Mikedigi
Veteran Member
First msg writ on my tablet so anything could happen. Thanks for the info. I have ordered a book, as noted above, and shall look at some Nexus 7reviews as you suggest.
Mike
Mike
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No start-from-zero guide for Android 4.1.1 tablets?
- Thread starter Mikedigi
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Rossuziers
Veteran Member
Don't limit your views to just Nexus7 just because you have a 7... Screen size has little to do with how the OS operates. You'll get a lot more reviews if you just search Nexus. You may see something else in a Nexus Phone or Nexus 10 review that the 7 reviews lacked that might still be relevant for your purposes... Some guys end up doing several reviews on the same kit because they missed so much the 1st time around.
If I could remember my log-in here I'd be doing this with my new tab too, also questioning if a stylus is in my future..
There was one review I saw that the guy tried a rather blunt ended stylus & his handwriting was pretty sloppy... He was trying to compare it to the Note 10.1 which comes with a much sharper pressure-sensitive Wacom-like stylus..
I'm hopin' the speech-to-text capability I've seen used in google searches also works here but I've not delved into that yet....
If I could remember my log-in here I'd be doing this with my new tab too, also questioning if a stylus is in my future..
There was one review I saw that the guy tried a rather blunt ended stylus & his handwriting was pretty sloppy... He was trying to compare it to the Note 10.1 which comes with a much sharper pressure-sensitive Wacom-like stylus..
I'm hopin' the speech-to-text capability I've seen used in google searches also works here but I've not delved into that yet....
declan79
Forum Enthusiast
"Android Tablets For Dummies" comes out in May but by then I might be able to write my own . . .
Any suggestions please?
Mike
You can't go wrong with xda developers site
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Mikedigi
Veteran Member
Thanks, good point!
I've ordered a 99p (66c) generic stylus that seems to have a finger-end-like black rubber end. Designed for cursor/tapping/swiping function, not for writing/sketching, I guess. There must be thinner ones for sketching etc, haven't looked for that yet. But I would like to write longhand notes and emails, and do sketches.
I'm hopin' the speech-to-text capability I've seen used in google searches also works here but I've not delved into that yet....
Hmmm, tried one of those a way back and the problem was that the mike had to be right on my lips, so a slight breathing noise was typed as ffffffffffffff and I spent longer correcting than I would have spent typing!
Closest I got to throwing the PC out of the window!
Mike
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
"Android Tablets For Dummies" comes out in May but by then I might be able to write my own . . .
Any suggestions please?
Mike
You can't go wrong with xda developers site
Thanks, I hadn't heard of that but I'll have a look.
Mike
Cyril Catt
Veteran Member
Mikedigi seems to be the trailblazer on this theme. I'm not starting from zero, but I seem to have hit a blank wall on some aspects. Tablet vendors are keen to laud the capabilities of their products, but their manuals and instructions are a bit too brief on describing all the motions a methuselah like me needs to go through to achieve the advertised results.
Somehow (?), with Kies and USB connector, I have managed to get a number of photos into my Samsung Galaxy Tab II 7.0 (wifi only). But they seem to be in several locations, some in MyFiles, some in the Gallery, none in my micro SD card, and some which I thought I'd transferred to the Tab from my computer, don't seem to be there at all.
The Samsung manual - and the other manuals I have downloaded - seem to lack any suggestion of how I might move the files together into one location, or from the Tab to the microSD memory card.... or is that impossible?
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Cyril
Somehow (?), with Kies and USB connector, I have managed to get a number of photos into my Samsung Galaxy Tab II 7.0 (wifi only). But they seem to be in several locations, some in MyFiles, some in the Gallery, none in my micro SD card, and some which I thought I'd transferred to the Tab from my computer, don't seem to be there at all.
The Samsung manual - and the other manuals I have downloaded - seem to lack any suggestion of how I might move the files together into one location, or from the Tab to the microSD memory card.... or is that impossible?
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Cyril
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
Hi Cyril, I can only sympathize as I have not got that far, but I do miss Windows Explorer "Family Tree" and copy/cut/paste.
My AAARP "Tablets tech-to-connect" book has lots of references to files in its index but I have not had time to research the book, I've been distracted by other projects.
A more general Android Forum might help you more, there are not many people in here.
I am baffled by the way manuals are sometimes designed these days. We had a new electric oven and we wanted to know how to switch it on and off when we liked. This was on page 47. Most of the preceding pages were about stuff we did not want to do, like going on holiday for a week and finding a chicken cooked on our return.
I exaggerate but I think you know what I mean. It was as if they thought that not many people just want to switch the oven on and off.
Mike
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
I'm guessing that if there is a Windows Explorer equivalent in there, you might be able to get both locations on the screen and simply drag and drop files. A lot of dragging seems to go on. But copy/cut/paste? No idea.
