Hi all, I'm new to the android tablet. I have had an ipad up until 3 weeks ago when my wife had hers stolen so now she has mine and im trying to see how android works out.
Anywayi teach a class once a week and i down load powerpoint presentations for my class. On the Ipad i just run them in keynotes and al the animations and everythng just work fine. I have tried all the office programs i can find and none of them play the powerpoints. They let you vew the slides but dont really run the presentations. Some of them dont even show the slidesin the right colors and the textis not even viewable.
Does any one have any ideas?
I can take the same file and it works great even after conversion on the ipad. I really want this to work or i will end up going back to apple and i would rather not.
Well, they all play the powerpoint. You can start by telling me which one you want to use. I'll tell you how to play it.
I highly recommend office suit pro.
Polaris, the one that comes with it for free, also plays it quite well.
How do I know this? I've done a few presentations with the office apps.
That said, it is my experience that ipad users are completely lost when they try to use android tablets. It's not worth the headache. You should have stuck with the ipad. Android is designed more for flexibility and having options. Instead of having 1 button to do something, you now have 10 buttons. If you're not used to having options, it really is a pain in the butt.
By the way, I've bought all the office apps available.
Quickoffice
Doc2Go
Freethink... or thinkfree (I keep forgetting the order)
Office suite pro
Between these, I can pretty much do everything I need to do. Have even made a few presentations using the TF+dock.
quicks office is great. but i kinda feel that polaris works fine by itself no need to buy any other office apps
ok I'm not lost using the Android. I am a software engineer I have been building and programing computers for 25 years. The Ipad was my first apple product sence my Apple 2e in the early 80's. I have rooted my android phones and put new roms on them and have rooted and over clocked my transformer so I think I'm qualified to use it.
I know the office apps out there will play powerpoint presentations but they play them as slide shows and do not play the animations. If a slide has multiple pictures on it that come and go they just stack them all in right away and show the last one.
Here is a link to the download
http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2205&Itemid=200015
You will find the download at number 3 on that page. Try it on your PC to see how it should look and then let me know if you can get it do look the same on your tablet. I would be very happy if you can..
They dow have a PDF version of it on there too but so far when I try the PDF version it is super laggy and hard to work with. Also they do not always have the pdf version.
Like I said these run perfect on my ipad but I would rather use my TF.
*****EDIT
I forgot, make sure you look at it on a PC because the android viewer like the mess up the colors and fonts to and make them hard to read.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Brandon
I love that you refer to it as the android
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Do you need adobe flash installed to view the animations? Just a guess....
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I know i keep calling it the android because that is what my wife has been calling it.
I do have flash 11 installed so that is not the answer either.
Brandon
Hahaha. Anyone remember when Bush kept calling it "the google"?
You didn't even tell us what kind of animation. Can you post a sample ppt or pptx?
i posted a link to the down load so you can try it out. Maybe if you read my post instead of trying to chastise me you would have seen the link.
The animations are things like words coming in and going away or pictures changing.
I like the fact that i ask a question for help and inplace of helpful answer i get put down because i had an ipad and you assume i do not know anything and i also get compared to Bush because i called it the android.
Thanks for not being helpful
brlowe said:
i posted a link to the down load so you can try it out. Maybe if you read my post instead of trying to chastise me you would have seen the link.
The animations are things like words coming in and going away or pictures changing.
I like the fact that i ask a question for help and inplace of helpful answer i get put down because i had an ipad and you assume i do not know anything and i also get compared to Bush because i called it the android.
Thanks for not being helpful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look, I didn't assume you didn't know anything. My mentor, a leading scientist in concrete engineering, regularly asks me for help with his computing needs. Not knowing how to operate a device says nothing about a person's abilities.
That's why I suggested you stick with the ipad. It's a universal device.
At this point in time, android tablet platform is very much like the early days of linux OS. Back then, there wer3 kinds of people who used linux: (1) the programmers and developers who created and maintained the various linux distros, (2) the modders and enthusiasts who liked to push some boundaries, and (3) the people who went into it thinking they could use it as a windows replacement and ended up going bald by pulling their hair out.
I'm a minimalist. My powerpoint slides almost never contain animations. I think it's just a distraction.
Anyway, I'll take a look at your file there and tell you what I find out. Since I have all the office apps for android, so I'll it with all of them.
Added by edit.
Hang on, aren't you honored to be compared to the president of the United States of America? To quote tea party members, why do you hate this country? LOL
brlowe said:
i posted a link to the down load so you can try it out. Maybe if you read my post instead of trying to chastise me you would have seen the link.
