Im guessing this forum is meant for software primarily, but im gonna ask this anyways.
If there is a seperate forum for this, i apoloize, but this is primarily a software question.
In theory, shouldn't it be possible to take out the electronics of a phone and hook up a bigger screen and larger battery to convert it into a tablet? I have a LG G6 lying around with a busted screen and a battery that lasts a total of 3 hours, so selling isnt worth it, disposing even less since id pay money to for that. The idea then is to take the completely functional motherboard, get a screen and a battery and 3D print a body that can accommodate it all.
Now the question: is there some sort of hardware ID or driver thing going on for either of the two things? Is it even locked? This is more out of curiosity, but if it is possible, i would try it out if i have the time.
Are batteries that large even available for purchase?
MICHAEL(SMHOS.ORG) said:
You can't really o that to a phone because the screen will not match
The flex won't match
And the body.
Leave thànks If this helps and donate
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Click to collapse
Thats not really the point of the question. It would be put into a custom printed body, maybe i can even manage to mold it somehow. Since the diagonal of the screen is somewhat irrelevant to the software, that shouldn't be a problem either, and finding an 11 inch 2880x1440 screen shouldn't be that hard. The question is if the rest of the phones hardware would recognize there is a screen there, even if its a bigger one. Im not quite sure what "flex" is supposed to mean, but fitting the parts together won't be a problem.
I would imagine it would be harder to get the phone into permanent portrait mode, but Nova Launcher for example doesnt even require root for that. The resolution, if 1440p 18:9 is required for some reason, this would be fixable with root. But the hardware itself is an issue.
So the real question is has anyone ever modified his phones actual hardware?
*edit*
By flex you mean the ribbon cables, right?
This, too, should be possible. Unless LG went to extreme lengths to design a custom exotic connector, im fairly sure you can get it to work as long as the hardware will still recognize it.
You would have to have a phone, like a Samsung, who has the video section separate from the main CPU body. I found the Voyo computer use the Samsung video driver for tablets on their tiny CPU boards. While nice CPU's (Deca-Core) the video out would be an issue.
You would also run into video driver issues with the ROM.
Then there would be the touch screen modules you would have to convert as well (along with software in the ROM).
What you might want is an OTG to HDMI adapter. Run a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and drive the HDMI on a big screen. Problem solved. If you want it portable, then the best advice is one that was already given....
....get yourself a tablet....
PyxelDE said:
Im guessing this forum is meant for software primarily, but im gonna ask this anyways.
If there is a seperate forum for this, i apoloize, but this is primarily a software question.
In theory, shouldn't it be possible to take out the electronics of a phone and hook up a bigger screen and larger battery to convert it into a tablet? I have a LG G6 lying around with a busted screen and a battery that lasts a total of 3 hours, so selling isnt worth it, disposing even less since id pay money to for that. The idea then is to take the completely functional motherboard, get a screen and a battery and 3D print a body that can accommodate it all.
Now the question: is there some sort of hardware ID or driver thing going on for either of the two things? Is it even locked? This is more out of curiosity, but if it is possible, i would try it out if i have the time.
Are batteries that large even available for purchase?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were to physically make it work, it would still require compiling a custom kernel with support for the screen added to the kernel. The kernel is what allows your software to use your hardware, kinda like drivers on PC except the drivers are built into the kernel instead of installed separately. You can't just install what the screen needs, it has to be built into a whole new kernel compiled from source and then you've got to get the kernel working with the whole device, not just the new screen.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
If you were to physically make it work, it would still require compiling a custom kernel with support for the screen added to the kernel. The kernel is what allows your software to use your hardware, kinda like drivers on PC except the drivers are built into the kernel instead of installed separately. You can't just install what the screen needs, it has to be built into a whole new kernel compiled from source and then you've got to get the kernel working with the whole device, not just the new screen.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which would explain why there arent any results online for people doing this. Its way beyond the scope of what could be considered worth it.
