[einstrigger]

I'd like to get a tablet, for a wide variety of reasons. I love apple, but I'm not really into iOS. I'm an android guy and I'm very happy with my evo 4g.

So here's the question... The photographic function I'd like is the ability to either plug in the camera or take the memory card and insert it (whether through a usb adapter or direct) into the tablet and off load photos.

I have the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and like it very much so far. I was initially looking into the iPad 2, but I hate going through iTunes to do anything. I guess their cloud service will change that, but i wasn't sticking around to wait.

In the meantime, the Transformer cost $399 and you can pay $150 for the extra keyboard dock. The tablet has a microSD slot, but when you add the dock you have a full-size SDHC slot, 2 additional USB ports, and a dedicated trackpad. Most wireless keyboards for iOS don't offer a trackpad, let alone a cursor that navigates around iOS. The dock also serves as an extra battery giving an estimated 16hrs of power. So for essentially $50 more than a 16GB iPad ($499), you get a lot more functionality. Basically an Android netbook

I don't actually have the keyboard dock because they're sold out everywhere, so I can't comment on "from the camera, straight to the tablet" transfers. But that doesn't jive with my current workflow anyway, since I shoot raw and always do post processing. Although once PP is completed, I do use it as a presentation device to showcase my work. It's awesome for that.

I also noticed if you upload photos to Picasaweb, the photos are automatically synced to the tablet and show up in the gallery. Hell, if you use any of Google's stuff (i.e. gmail, calendar, contacts, docs, voice), it all syncs up wirelessly.

[kenyee]

Problem w/ Android tablets is Google just recently released their USB host support for Honeycomb 3.1. And it's extremely crude. No built-in drivers (why I have no clue since it runs LInux underneath, a lot of drivers should be available). The "API" basically lets you read/write blobs of data to the USB device.

Unless I'm missing something...

Then there's lack of RAW/PEF reading support on Android...no Java libraries I know of.
You're most likely better off w/ a Windows tablet

For tethering, you can use the Eye-Fi X2 cards w/ 6MP JPEGs...waste of money to get the RAW supporting Pro version...way too damned slow :-(

p.s., yep, I'm a developer...wrote the Studio Buddy app for Android...it initially locked up on the Xoom so you couldn't drag objects, but Motorola has apparently fixed their bug...

[Entropy]

As I understand it - Iconia A500 has USB host functionality right in the tablet.

The Eee Transformer only has it with the dock.

Many others don't have it at all.

As to tethering - if anything can control the Pentax via tethering, it would be the A500. PK Tether won't do it since it's Windows only. pkremote does run in Linux and could probably be compiled for ARM and run on the A500, however it has no Android user interface (would only work via terminal emulator or ADB) and doesn't appear to have been updated to support anything newer than the K20D.

[kenyee]

pkremote does run in Linux and could probably be compiled for ARM and run on the A500

You can't compile code to run on Arm on Android unless you're modifying the boot rom. Normal apps don't get that low level access AFAIK (for security reasons)...most apps are Java...

[Clicker]

I'd like to get a tablet, for a wide variety of reasons. I love apple, but I'm not really into iOS. I'm an android guy and I'm very happy with my evo 4g.

So here's the question... The photographic function I'd like is the ability to either plug in the camera or take the memory card and insert it (whether through a usb adapter or direct) into the tablet and off load photos.

If you are familiar with the epson p3000 (4000, 5000... so on) I basically want to be able to do that. Offload and view WITHOUT a computer.

I know that ipad can do this with an adapter. Toshiba is coming out with their tablet which actually has a dedicated sd card reader. The xoom now has a camera connection kit (which is an OTG micro usb - female usb adpater)... The asus has a dock... Blah blah blah.

Is anyone doing this? Can anyone offer advice on how to get your photos from your camera to your tablet without going through a computer?

I know the android tablets can't read raw and I'd be happy to shoot in jpeg when I'm only traveling with the tablet.

HELP!

i'm on a Tab, using the eyefi explore and using their "Direct Load" it works but it's slow in my opinion. They have a mobile version which isnt available here locally as yet, im hoping that's faster but im currently testing it on an Optio H90 lol, i'm not sure if that has anything to do with it's seemingly slow transfer?


My Tab also has a micro sd slot so all i need is an sd adapter to shoot in camera then pop the micro out and into the micro sd slot to transfer.

*update* just tried it with my LX5, modrately faster and no "eye-fi" selection needed, just load shoot after making the pairing from the Tab.

[Entropy]

You can't compile code to run on Arm on Android unless you're modifying the boot rom. Normal apps don't get that low level access AFAIK (for security reasons)...most apps are Java...