The animations are things like words coming in and going away or pictures changing.
I like the fact that i ask a question for help and inplace of helpful answer i get put down because i had an ipad and you assume i do not know anything and i also get compared to Bush because i called it the android.
Thanks for not being helpful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it on both Docs to Go and Polaris, but neither of them showed the animations. To be honest, I don't believe animations should be used in presentations, but that aside I have no idea what program to use then.
Well, my thought is to convert it to flash.
I currently do not have access to my TF. Someone is using it hooked up to the TV to watch movies.
Brieflet can convert powerpoint files, I don't know if it keeps the animation, but it's worth trying, I guess.
Ok... I've just bought it, I'll tell you soon how it deals with ppt.
Thanks for testing it. I will be waiting for your report.
I have also emailed one of the office app developers to see if they can do what im looking for as their app is $20 with no free trail on the app store.
Ok I've just tested with brieflet the powerpoint presentation you mentioned earlier : no animations. You can only have animation between two successive slides, configurable inside brieflet parameters.
If you want to keep your animation, you have to create two different slides when you just have to create one with ppt : for instance the first slide
with no image, and the second slide, same as the first slide plus your image. Since brieflet can fade between two slides following each other, it would work.
I tried also your ppt with quickoffice pro hd (not the latest version though, but the 4.5.15), and same story, no animation.
Hope it helps.
Having the same problem here
bro ...
i get your point 100 % because right now i'm facing the same problem like yours and next week i have already do my presentation and it killing me softly that all the animation, hyperlink than i edit not even work either in : Doctogo, Polaris and all the stupid program.
really need BIG ADVICE for this case.
P.S : if you already solve your problem, please let me know.
Regards,
nDorondondo
Something to keep in mind, Microsoft and Apple worked together to bring MS Office to Mac, and most likely iPad/iPhone/iPod. I Microsoft and Apple hate Android and have not shared any of the MS Office secrets therefore every office app for Android has had to reverse engineer the formats and that is not easy. This is why none of them produce 100% compatible results. If you create a new document in a native Android office app I am confident it will do so you ask it to, but to expect it to perfectly replicate a closed source suite's results is inane. Perhaps one day big businesses will all play nicely with each other, but not today.
Sent from my Transformer TF101G using Tapatalk
Related
I am still new to using the android system and just bought the viewsonic g tab and I must say that this is a real good toy and has some oportunity for future developement. Looking at the replacement ROMs they all seem like all you get is a phone instead of a true replacement operating system that acts like a computer.
Is there anyone working on something like windows 7 for these or even anything close?
notsob2002 said:
I am still new to using the android system and just bought the viewsonic g tab and I must say that this is a real good toy and has some oportunity for future developement. Looking at the replacement ROMs they all seem like all you get is a phone instead of a true replacement operating system that acts like a computer.
Is there anyone working on something like windows 7 for these or even anything close?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the android operating system. The release of honeycomb will give you a more tablet look but what is it you want to do that you cant with this OS?
I have a convertible Windows 7 Tablet PC. Most days it sits at home, even more so since I got my G-Tab. Why? Because it is not designed to be used with a touch interface, and doing things that SHOULD be simple like rotation can become a big issue. Plus if you want one that runs all day, you are going to add an extended battery with all sorts of extra weight to go with it.
FWIW, Windows won't run on an ARM chip or Tegra, so Windows 7 won't be ported to the G-Tab. You might (?) be able to get Ubuntu or another Linux running if you want the desktop experience, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
As has already been pointed out in the thread, there is very little that you could do in Windows that you can't do in Android - and most of those things are because of the physical limitations of the device, not the OS.
My .02 worth anyway.
Yeah I hope we get honeycomb ,that would be great.as for windows 7,I love it on my pc not on my tablet.Android rocks you can even send a fax with filesanywhere for free through the internet!
Plus ive already invested in skinomi and a cool android decal.
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snipestech said:
Yeah I hope we get honeycomb ,that would be great.as for windows 7,I love it on my pc not on my tablet.Android rocks you can even send a fax with filesanywhere for free through the internet!
Plus ive already invested in skinomi and a cool android decal.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0B5.1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know about Filesanywhere and the ability to send faxes for free. Thanks a lot; that's awesome.
Thanks for the FAX trick! I love my g, my laptop blue screened and crashed, couldn't have happened at a better time.
thebadfrog said:
what is it you want to do that you cant with this OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought allot about this last night after playing with the GTAB and downloading a few free aps. I'm not knocking the android system maybe just the way it's current UI seems geared more to people used to smart phones. Maybe that's the whole idea and I'm not getting it as I'm too used to using a computer and don't use a smart phone. Hopefully Honeycomb will make it be more of a tab and the update will be made available to current GTABs like mine.