Anyways, thanks
skeltonh said:
You would have to have a phone, like a Samsung, who has the video section separate from the main CPU body. I found the Voyo computer use the Samsung video driver for tablets on their tiny CPU boards. While nice CPU's (Deca-Core) the video out would be an issue.
You would also run into video driver issues with the ROM.
Then there would be the touch screen modules you would have to convert as well (along with software in the ROM).
What you might want is an OTG to HDMI adapter. Run a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and drive the HDMI on a big screen. Problem solved. If you want it portable, then the best advice is one that was already given....
....get yourself a tablet....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting a decent tablet would cost me a couple hundred quid, especially one with that hardware. Also it wasn't solely necessity, if i would just need a tablet, i would indeed buy one, but it was also to see if it could be done. Might very well have been a first. Also it would have allowed for some decent creativity. Sadly, were just not there yet, if we ever get to that point where smartphones will have the level of customizability of even a half decent laptop. Things like Project Ara would have been perfect for this, but sadly, money won over innovation
Related
This is more of a question or suggestion for developers. I've always had this thought and wondered why no one has implemented it yet? The big deal lately is all around Android Tablets, so I ask myself, why doesn't someone develop an accessory that turns any Android phone into a tablet. Ok, here's what I mean, I have an HTC Evo and love the phone, but oft times I find myself wanting the new Galaxy Tab by Samsung. Then when I think of it, the Galaxy Tab is basically a phone with a bigger screen. So why can someone design and sell a multi-touch screen that has a slot and connectors on the back that I could slid in my Evo and everything that would appear on my Evo's screen now appears on the larger screen. Now my Evo is a Tablet with all the access to the all the apps and functionality of the phone, it's just using a bigger screen.
The external screen would also have to contain a front camera but could use the rear camera and flash LEDs of the EVO if you left them exposed. Another option would be to include a battery in the larger screen for longer battery life.
What do you thing?
Good idea. Doubt any manufacturers would pick it up because then they wouldn't be able to sell you the same device twice. No chance of any 3rd party manufacturers picking it because of a lack of required output/input on devices.
I had the same exact idea 2day! I really want to do this for myself. Is there a way to just connect a touch screen (to display and control) to my phone via Bluetooth or the MicroUsb?
mjrex said:
I had the same exact idea 2day! I really want to do this for myself. Is there a way to just connect a touch screen (to display and control) to my phone via Bluetooth or the MicroUsb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google did it with the giant Nexus S display, but it wasn't accurate at all.
lol.. Why is this so hard to do..
lol I think the problem is how to connect the phone to the said screen? For one the micro USB port placements are not the same for all androids, so slotting is out of the question.
Im not really concerned with the mounting of a screen to my phone, ill use duck tape if i have to.. ha. But in all seriousness a simple universal enclosure can also be made..
I like the idea of having a tablet.. but don't want to spend almost 500 for a larger version of my phone..
A friend of mine told me he saw on someone else's computer he found an interesting chinise accesory: it's like a dummy tablet 10.1" where you insert or plugin your Samsung Galaxy S2 and convert it into a Full operational Tablet.
He couldn't precise the brand, link, etc or if the cellphone used was in fact a Samsung Galaxy S2.
I'll do some research. At the moment I found this :
Since I cannot paste the link here, just copy and google this: "asus-unveils-padfone-mobile-convert-tablet"
Interesting concept!
I wanted to break this off since the other topic was looking to be mostly about the LCD's
floatpoo said:
I wanted to see if the blank sockets on the system board were active. So I grabbed my multimeter and tested each pin to see if any delivered power. I don't know if these sockets are controlled by software, but it looks like these sockets are inactive.
(cant post link ref other thread....)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an electronics tech (avionics really) just so you know my background, and I am by no way a programmer i just hack my way throught when i need... poorly at that. I'm a long time reader but don't post much.
I havent taken mine apart yet, I bought it for the wife to use as an ereader she was using her evo before and already has bad eyesight I just dont think reading on that small screen is good for her. However we planned on returning it today because she couldn't get anything to work... But i loaded VAGAn-Tab rom on it and she likes it ALOT more now, but we still might be returning it (she thinks it to big and heavy to hold). So all I have to work with is the internal pics posted by other members and I thank you for them!