Wrong. There's nothing preventing you from compiling commandline ARM ELF binaries and running them on Android, other than the fact that apparently everything must be statically linked - which results in the binaries being huge.

As an example, see Shark for Root, which includes a commandline tcpdump binary and a Java UI to call the binary - https://market.android.com/details?id=lv.n3o.shark&feature=search_result

See also the various people who have compiled bash for Android. Which reminds me, I need to install bash on my Infuse.

I'm fairly certain it's possible to have a non-root commandline app - Shark needs root because tcpdump needs root for promisc mode.

Probably a tethering app would need root for USB bus access. Also not sure if anyone has gotten libusb running on Android.

Graphical apps are a different story - there is no GTK, Qt, or X support in Android. (Actually I think someone may have hacked up an X server - not sure.)

[dmort]

Hey all... If you were going to buy an android tablet today, what would you get?

I know and understand all the reasons to buy a netbook instead!

I'm leaning towards the acer iconia a500 because of the ports and the metal body (which I think is cool). However, I'm still considering the xoom or the galaxy tab 10.1. The galaxy is very slick, cool, ipadish. However, no ports. You have to buy an adapter for usb to use card reader and such. The xoom is the same deal, you need the micro usb to usb adapter, but it is a proven tablet, plenty of accessories... It is also a little clunky feeling.

I think that the form factor is hugely important here. Any thoughts on how these stack up? How does the iconia feel in the hand?

[Quicksand]

I don't know how it compares, since I'm not really in the market -- but sellout.woot has the Viewsonic 10.1 inch Android tablet today for $255, shipped (in the US).

The specs look pretty good to me -- dual-core 1 GHz processor, 512 MB memory, 16 GB storage, MicroSD slot, USB connector.

Woot® : One Day, One Deal?

[dmort]

Well, after an early morning trip to best buy, I was able to play with the htc flyer, the galaxy tab 10.1, the acer iconia, and the xoom. I wasn't really interested in the flyer, that was more for fun.

The galaxy tab is clearly the sleekest and easiest to hold. But its light weight and plastic back lead to it not feeling quite as robust as the others. Also, no ports. I want ports.

The iconia looked really great and felt good in the hand. Much heavier than the samsung but not uncomfortable. Lots of people have said that it seems that acer nailed the weight distribution. I agree. However, the little grid of dots was distracting for me. I could see it whenever I held the screen at an angle. Also, the build quality didn't feel right on. It wasn't bad at all, but just not perfect.

The xoom was heavy and a little clumsy. But it has accommodation for all the ports (with an adapter) and it felt super solid. The xoom is a vetted product having been out for so long and there are lots of accessories as well.

I went for the xoom... It will arrive in two days. After a little time with it, perhaps I'll post an android and your dslr thread, it seems like a reasonable topic to discuss!

[kenyee]

the Viewsonic has a crappy screen.
I'd get the Asus Transformer or Galaxy Tab if I had to get one now, but want to see what Amazon has up its sleeve in August.

Sounds like Entropy has volunteered to get tethering working on Android ;-)

[Entropy]

Problem is that pk-tether only supports the K10/20. So even if I got a tablet with USB host at best I'd be able to get it to work with the 20 from the terminal.

(I am awful at GUI stuff...)

If you want a tablet with ports you may want to wait for the Toshiba Thrive - it's supposedly got LOTS of ports.

[rhe]

Lenovo makes an X series tablet.

Lenovo - Laptops - ThinkPad - X Series Tablets (CA)

[NickRochon]

Rockin the thrive now!!! This thing is awesome! (Pardon the excitement) I downloaded RawDroid, threw a memory card in with 10 photos on it, it decoded them in less than a second so I could view them right on the tablet. Such a beautiful thing. So glad I'm able to use this thing in conjunction with my camera.

[selar]

I am using a Samsung Galaxy Tab (7 inch model), I just shoot a microsd card in an SD adapter in the camera. When I'm done, I remove the micro SD card from the adapter and insert into the Tab. I believe most if not all Android tablets support inserting a microsd card, a great reason to get them instead of ipads which do not have this functionality.

[dmort]

So I've had my xoom for about a week now and I love the thing. It works well, feels great in the hand... Its a great device. I bought the connectivity kit and have had no problems offloading jpegs from the camera to the xoom.

If you shoot in Raw+ mode on the k5, you can still shoot raw, but be able to generally review jpegs on the tablet.

My k5 needed to have its usb mode changed. I can't recall off the top of my head, but there are two choices, and which ever it was set to was the wrong one! So I changed it and the thing works flawlessly.

It won't support a thumb drive or a usb card reader yet. Thats supposedly coming.