I still think the thing is great for surfing the web while waiting for my coffee to brew in the morning and I found a app to let me open office documents to I should be able to use it for some of my work files.
Honeycomb may give you less of a phone experience. You could also install the GAdam rom for more of a tablet feel
I would love a bi modal interface. One interface that works as a tablet when the machine is in tablet mode and another where it goes into netbook mode when it's plugged into a dock. This would definitely make the machine more useful for me. I could do some remote development on it (via ssh) or download a pdf document for reading on the couch or something.
I was really hoping for something like meego to take off and perhaps offer something like this. Oh well....
I just read that SAP is working on a BI for android . What would be great now if a usable VPN client and Lotus notes could be used.
windows 7 is been ported to tegra 2 says CEO of microsoft(i read somewhere). But it will be a long time before all the drivers are up and running.
Hmmmmm........now that they are with a phone company maybe we'll see something happen with tab
development for dual usability, work and personal use?
Pazzu510 said:
windows 7 is been ported to tegra 2 says CEO of microsoft(i read somewhere). But it will be a long time before all the drivers are up and running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, M$ is back in the business of porting their primary OS to other CPU archs, but it'll likely die again as noone will want to hobble their devices with a windows version.
In any event, you realize that you won't be able to run the vast majority of windows sw right? (i.e. it'd be essentially useless unless you actually like windows look & feel...) It's ALL been compiled for x86 arch, and I find it unlikely that ARM version of many apps would ever be available unless something highly unlikely happened and windows for ARM actually got off the ground...
Hello all,
I find the gtab is much more than a toy. With my gtab I can access my company's network via VPN. My gtab can RDP to Windows servers at work. I can also access NTFS file shares on these work computers with my gtab. Access to my work LOTUS notes email and calendars is through IMAIL via the gtab and Dolphin HD browser. Any Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations I have for work can be read, modified, or created on my gtab. Reading PDF files is a snap on the gtab.
Whenever it is time to read the latest Preston / Child's or Dean Koontz novel I download it from Barnes and Noble and read it on my gtab. I can access my home network and stream media files from my NAS to my gtab. My gtab can access the Internet over wifi at home, work, restaurants, stores, anywhere there is a wifi hotspot. This includes my rooted myTouch 3g's ad hockey wifi hotspot. My gtab can play several audio and video formats. If I am in the mood for radio or TV I can stream full episodes or albums from Internet TV or Internet radio sources to my gtab.
My gtab has system tools that can be used to update its operating system kernels and ROMs, access and manipulate filesystems, and backup applications and data. I have utilities to monitor and benchmark the processes that run on my gtab. I am able to connect to my personal Windows 7 laptop or myTouch 3g phone via Bluetooth connection and access and manipulate their files and directories from my gtab.
I use my gtab as a remote control for my XBMC application on my Windows HTPC. My gtab can use the GPS on my phone to create a larger screened GPS. Sometimes I play Angry Birds on my gtab.
My personal calendars and task lists are kept current and meaningful with several of the calendaring and task apps available for the gtab. Current weather and news is but a click away on my gtab. Banking, credit card, and financial apps on my gtab let me monitor my finances. Shopping apps on my gtab allow me to peruse online catalogs and order merchandise from the likes of Target, Kroger, Best Buy, Amazon, and Newegg. I am able to access insurance records and medical records for my family / pets with apps on my gtab.
These are a few of the little things that I do with my gtab. I find the gtab to be quite versatile and consider it to be a quite powerful little ( size wise ) computer powered by the Android 2.2 Froyo OS. My gtab seems quite stable and I am able to address any issues that arise with the aforementioned system utilities.
Thanks to the incredible support that the gtab gets from the XDA developers and the Android app development community I believe the gtab has matured beyond toy status and has arrived as a useful tool equal to the challenges of everyday life.
Bob
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hey guys;
pretty much as per the title really. I have an aging Acer aspire one 8GB SSD netbook running ubuntu and it has been great for working on while being light and portable. I would really like to move to a tablet but i have to be able to work on the device and not just carry a lightweight media device (which most tablets seem to be at first sight).
I need to be able to work on office (both MS and OO) documents as well as create them from scratch. I have had limited success finding a decent MS office app for my android HD2 and was wondering if the same is true on tablets.