I was thinking about using a mini pci card with 3g/4g and GPS to solve my problem like this one for Sprint Customers looks very nice and they claim android support. Could someone please verify the length available for the card from the socket to the mounting holes? It should be around 50mm but i cant tell from the pic.
I cant post a link so google
franklinwireless
M600_datasheet_v1.pdf
Then after more research I figured out that think I can get the GPS to work on the board. I found that the RXM-GPS-SG-T looks to be the exact chip they are using, the pin look to match exactly VCC, GND, RX, TX, RF, VOUT. So they are using an active GPS antenna (but could be modded for passive). They use NMEA-0183 or SiRF Binary output selected by a serial command. So we need to figure out if the TX is going to U39 making U39 the interface to the unit, or directly to somewhere else (idk need to see board) I hope i can attach my pic i made or maybe an admin can post it for me.
However the PCI slot might be just as hard to use, the pin 20 that has 3.3v isnt what we want, but it could be a software control to disable/enable the card. However we still need A+ on pins 2,52 (3.3V), 6,28,48(1.5V) and maybe 24(3.3V Aux) dependeding on the card. We could be dealing with a "Non Standard" connector, they are out there but most OEM's dont bother with them. More likely to find them on a Asus product ect. It's common for the SIM card to be powered by the PCI card itself and the board looks wired that way. I have 2 Digi International Mini PCI express Wifi/Cell Development boards and thats how they both power the SIM card. Pin 16 should goto Pin 1 on the sim card, 14->2, 12->3, 10->6 but maybe 7 or 8.
Getting the Power to it could be software or hardware. Looks like around U8 on the frontside could a Vreg setup, Or it could be as simple as putting in some 0 ohm resistors around R15 and R14. We also see that U7 is unpopulated on backside. So that leave us with U7,U8, R15, and R16 which could mean they are all part of the same circuit if they laid it out with any logic. TP1,2,and 3 also make me believe this is true, however they match up to LED_WPAN#, LED, WLAN#,and LED_WWAN#. I sure wish they match the power input pins, but that means all those missing resistors could just be for unpopulated status LED's. Like I've said over and over i cant tell ya unless i can probe around the board.
As far as the memory, yes its possible, I do BGA replacement at work. What I am afraid of is that the other memory chips look to be exactly on the other side and I'd be afraid of messing them up. I'd have to look at my jig at work and see if I could set it up without any problems.
I'm no electronics expert but I dabble. I'd be interested in internal GPS and a memory boost. I'm pretty confident in my soldering skills and would try something if directed by someone smarter than me.
This is something I am very interested in. Any new info on this?
ihaveathumb said:
This is something I am very interested in. Any new info on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sadly no longer own a G tablet, wife thought it was to heavy to read books, and hated the screen. I cant argue with her on either of those points, so we returned it. However I got the ok to buy a referb on if i can find one, but when I did at my local store i showed them the paper and they told me they dont sell that stuff there and send me away. I talked to 3 different people too basically all told me to go f off. I even tried another time with the 7" they sell same results. I dont know why it gets listed on the website if they wont sell it.
Not to get sidetracked, but i even did by the proper bga fittings to solder the ram chips too lol..
So no its probably not going to go any farther from my stand point, if anyone wants my help I still read the forums everyday.
I'm just gonna wait and see what comes out in the future that XDA gets behind, because I'de never buy anything that didnt have an active community here.
IF you were looking for a reader fo rher mainly, you should've really gone with the Nook Color... eInk devices are good too IF you don't really need good PDF support and/or need it to read more complexly formatted documents, e.g. technical manual, mathematics texts, etc. i.e. eInk is best suited for ficiton and other simply formatted documents, but it VERY readable except in poorly lit conditions where you'd need external lighting of some sort.