Mike
Mike
Cyril Catt
Veteran Member
Mike, thank you for your support. I suspect you are right, that it will be a matter of selecting (how? tap, double tap, press & hold, or what?) the file to move, then selecting the destination (how....), or the other way about.
But as you say, there seems to be no clear "Family Tree" indicating files and their locations in folders etc. There is a sort of preconceived folder list (with many folders labelled with file groups I am unlikely to need - all writ large and filling so much scarce screen space that they have to be scrolled to see them all, which complicates drag-n-drop actions if needed.
I've also come across icons that don't seem to be in the manual, and which seem to have ambiguous possibilities, so I am unwilling to try them in case they zap something.
As an Apple user for more than three decades, I found an iPod Touch useful, but a strain on my ageing eyes, and its keyboard a bit too small for my fingers. An iPad proved too heavy as a reader for long sessions, or to carry all day in a shoulder bag. The 7 inch size seemed a satisfactory Goldilocks solution.
However, as well as using a tablet for wifi, mapping, and internet when travelling I want to use it to back up my camera cards as a precaution when travelling. Apple iPads and iPods, though able to accept files from camera cards, have no slots to accept external media, and no firmware to export files directly - though they can export by wireless, a solution not always available when travelling.
Maybe Android does not have the necessary firmware, and we are expected to buy an app with the necessary capability? I dunno! I suppose, that by letting tablet makers modify the operating system, Google avoids responsibility for providing help, though why Samsung doesn't provide a better manual escapes me.
Cyril
But as you say, there seems to be no clear "Family Tree" indicating files and their locations in folders etc. There is a sort of preconceived folder list (with many folders labelled with file groups I am unlikely to need - all writ large and filling so much scarce screen space that they have to be scrolled to see them all, which complicates drag-n-drop actions if needed.
I've also come across icons that don't seem to be in the manual, and which seem to have ambiguous possibilities, so I am unwilling to try them in case they zap something.
As an Apple user for more than three decades, I found an iPod Touch useful, but a strain on my ageing eyes, and its keyboard a bit too small for my fingers. An iPad proved too heavy as a reader for long sessions, or to carry all day in a shoulder bag. The 7 inch size seemed a satisfactory Goldilocks solution.
However, as well as using a tablet for wifi, mapping, and internet when travelling I want to use it to back up my camera cards as a precaution when travelling. Apple iPads and iPods, though able to accept files from camera cards, have no slots to accept external media, and no firmware to export files directly - though they can export by wireless, a solution not always available when travelling.
Maybe Android does not have the necessary firmware, and we are expected to buy an app with the necessary capability? I dunno! I suppose, that by letting tablet makers modify the operating system, Google avoids responsibility for providing help, though why Samsung doesn't provide a better manual escapes me.
Cyril
The My Files app is the standard tool for this use. It will show you all the folders on your Tab and any card fitted too. You simply drag and drop between the locations you want.
If you connect to a PC then you can use Windows Explorer to see your Tab folders and move stuff around on it or to/from your PC.
If you connect to a PC then you can use Windows Explorer to see your Tab folders and move stuff around on it or to/from your PC.
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
Thank you Steve, I had looked in My Files but had not yet tried to move anything. That is very helpful!
Mike
Cyril Catt
Veteran Member
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
I was thinking of photo file backup too until I started reading a bit about the cheap generic 7" tablets like mine - when I soon realized that they are mainly a communications device, not a storage solution. So I decided I would simply view pics on my camera's memory card, not upload them to the tablet. My tablet takes a max 16gb Micro SD card, which is not a lot of storage in modern terms.
Mike
Cyril Catt
Veteran Member
Mike, Somewhere among the hundreds of items (of unknown source and veracity) which I have read on the Android OS, I got the idea that by upgrading my Ice Cream Sandwich OS to Jelly Bean (where do they get these names!?) I would be able to increase the external micro sd card capacity from 32GB to 64 GB. Perhaps your information relates to an earlier version of the OS, and you could upgrade to larger capacity by upgrading your OS?
Another alternative that seems possible for me is to use the Samsung USB connection kit and backup to USB thumb drives. The price of storage seems continually changing, so the lowest cost option requires frequent comparison shopping. Can your tablet also connect and download via USB?
My travel photography tends to amount to about 40 to 90 GB on a roughly 4 week trip. I generally take two cameras, with complementary capabilities, and use 16 GB SDHC cards. Presumably, as the OS upgrade does not yet seem available, and microSd cards seem currently more expensive per GB than USB drives, I can upload the contents of one card to my 32 GB external microSD card, then download those contents to a more capacious USB drive (or even a portable hard disk drive, if I use a powered USB hub).
We shouldn't have to find it so hard to learn what can be done with these 'toys'!