Thanks for any advice you can offer;
Andy
it comes with Polaris Office suite which allows those things.
geekyhawkes said:
I need to be able to work on office (both MS and OO) documents as well as create them from scratch. I have had limited success finding a decent MS office app for my android HD2 and was wondering if the same is true on tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like right now it is. I didn't find any app that can edit OpenOffice (LibreOffice) documents (I don't have the tablet, I was just looking at market.android.com). PolarisOffice edits Ms Office docs but someone reported that the docs it saves doesn't open in OOo. And there are reports that GoogleDocs doesn't work properly too.
To be fair I would wait until Honeycomb problems and glitches have been ironed out by Google. Two reviewers (Android Central & Anandtech) have mentioned that their Transformer crashed during a write up in Polaris Office and because the software doesn't have auto-save feature (yet) they lost 500-1000 words. Now if you are regularly saving your documents then it might not be a big deal but certainly I wouldn't say it is a "stable" replacement just yet. I hope more manufacturers take pointers from ASUS and bring similar tablets with keyboard docks with trackpad integration.
I just hope there are regular updates for both the OS and from ASUS to sort these problems out. The camera video recording glitch seems quite significant and also the lag with HD video playback. These are all software issues (I hope) and should be sorted out in time.
I wouldn't say Polaris office is suitable for work, and Google docs is indeed unusable. So I would say stick to the netbook, for now anyway.
Thanks for the info guys, kind of as i suspected (sadly). I guess give the market a few months to settle down and hopefully someone will port OO (or libre) to android 3 and we will be away!
Although it does slightly make me wonder why the tablet market is so hyped at the moment with so many quality smartfones and most tablets offering little more than the same but larger (at least from a work perspective).
Thanks again
Yes, it's quite disappointing. It looks like every way you would want to use the tablet (no matter - iPad or Android one) there is a problem that makes it much less useful. I'll buy one anyway because am a programmer and want to write apps for Android tablets but I think I will have to write quite a few for myself first.
I think it all depends on your industry. If you're a Data Warehouse developer, then the software is limited to the operating system it was designed for and there is no way around it.
But if you're writing your first book, NO PROBLEM!
If you create spreadsheets for your bookkeeping business, NO PROBLEM. You will probably still need a computer to format the print layout and set headers/footers, etc, and print. How about printing to PDF?
It would be nice if ASUS designed a dual layout platform leveraging it's current Android environment where at a click of a button, the layout changes to a point and click system (using the dock) reflecting a Windows-like appearance. Like a Play/Work theme.
WOW, I just thought of that! Hire me, ASUS, and lets get this developed!
Hey everyone,
I was looking to buying a netbook, but this awesome tablet got me.
The first use will be for me university work: notes, powerpoints, excels.. you know.. that sort of boring student stuff.
So how does the tablet cope with .docx, graphs and powerpoint?
Especially, how good is the compatibility with graphs in excel?
What app do you use? Quickoffice? or the one already installed?
Also I would like to hear some feedback about the keyboard: I'm coming from the awesome one of the VAIO FW. How does it compare to a normal good notebook's keyboard ?
by the way I'm planning to buy the 16GB model + keyboard.
thank you
google docs not ok by you? (Don't mean that in a condescending way, but I think it works pretty well, and it works on android).
EDIT: With what I just said in mind, I have only used google docs for writing papers and doing spread sheets minus graphs. Graphing works but for some reason (maybe just preference, maybe there was a good reason) I kept going to openoffice for the graphs. Haven't tried presentations. However I would assume that google docs is not as powerful MS Office, it is compatible though, but I wouldn't feel right relying on it (google docs) for school stuff beyond the basics.
If you want to write some simple documents or presentations with some pictures and texts, the build-in polaris office is more than capable.. and the keyboard dock works surprisingly well..so you ain't going to miss the VAIO. Also, just tried creating some bar/line/pie chart in polaris office spreadsheet.. no problems at all.. no fancy 3D though..
also you won't find any advanced features like automatic reference in Word, animations/sequence in powerpoint or powerful statistics functions/pivot tables in Excel.
for university work, I won't worry about that too much...Polaris Office is a great office suite and I'm very impressed...
best if you go to your local store and try it out yourself..before you make the decision
Polaris does a better job not blowing up formatting than google docs ime. Of course that only matters if you are continuing on from a previous doc. Shockingly it opened my resume (relatively heavily formatted) just fine.
Presentations are going to be something I can't comment on!
Thank you for the answers.
I found this extremely useful thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=13993341#post13993341
which compares the different Office Suites for Android
It might also be useful to know that 'Citrix Receiver' works well on the tablet. My uni allows students to login with citrix and use the programs of the campus. Simply put, I can kind of run any possible program (as long as I'm online that is).