Very true I should have bought her a nook, but now she doesnt want it because its not powerful enough for her needs imo. She also wants to login to her school (blackboard) and be able to use overdrive. Plus she likes dungeon defenders and I dont think that can handle it. We are just gonna wait it out and see what comes along, mostly cause we have our first due next month, so trying to be frugal.
mystkrh said:
Very true I should have bought her a nook, but now she doesnt want it because its not powerful enough for her needs imo. She also wants to login to her school (blackboard) and be able to use overdrive. Plus she likes dungeon defenders and I dont think that can handle it. We are just gonna wait it out and see what comes along, mostly cause we have our first due next month, so trying to be frugal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, you'll want a full blown tablet then and I suspect that the NC would be too much of a bother to get setup for her for what she wants it for...
All the 10" tablets are fairly heavy too, so you'll probably have to stick to looking for 7/8" tablets and I suspect Tegra 2 or multi-core cortex-a9 SoCs from other mfgs... not much in the way of 7" ATM other than the elocity a7 (was c. $300 around xmas), but it's not very hacker friendly and I don't know if they ever got the USB port to run in non-host mode... probably best to not even look at it...
The g Tablet would, as many have already said, be a great tablet if it had gps mainly and increased memory. Adding pci-e would be even better. I would be extremely happy with the addition of gps. I would be very tempted to allow somebody with expertise and high level of confidence of success to experiment on my tablet.
GPS+
Just bought my Gtab yesterday. As you know the stock Roman/UI sucks big time. I installed Clockwork followed by CyanogenMod 7 and what a difference. Anyway I looked on the web for a dock and it seems there is a Chinese version of the Gtab that has higher spec's including GPS. It would seem logical to assume the U.S. motherboard has the same circuits built in. Who knows what's possible....
It's too bad that more people don't feel like tearing up their electronics to start soldering things to them.
Ok, i've search abit on the forum and did not find an exact match to what i want to know
anywho the question is following:
I have htc touch cruise and nokia 5800 xpress music (i really hate the last one )
Im getting something better soon and both mentioned phones have damaged screens.
I was worndering if it is possible to maybe remove completely the old screens and to put there new touchscreens but much bigger sizes. I was thinking to use something like 7" touchscree and to use the modded phone in my car as GPS Player and maybe even a phone or just to have some internet access on it for radio streaming
So is it possible at all? dont care about casing or how it is going to look i have that figured out and have a friend who can produce a very nice case of my design. the powersupply and etc is not an issue either. the most importan is HOW if AT ALL possible connect a bigger touch screen to either of these phones.
First problem first.... power. Your phone will most likely not support the current drain from the larger screen, but I'm sure you will be able to supplement the power from the car. Next, screen drivers... The Android OS embeds the necessary drivers, but do not include drivers for every screen on the market. If you know how to cook your own ROM, I believe it will be possible to buy a screen for an HTC or similar tablet, then extract the driver from that phone's ROM and inject it into your new modded ROM. Sounds easy enough? hehe, good luck, I really do hope you are good at Linux and Android dev for this to work, and I wish you the best of luck, I think it will make an awesome CARPC project!!
I would like to get some opinion from you guys....
I am a startup developing a new kind of mobile device that combines a phone and tablet - putting a 7" screen on a less than 5" phone body. (It is not like the Galaxy Note, where the size is fixed.)
SO when you just want to make calls, check SMS and emails, just use the "phone mode" with a 4"+ screen.
When you want to surf web, watch videos/photos, transform it into a 7"-screen tablet.
Now my question is about the potential market for this device, as it seems that no company is creating a device like this, I am worried if there's no market for it.
a) For those of you carrying two devices (a phone and a tablet), are you feeling a bit inconvenient, annd would you like to have this device?
b) For those of you carrying only a phone, would you like to have a bigger screen, perhaps 7", while retaining the same portability?
c) Would you still buy a 10" tablet after you have this device? (assuming you already have a laptop)
Your help will be very much appreciated!
the first thing that came to mind upon reading this post is the asus padfone.
i do carry the 2 devices (S2 + TF101), and IMO it isn't really a big inconvenience, thus i might not be that interested. Unless it comes with a unique feature / selling point?
cheers.
if the tablet could make calls and i could pair a Bluetooth headset to it, i would get it. maybe it would stop me from texting and driving if it was 10 inch
I see no market for it. Some will buy it for what it is but not enough to make profit or even break even. Try focussing resources on let's say the body of the Droid Razr with an edge to edge screen, custom ROM that gets rid of the touch buttons of the bottom of the device so that can be more room for screen. I would buy something like that.