--
Cyril
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
Thanks Cyril, but in buying a £75 cheap generic, I was talking budget toy, not even mid-range. As I have said, I personally don't need storage so the (not included) 16gb Micro SD card is not a problem for me. My OS is Android 4.1.1, I think the latest may be 4.1.2? It's like DSLR lenses, it's how they get you to spend more money?
Yes it has a Micro USB port and it came with a USB adapter cable into which I can plug a USB device, e.g. my PC or my SD Card reader - that is how I view photos. I haven't tried to find out how to download files, as I don't want to do it. I have only downloaded an app from Google Playstore.
We shouldn't have to find it so hard to learn what can be done with these 'toys'!
[Sings] . . . "We don't want to lose you, but we think you ought to go" . . . and find an Android Forum with more people and activity in it. I'm sure your questions would be quickly answered. Again, wetly, I have not searched for that, being constantly distracted by other projects. like building a clothes dryer rack in the airing cupdoard, and shopping for the extremely elderly in-laws . . .
I use Ebuyer Forums like that for all my PC/Windows questions, and they are excellent . . . don't know about Android though.
Mike
Cyril Catt
Veteran Member
Will do, Mike. Thanks, for the heads up.
Ken Gosden
Veteran Member
Actually the latest Android version is 4.2.2
Mikedigi
Veteran Member
taffee2222
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Hi....I see a few made comments on the My File tab....I have a 7 inch samsung which only holds 8gb on internal memory so I am always moving my files to the ext sd card. When you open my files you will see sd card listed with a yellow folder...think of that as your C drive. The ext sd card is the micro sd card you buy separately and insert. I have a 32gb card....that is where I keep all my pics and music and any other docs. I don't want to keep messing with that micro sd card...removing it to add pics, so I have the micro usb adapter and sd card reader which inserts where you charge the tab. When I insert this, my files opens up and shows the sd card, ext sd card and usb a adpter...from there I transfer my photos to the ext card. I've been using some photoediting apps that aren't bad...snapseed and picsart. What is nice about picsart is that it lets u select the drive you want to save the pics on. That is one of the drawbacks in my opinion that everything goes directly to the internal drive...esp when it is only 8gb. Another thing to keep in mind is clearing out the data once and a while. You would be surprised at how much it adds up. I use 2 apps for this..they're in the play store...Cache Cleaner & History Cleaner. If you have additional browsers other than the stock, clear those manually...just use the drop down tabs on the individual browsers. Occasionally go into your app settings and clear the data...primarily the internet icon (globe). This will help your system run more optimally. Hope this wasn't too long or boring..but it sounded like you were looking for some info....in this day and age it is so true....nothing comes with much of a manual anymore...everything is online...that isn't much help when the info you want has to do with how to operate or take care of the tablet.....hope I made some sense....just trying to help..
....nt
....nttaffee2222
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Hi...just me again with a tip on transferring files
Go into My Files
Under the blue heading u will see sd card and ext card (if u put one in)
Tap on sd card (notice on the top of the screen..right side...u will see 5 icons..before u tap 2 are grayed out...once you tap on sd or ext sd they are all visible.
You make a new folder by pressing the folder with the plus sign. Depending on what drive you want to use..( I use the ext for my photos)...anyway on the left side you will see the sd or ext sd....select which drive you want the folder in by selecting from the left column. Once u have done that, name your folder, OK it
Along with those icons all being visible you should also notice an empty box to the left of all your files in the rt hand column. By putting a check mark in the box...the icons change. This is how you copy/paste or cut/paste. Keep in mind if you are doing a cut and paste from your memory card jt will delete the photo from the card.
When I want to transfer photos, first I make a folder and highlight it then check all photos I want to transfer into that folder, press the copy icon..to the left of the scissors...then you'll notice allthe icons but the copy disappear but that one...then press it again and the pictures are transferred and in both areas....follow same procedure for cut and paste. Hope this helps...nt
Go into My Files
Under the blue heading u will see sd card and ext card (if u put one in)
Tap on sd card (notice on the top of the screen..right side...u will see 5 icons..before u tap 2 are grayed out...once you tap on sd or ext sd they are all visible.
You make a new folder by pressing the folder with the plus sign. Depending on what drive you want to use..( I use the ext for my photos)...anyway on the left side you will see the sd or ext sd....select which drive you want the folder in by selecting from the left column. Once u have done that, name your folder, OK it
Along with those icons all being visible you should also notice an empty box to the left of all your files in the rt hand column. By putting a check mark in the box...the icons change. This is how you copy/paste or cut/paste. Keep in mind if you are doing a cut and paste from your memory card jt will delete the photo from the card.
When I want to transfer photos, first I make a folder and highlight it then check all photos I want to transfer into that folder, press the copy icon..to the left of the scissors...then you'll notice allthe icons but the copy disappear but that one...then press it again and the pictures are transferred and in both areas....follow same procedure for cut and paste. Hope this helps...nt
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