Possible the place where you will go studying has something like citrix?
Powerpoint Animations
Hi to all,
Has anyone found an app that will run PPT presentations just as they would run on a PC? I'd love to be able to run my prezos with all animations...
Thanks much!
husker71 said:
Hi to all,
Has anyone found an app that will run PPT presentations just as they would run on a PC? I'd love to be able to run my prezos with all animations...
Thanks much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for this..
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
Don't think that you'll find any software for Android. Android is primary for gaming, not working.
But Excel and Word sheets work quite good with Polaris Office (pre-installed), I haven't tried PPT yet.
It all depends on what you plan on doing. Simple word processing, presentation, or spread sheet would be OK. In Excel for instance if you use macro's you will run into problems. I know that Polaris could read some of my files.
To be honest there are people on here that claim to have replaced their laptop with the Transformer but frankly I don't see how. It is fine for internet, email, & entertainment. It isn't going to replace a laptop that you use for work or school in my view anyway.
Polaris Office work pretty well and is included with the TF (can't beat fee functional software). Just don't expect it to be as functional and easy to use as a real PC.
Honestly if I where using it MS Office apps for school, I'd stick to a laptop. You'll be a lot less frustrated that way. TF would be fine simple office type task or edits in a pinch, but I wouldn't want it to be my main Office device.
Lets not forget tablets aren't true laptop replacements, they don't have that kind of power.
Hi Folks
Just wondering if anyone has seriously considered or is using android on the desktop?
Hear me out here!
Since stopping using windows as my main desktop OS about 18 months ago, I've been enjoying all the fruits that open source has to offer. I think I must have trying nearly every flavour of Debian/Ubuntu distro's and currently using some Mint/Gnome 2 setup. partly due to Unity's immaturity as Multihead desktop and probably part of me can't let go of that "Start" menu analog.
Through all my "testing" however I've still not settled on the right desktop/development environment, I've tried them all, really, I feel like I given pretty much every Window Manager out there a go, I especially like the blank canvas of openbox although I've got real work to do as well, so configuration wise It's not something I want to know right now
Part of my issue is I've got a what I would consider a bit of an edge case when I comes to setup. My current setup is over 3 Monitors ( I was considering 6 but thought I might get whiplash from moving my head too much :laugh: )
Right now I live my live mostly in Terminal Windows and Bash Prompts and do most of my hacking In gedit with some plugins ( maybe not the most productive but it's kinda of working for me at the minute )
After giving the Android x86 project, It got me thinking whether It would be a viable option. I know android certainly has the capability to run over multiple monitors although whether I would have to do a bit of hacking on the Framebuffer internals ( add extra ones etc ) has yet to be investigated.
With regards Android Development it kinda of makes sense to Develop right there in it's native environment ( I'm talking Kernel/System Level here not apps) . Compiling the AOSP etc should still be the same process.
So Yeah, Android on the Desktop - Discuss
I'd be interested if anyone has been crazy/foolhardy/patient enough to go down this road and are just keeping quiet about it and If there's any gotcha's etc to think about before embarking on such a mission.
Android is better off on smartphones and Tablets and Windows in better off on Desktops and Laptops.
As Im an avid gamer, I wouldnot mind having Android on my Desktop. Android has limited no. of good games but Windows dont.
Sent from my GT-i9100 equipped with Grenade Launcher and Remote Explosives
www dot apc dot io
Hope that answers your question.
Sent from my YP-G70 using XDA
nightfire37 said:
www.apc.io
Hope that answers your question.
Sent from my YP-G70 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, That's the kinda of thing, I was not aware of this project/product ( although still vapourware til next month ) At least I'm not crazy for thinking it
I spent a week or 2 only using an hp touchpad, to see if I could get away using it as a desktop replacement.
The biggest problem I found is that the apps aren't really designed for serious productivity. Google docs is great for viewing things, but is very irresponsive on large documents, and doesn't like fancy formatting. Browsing was a nightmare. I had 3 or 4 different browsers, because each had different plugins, flash support, user agents, etc. Many browsers were unstable, and flash always caused random crashes and other weird problems. Gmail is useless for attachements, and there is no reasonable text editor.
It's doable, but you may have to spend a while finding apps to replicate all the functionality you expect from your PC.
trevd said:
Thanks, That's the kinda of thing, I was not aware of this project/product ( although still vapourware til next month ) At least I'm not crazy for thinking it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome. I am thinking on getting this for the fact to support the devs on the product.
Sent from my YP-G70 using XDA
As a desktop replacement I'm not so sure but Android can definitely work as a netbook replacements.
