I've just put that SD card back in camera..shot just one trial pic on the card.. and without any changes whatever.. I've taken the SD card out of camera, put it into an SD card holder and plugged the card-in-holder, into my computer. It recognised the card-reader of course and I then had it showing in my WinExplorer on the computer..as the SD with just the one Image file in it...

I then used the cable supplied with my Tablet (as you should have) and plugged that into the MicroUSB siocket on the Tablet and into my computer (where the SD card is already)

After loading, I now have WinExplorer showing BOTH the SD card (with Image .. and the Tablet with all its own folders.. AND including the "External SD card" ...that representing the MicroSD which I have semi-permanently plugged into the MicroSD socket on my A500 (you have similar I think)...

Now for this purpose I've done what I think would be best for this purpose. MAKE ON THE MicroSD card which is in the Tablet, a New Folder called such as 'Camera'.. that new seperate folder now shows in WinExplorer as a folder under the External SD Card section of the Tablet as listed in WinExporer...

And INTO that 'Camera' folder.. I can easily Paste the one shot Image file that is showing on the plugged-in SD card (in a card-reader)..did a 'Copy' of that one pic-file from the camera card showing in WinEXplorer and a 'Paste' into the MicroSD card which is actually plugged into the Tablet... and it shows as a pic both in the computer (from the plugged-in SD card-reader..) AND shows ON THE TABLET.. via Astro..when you have Astro open to show the 'External SD Card' folder...

So THAT works.. whether it is any answer to what YOU had in mind I'm not sure.. but it will definitely allow you to view actual shot pics taken on the card extracted from your camera.. to a card-holder plugged into the computer...then copied for viewing to a MicroSD card plugged into your Tablet.

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eric-UK
Staffordshire