Or how about a smart-watch that can sync with any tablet to become a secondary display.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Didn't they already do this? And if I recall it kinda flopped... Not being negative, but I think people are used to carrying around a bunch of gadgets...
deliriume said:
the first thing that came to mind upon reading this post is the asus padfone.
i do carry the 2 devices (S2 + TF101), and IMO it isn't really a big inconvenience, thus i might not be that interested. Unless it comes with a unique feature / selling point?
cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
There are some aspects of Padfone that we don't think it will be a market success:
1. You still need to carry the 10" screen, and it is not as portable as a 4+" phone 2. When the phone is inside tablet, you'll need a headset to receive and make calls
Anyway our product is not in compete with padfone, although we have something in common - to combine devices from different categories. The key difference, besides the size, is that we emphasize on PORTABILITY; while they probably emphasize on versatile performance.
Our device is small and light and easily slip into pocket, yet comes with a beautiful 7" screen.
BTW, we think the combination of devices (our device + laptop/ultrabook) is more reasonable than (Padfone + laptop/ultrabook), because Padfone size is already very similar to laptop, and almost everyone already has a laptop.
STIDRIVER said:
Didn't they already do this? And if I recall it kinda flopped... Not being negative, but I think people are used to carrying around a bunch of gadgets...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback!
Do you mean Sony's Tablet P?
However, since there is a bezel between the two screens, it cannot be seen as a one screen tablet when unfolded. In fact this is one of the main reason why it gets poor reviews and market reactions (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-21/what-was-sony-thinking-with-tablet-p-rich-jaroslovsky.html). The bezel is simply annoying.
Our startup have found a way to remove the bezel.
Yes people now used to carry around many gadgets, because currently we have no choice
I love the idea of the padfone...4 inch phone during the day, 10 inch phone when at home.
If you have something to offer please let me know, as of know i am seriously looking at the padfone to be my next phone.
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app
I love the idea of the padfone!
bigboxrate said:
Maybe this one can be a good choice for you if you do not mind using big screen to make telephone calls.
http://www.tinydeal.com/7-pxp7fh-p-39587.html
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Click to collapse
800 mhz and 256 ram, gross...
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app
Good Stuff....Thanks
Tablet s Phone
I really dont understand why Tablets dont incorporate phones, I own a Dell Streak Mini 5, (best phone Ive ever owned) also a sony tablet s.
Both brilliant devices but most of the pros are duplicated by one or the other,
Dell streak, android device, good general purpose but screen too small for word processing or watching vids, not to mention the small onscreen keybord.
Tablet s, android device, good for all things android but no phone.
I dont follow the logic that there would be no market for a tablet device with a phone, I carry a phone and I carry a tablet I would far rather only carry one, i.e. the tablet with a phone in it, I use a blue tooth earpiece for all my phone/music/audio books so its not as if Ive got it stuck to my ear all the time, in fact the phone never comes out unless i want to use an app.
So the answer for me is a resounding YES device of that nature.
This is a great idea. Today's smartphones have all this horsepower but what good is it if the tiny screens make it a chore to get anything done. I'm having difficulty imagining how one would go about incorporating an additional big screen on a phone, but if you can do a clean job at it, I believe it will be success. By clean, I mean the screens should be good quality either glass or matte, not some flimsy folding ****.
noobletsausecakebbq said:
This is a great idea. Today's smartphones have all this horsepower but what good is it if the tiny screens make it a chore to get anything done. I'm having difficulty imagining how one would go about incorporating an additional big screen on a phone, but if you can do a clean job at it, I believe it will be success. By clean, I mean the screens should be good quality either glass or matte, not some flimsy folding ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes we are not using folding screens.