It also depends what you use ur desktop for. Anything more that web browsing and email, I'll still prefer having a full fledged OS on it.
theInfected1 said:
As a desktop replacement I'm not so sure but Android can definitely work as a netbook replacements.
It also depends what you use ur desktop for. Anything more that web browsing and email, I'll still prefer having a full fledged OS on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An android desktop could do mail, web browsing, multimedia, usenet or torrent downloads, games, dlna streaming, ebook reading and text editing (writing, creating pdf, etcetera) well.
It would not be able to do some of the things a desktop can do such as transcode video, run open office, use pc accessories, etcetera.
This is primarily because android is a mobile oriented os though it's likely that other than the use of pc accessories developers will write apps to get android doing even more as it is now a very popular tablet os and tablets often get used as a pc does.
Android could be a desktop for general everyday use right now but not for everyone.
For now windows and linux still beat android for both software, peripheral support and overall os speed making those better options however its also easier to have a new user mess those up than it is to mess up android so for general use it could be a good option.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
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Short version: Currently, I would say no. In the future (2+ years minimum), I highly expect Android to compete for the desktop. It comes down to software moreso than hardware.
TL;DR version: Let me start by saying I've owned quite a few Android smartphones, and I've worked on twice as many for friends, family, etc. I've also owned a couple of Android tablets. Without trying to sound too cynical, let's just say I've been around the block when it comes to Android devices When it comes to phones, Android is as perfect as any OS could be. With it always improving, there's always more to love. For tablets, the experience didn't come off to a great start, but there have surely been improvements since. The first high-end tablets, as well as cheap alternatives, ran on Gingerbread or older. My first cheapo tablet ran on a rare version of Android 2.0 Eclair. Let me tell you, it wasn't pleasant at all! I decided to wait for Honeycomb to come out before trying another tablet, and that's when I picked up an Acer Iconia A500 with the sole intention being to use it like I'd use a computer. The only computer I had at the time was a 10" Acer netbook, so once I bought the tablet, I sold the netbook right away. Now, I will admit that I waited a little bit to see how Honeycomb took off. By the time I got my Iconia, 3.2 was just coming out. In order to completely replace any kind of computer, I knew I would need at least 3 accessories: a stand, keyboard, and mouse. In my initial research, I learned that Android 3.0 didn't have mouse support by default. This was fixed by the dev community here, and Google was prompt to add mouse support in the 3.1 update. So by the time I had my Iconia running 3.2, everything appeared to be ready as far as being a PC replacement. Or so I thought. One major reason I picked the A500 over other tablets was the fact that it had a full-size USB port right on the tablet itself, whereas others either didn't have one at all (Xoom, Galaxy Tab), or it was only available on the keyboard dock (Transformer). As a computer replacement, USB was important to me. It didn't take long for me to realize that a tablet as a PC replacement wasn't the most ideal choice at the time. While there are plenty of apps available to perform many different tasks, the real problem I had was with the way Android itself handled. The apps were more than good enough. There's email, web browsing, multimedia, word processing, etc. The problem is the way Android feels with a keyboard and mouse. One major problem for me was that Android has no proper right-click support with mice. It simply works like a back button. I feel that right-click would be more natural as the functionality of a long press. Another issue I was constantly trying to deal with was the amount of clicks required to complete simple tasks. I could do the same tasks twice as fast on any computer running Windows or Linux. This caused more frustration than anything else. File managers were generally really good - there's actually a couple that I really like a lot, but navigation was always an issue. It wasn't only file managers, but within several areas. Once again, this goes back to needing more clicks for the same tasks, and long pressing where a simple right-click would feel better. While the move to ICS was a huge improvement in performance, it didn't really solve anything with productivity and ease of use. USB support was also hit or miss, and a lot of it has to do with drivers. Now that's understandable, as most hardware venders don't expect Android to be the host OS. Hopefully this changes some day. Eventually I ended up trading the tablet and all the accessories for a mid-range laptop which I use now. I have this system triple-booting between Windows, Linux, and Android (android-x86.org). The same problems I faced with the tablet, I also face with ICS on my laptop. I find myself only booting to Android once in a blue moon, and it's always just to show off to my friends. Any real work is done with one of my other OS's. There's definitely a lot of potential with the Android platform as a desktop OS, but I feel like it's still a couple years away at least. There are still a few minor annoyances trying to use Android as a computer that need to be addressed. Maybe by the time Android 6.0 or 7.0 is released, it will put up a good fight for the desktop. Only time will tell. Another viable option is phones that dock to a computer with a desktop interface. Anyone remember Canonical's plans? Also keep in mind Linux kernel 3.3 which adopted Android natively, which is a huge step for Canonical and their Ubuntu-Android dreams.
i have been using android since 2008. The only thing i can tell you is Android can replace netbooks but not laptops and desktop. I used macbook for a year or so but I went back to windows.
HP Touchpad replaced my netbook.70% of the time i use my hp touchpad to chat, browse and play videos.
But when it comes to work or college work I go back to my good ol' desktop or laptop because
google spreadsheet is nowhere near MS Excel
google docs is nowhere near MS Word
fortemcee said:
The only thing i can tell you is Android can replace netbooks but not laptops and desktop.
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I coming to that conclusion...... More for on the move devices, Although there some good stuff going on with the 10ft Experience (Android on TV's) at the moment.
It is also interesting to hear how people interact with their devices,
I'm far from an average user..... If i'm not developing with/on android I don't what to do with it :laugh: I think that's why my tablet has a keyboard and mouse plugged into most of the time
Thanks for the Input.
Bloodflame said:
Short version: Currently, I would say no. In the future (2+ years minimum), I highly expect Android to compete for the desktop. It comes down to software moreso than hardware.
TL;DR version: ...
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Brilliant That's exactly the type of responses I hoped for, a man whose got he's knees dirty in these dam robots on the desktop ... little long but I did read it.
[Short Version] In Summary I'm inclined to agree with you give it a couple of years, As a developer I could probably fix it up but I probably wouldn't be finished before google etc sorted it themselves[Short Version]
Here's a more verbose reply :laugh:
I have seen some 2.x tabs in my time, trailblazers but not nice.... I presume you gave the 1.6 x86 one a go as well then? Just for kicks.
I've been using a mouse and keyboard on my tablet, an Archos G9 through a usb hub which also has full size usb slot..... I've never really twicked onto the mouse lack of context menu/right click being an issue until you pointed it out, I can see how it would become an irritant after a while unless you're a MacUser than one button should be fine
The right mouse button acting the same as long press would be a vast improvement, I'll probably have a look at what development effort is involved in that ( or at least add it to the pile of interesting stuff I want to do with my time )
I've found the keyboard to be useful, Shortcut Keys are generally the same as there desktop counterparts. Take Ctrl+L to type a web address in your browser for example and If I dig around the android source code for a while I'm sure I could find some more unpublished ones or add my own and help on the number of click navigation issues etc .
USB Support is not a problem with each iteration of Android it gets better internally and I'm currently working with the opinion that if a linux driver exists I can compile it and at least get android the recognize the device... I've been deep in the USB Internals with android for the last few months.
On the Androidx86.... I've not checked the project in a while, there maybe have greater focus on solving some on these usability issues.
With regard to phones and docking I do remember canonicals plans ( wasn't that earlier this year) or are you talking about the circa 2009/10?!? ubuntu proposed project to run apks directly on your pc? essentially running the dalvikvm/surfaceflinger framebuffer management, support services on ubuntu with an X Window for the app.
The latter I feel is highly possible especially with android fully "unforked" in the kernel - not looked at the full details but I presume that includes all androids system level binder stuff and their shared memory modules and the former, I think a manufacturer release something called "Android in a Window" (Motorola or LG, maybe) An interactive android window on the desktop... also motorola's Webtop looks interesting.
I've written enough, Thanks for the Input
no one found any way to run android on PC or Laptop ???????
saqi4you said:
no one found any way to run android on PC or Laptop ???????
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It runs in virtualisation fine and there are a few PC's that can run it natively, I would bet Jelly bean will run on x86 without fuss.
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I've had android ICS x86 on my Acer W500 (a windows tablet) for a little while now. It was installed along side the Windows 8 Developer Preview which expired and shuts down after a few minutes of use now. Instead of updating it to the W8 Consumer Preview for more time I just started using ICS full time. With my tablet in the "dock" (which is just a keyboard really) and a mouse hooked up I used it for days as a PC replacement (the power supply in my normal desktop died).
Android would be totally fine as a desktop OS, but apps would have to start being designed with that in mind.
Think about it:
You can't have multiple windows open at once on the screen for serious multitasking. What if I want to have a terminal/command prompt open while I reference a document in the web browser? With android I'm going to be switching between fullscreen apps.
The OS will have to be redesigned to allow for that capability and then new apps will have to be written to able to take advantage of it. Is it possible? Absolutely! Is it ready to be your desktop replacement? Not yet!
deathsled said:
Think about it:
You can't have multiple windows open at once on the screen for serious multitasking. What if I want to have a terminal/command prompt open while I reference a document in the web browser? With android I'm going to be switching between fullscreen apps.