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note exactly for this reason.
The screen is big enough for non-phone usage but small
enough to fit inside a pocket to carry around like you would
carry around a phone. It's already 5.4" so 7" is not that much
larger, you'd better have a real compelling reason for your
device in order to convince people who would otherwise
pick the Note.
Cool Idea
I don't know of your resource base, but have you seen the new translucent material they have demoed for new tablets. That would make your product something that would stand apart. They demoed the material at one of the electronic shows this year.
fetchinson said:
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note exactly for this reason.
The screen is big enough for non-phone usage but small
enough to fit inside a pocket to carry around like you would
carry around a phone. It's already 5.4" so 7" is not that much
larger, you'd better have a real compelling reason for your
device in order to convince people who would otherwise
pick the Note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! Ive had my g2 since the day it came out. The two devices im looking at is the padfone or the galaxy note. Im on tmobile usa so hooping one will get 4G sometime this summer. August is my upgrade month
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app
challa3223 said:
I don't know of your resource base, but have you seen the new translucent material they have demoed for new tablets. That would make your product something that would stand apart. They demoed the material at one of the electronic shows this year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, we are using standard touchscreens...
I think you will have a harder time distinguishing yourself from the padfone since it is out now.
Hey not sure on any of the reasons why you wouldn't be able to do this, but I had an idea.
Replacement s10 rear camera parts are roughly $30 or so...
I would like to purchase a few of them in addition to the ones I have.
Then hook them up to a virtual / emulated phone run off my pc... So they would still be able to process the images / video as if they where connected to an actual phone...
(Not sure if this is necessary but I assume so.)
Ideally I would like them to be wireless so I'm thinking some sort of raspberry pi...
(Not sure at all though... Just sounds like a logical to me)
The purpose is simple...
Have a few replacement s10 camera small and compact to be able to use on drones place them around and use them as camera's.
As far the the technical aspect I have no idea...
Not sure what software or hardware to use...
Or if they can be used with 3rd party hardware / software.
(please let me know)
If you have another solution that's awesome, but I would prefer the route of connecting replacement s10 or any model camera as I already have a few from damaged phones etc....
Would love to here what you phone guru's have to say.
Peace
Mike.
Yes its beautiful looks
MIKE.MAN said:
Hey not sure on any of the reasons why you wouldn't be able to do this, but I had an idea.
Replacement s10 rear camera parts are roughly $30 or so...
I would like to purchase a few of them in addition to the ones I have.
Then hook them up to a virtual / emulated phone run off my pc... So they would still be able to process the images / video as if they where connected to an actual phone...
(Not sure if this is necessary but I assume so.)
Ideally I would like them to be wireless so I'm thinking some sort of raspberry pi...
(Not sure at all though... Just sounds like a logical to me)
The purpose is simple...
Have a few replacement s10 camera small and compact to be able to use on drones place them around and use them as camera's.
As far the the technical aspect I have no idea...
Not sure what software or hardware to use...
Or if they can be used with 3rd party hardware / software.
(please let me know)
If you have another solution that's awesome, but I would prefer the route of connecting replacement s10 or any model camera as I already have a few from damaged phones etc....
Would love to here what you phone guru's have to say.
Peace
Mike.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too complicated, it is easier to just buy cameras that are already designed to work in this manner for this purpose.
Engineering your own will probably require redesigning hardware and building custom software to handle the task of using multiple cameras. All in all, way more trouble than it is worth.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
Too complicated, it is easier to just buy cameras that are already designed to work in this manner for this purpose.
Engineering your own will probably require redesigning hardware and building custom software to handle the task of using multiple cameras. All in all, way more trouble than it is worth.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man as I've been reading and watching more about CSI to USB connectors and understanding slight more the scale of complexity this would involve... I'm starting to realize that this task is far too complex for me to crack...
Wish it was easier though, I feel like thoes cameras have so much potential.