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I would say there is arguments for and against sizeable apps (I suppose that describes it), Personally I run multiple monitors and generally have Maximised Windows all the way, obviously every use case is different but I think android would become "just another window manager" and lose some of what android is If it had totally free window placement.
It is also assuming the current desktop metaphor which is in use today is the best/most productive way of interacting with the machine.... Maybe we're just blindly doing it because we've all be trained to think like that, and it's always been that way.
I don't claim to have the answers on any of these points though
I suppose the only thing I can do is stop talking and start doing, "try it yourself" as we say in the "trade" .....I've got a laptop I could give it a blast on, I can at least try a multiple monitor test with that with out too much disruption.
saqi4you said:
no one found any way to run android on PC or Laptop ???????
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dragon_76 said:
It runs in virtualisation fine and there are a few PC's that can run it natively, I would bet Jelly bean will run on x86 without fuss.
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You might want to read the full thread guys It's kinda what we're talking about, check the Androidx86 project out if you've never seen it before
Actually with apps like overskreen and the open source standout library which lets apps float, so you can have several open at once on screen together and swap between them, you could multitask with multiple open windows.
It's a new approach but already finding favour on tablets.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
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deathsled said:
You can't have multiple windows open at once on the screen for serious multitasking. What if I want to have a terminal/command prompt open while I reference a document in the web browser? With android I'm going to be switching between fullscreen apps.
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If I am doing some coding on my PC (running Ubuntu) I use i3-wm which is a tiling window manager. I find the best option is to have all applications full screen and switch between them quickly using keystrokes. The same thing can be done with a theoretical Android Desktop.
I think the case for an Android Desktop is a strong one. Just looking at mobile phone shops and sites, Android is the most popular firmware for smartphones on the market so the amount of people owning one is only going to increase. With that it means that online communities like this site will get bigger with more people offering support and development. An Android desktop might not have the same look and feel as the smartphone version but if it can emulate the same functionality i.e. the way to do something on a smartphone is the same as on the desktop then the leap from smartphone to desktop won't be so hard for people. As you will have the same underlying platform, the same will apply for developers so it means application development on the Desktop version should in theory be faster.
That's a way of doing it but my preference would be a convergence of devices where say I can plug my smartphone into a docking station which hooks it up with a monitor, keyboard and mouse or like the Assus Padfone where a smartphone can be pluged into a tablet dock which turns it into a tablet.
Sorry to post this here but I didn't see a forum for this question. My sister is a 3rd grade teacher and she has been thinking of getting a laptop. She specifically wants a Chromebook because they are cheap(and she IS a teacher). The only reason I am hesitant is because she has to use Excel and Word at home doing grades and other teacher-type stuff. I know that I read somewhere that OpenOffice will read and edit MS Office files, I was wondering if anyone knows how reliable they are in this? I know that with other applications sometimes there can be glitches and inconsistencies when opening documents across different apps. I figure someone on this forum is bound to have a Chromebook
Open office works great. if she's passing documents back and forth she'll want to make sure she saves them in an office format. Open office has its own format but you can over ride that.
Landara said:
Sorry to post this here but I didn't see a forum for this question. My sister is a 3rd grade teacher and she has been thinking of getting a laptop. She specifically wants a Chromebook because they are cheap(and she IS a teacher). The only reason I am hesitant is because she has to use Excel and Word at home doing grades and other teacher-type stuff. I know that I read somewhere that OpenOffice will read and edit MS Office files, I was wondering if anyone knows how reliable they are in this? I know that with other applications sometimes there can be glitches and inconsistencies when opening documents across different apps. I figure someone on this forum is bound to have a Chromebook
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OpenOffice is great, but there is also the good ol' Google Docs/Google Drive, which can read and edit word and excel files and is basically a full feature suite.
So in your opinions would she be perfectly fine with a Chromebook, or better off spending another $100 or so and getting a really cheap W8 laptop?
I love Chromebooks. BUT I use a laptop because there is no equivalent to MS Office. Open Office is definitely not a real substitute. That is the only reason I still run Windows 7 instead of Ubuntu full time.
edit: BTW, there is a Chromebook forum on XDA. You might receive more/better responses there. FWIW I sold my Chromebook because I found it redundant with my Ultrabook and Nexus 10. When I start my job in September, they will provide me with a work laptop with Windows. At that point, I'll probably buy a Chromebook Pixel as my primary device and use my work laptop when I need access to MS Office. But I just cannot live without MS Office.