Database Develop

Itech Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard

WOW! I cant tell you how much i like this keyboard with my Mogul. It paired up with no driver download required. Just make sure you enter the same passcode and press return with the keyboard immediately after pairing with the ppc. Instructions are minimal in the box, online are better. I thought it worked very well right out of the box. It was fairly accurate and seemed to improve as I used it and played with the sensitivity (lessened it, as I was getting multiple letters occasionally. It makes a click sound every time a key is recognized. The laser projected keyboard is very visible in all but the brightest of rooms. The futuristic look and function is beyond belief. The reviews were slamming it for some reason. While it might not be the ultiimate solution to mobile computing, it is so easy on my eyes (much more so than the onscreen popup keyboard, tactile keyboard or "full screen keyboards) I dont have to use my reading glasses! I paid $149.00 at Fry's in stock here in Houston. Total accident that I stumbled onto it. Did i say it is less than 1/2 pack of cigarettes in size? A bluetooth laser projected vrtual keyboard! You have been warned. I saw this same thing floating around the net years ago and thought it would never happen. It has and it works! Now I want the bluetooth projector (not out, but was in same picture years ago).
Anyway now for the cons, andd they are minor in my opinion. It requires sitting on a flat surface (has a microswitch on bottom that turns it off if lifted though it repairs instantly upon repowering) which makes use in a car difficult if not impossible especially if moving (now if they would have built a clip on it to clip it upright on say a notepad!) That is about it. Btw I paid retail and get no compensation from any manufacturer and I think it was worth it. You wont believe the look on friends faces when you pop it out of your top pocket!

link to the manufacturer's or reseller's website please?

Wow, this is really expensive.
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
I'm not sure I'd want to use a bluetooth keyboard when the Mogul already has a built-in keyboard, kind of overkill if you ask me.
Also, what's the battery life on this thing and the effect on the Mogul when paired up with it?

Here is the link http://www.vkb-support.com/index.php
The claimed battery life is 2 hours of active typing. The laser dosent use much power I wouldnt think. Also you think the keyboard on the mogul is good? You must have great eyes and be into texting. It is not a better keyboard (the mogul) nor is it more accurate. Re: The price yes at 149.00 it wasnt cheap, however a bluetooth folding keyboard is 149.00 at Best Buy and a palm bluetooth (not compatible with ppc) was 89.00. So you choose what you spend your money on. I personally think it is one of the most futuristic accessories I have have ever seen and it works very well maybe not perfect but neither is the user! 2 good dinners for my family of 5 easily costs the same and all I get is a larger waist with the dinner. Cya

Those are some cheap dinners...
Fastest1 said:
Here is the link http://www.vkb-support.com/index.php
The claimed battery life is 2 hours of active typing. The laser dosent use much power I wouldnt think. Also you think the keyboard on the mogul is good? You must have great eyes and be into texting. It is not a better keyboard (the mogul) nor is it more accurate. Re: The price yes at 149.00 it wasnt cheap, however a bluetooth folding keyboard is 149.00 at Best Buy and a palm bluetooth (not compatible with ppc) was 89.00. So you choose what you spend your money on. I personally think it is one of the most futuristic accessories I have have ever seen and it works very well maybe not perfect but neither is the user! 2 good dinners for my family of 5 easily costs the same and all I get is a larger waist with the dinner. Cya
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WOAHHH!!!
you can get TWO dinners for 5 people for $150? Where are you? In NYC a family of 5 can't eat that cheaply unless they go to McDonald's.
Still not understanding though, the Mogul/Titan HAS a built-in keyboard doesn't it? Why then do you need a second keyboard?

yes it does have a tactile keyboard, an onscreen keyboard and i have even dowloaded larger onscreen keypads, however none of those are like typing on a full size keyboard. The VKB is better when being at a stationary location and would like to type easier. I avoid detail when using any of the onboard solutions due to the inconvenience. I am over 40 and the ability to read without glasses is slipping away and that has a lot to do with my preference and the fact I actually TALKED to the girls I was chasing when I was young and single so Texting isnt second nature to me. I really want a total voice command of some type preferably not via a web connection but onboard the phone. Actually if HTC would combine a virtual projector, vitual keyboard and phone the size of say a credit card with a terragig? Is that too much to ask? or do I have to wait for an underdeveloped nation to bring it to me? Btw regarding food, I didnt say a nice restaraunt or nutritious! and surely no good drinks. In NYC you couldnt even afford the toll road to get to the restaraunt with 5 people!

we take the subway
Fastest1 said:
Btw regarding food, I didnt say a nice restaraunt or nutritious! and surely no good drinks. In NYC you couldnt even afford the toll road to get to the restaraunt with 5 people!
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Click to collapse
toll road? unless you're part of the bridge and tunnel crowd coming into the city, we take the subway by and large. It's efficient, clean, and safe. Just the tourists are afraid of it. Don't know why, but that's their lookout.
Oh, and there's plenty of places to eat that are affordable, just not kansas affordable (no knock on kansas, I just have to believe that prices in kansas are considerably less than NY).

I have one of these, and I like it, but there are probably a few things you should consider before paying the bucks. First, it's got a major cool factor attached to it, however, if you touch type, it's likely going to drive you crazy, it's a full sized virtual keyboard, but there is no touch feedback, you're going to have to watch yourself type unless you get very good. Also, it's no good in high light situations, you won't be able to see the projection of the keyboard. It will only work on a stable, flat surface, don't expect to be able to whip it out in your car or lap (has a cut-off switch on the bottom, and does NOT like anything that will interfere with the infra-red reading that detects your finger touch on the surface).
Now, all that being said, it's still extremely neat and handy to be able to carry a full sized keyboard easily in your pocket, and using it will certainly turn heads, and even having to look at the keyboard to type, I can still certainly out pace my typing on the hardware or software keyboard on my kaiser and tytn..
It is HID compliant, and will be picked up as an input device natively in wm5 and wm6 from my experience. It is rechargable, and has a decent run time, never used it until it's died, so can't say on real world total run time.

Bluetooth Keyboard Case Review

Here is my review for those considering to buy one.
Typing on the Galaxy Tab has been a pleasure especially when using Thumb Keyboard, but there are moments when a physical keyboard is needed. When I am sitting in lecture and I want to take notes with my Tab using the onscreen keyboard, the Professor may think that I am texting in class. This not only leads to unnecessary embarrassments, if he or she calls me out in front of the other students, but also makes note-taking inefficient; I type slower with the onscreen keyboard than with a regular keyboard. I resorted to carrying around my full sized Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad with me so I could take notes and navigate the Tab more efficiently but alas, it led to people constantly staring at me because of my awkward setup and as you would imagine, portability was an issue as well. What’s a guy to do? Luckily I found a solution, a bluetooth keyboard within a case! Check out my video review after the break:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4srLChySYio
Overall Impressions:
The bluetooth keyboard/case has been a tremendous productivity tool. I’ve managed to type this review in its entirety with the keyboard and it has been a great experience. As I mentioned in the video review, there is a slight learning curve to it but after that, you will be typing as fast as you do on a normal keyboard. The battery life is exceptional! I have been using this keyboard on and off for about 4 days now have yet to plug it in to charge it. This keyboard, coupled with a few other apps, makes typing long emails and controlling the entire tab easy and intuitive. It’s now a pleasure to sit on Google Talk and chat with my friends and have long conversations with them using this keyboard; it feels natural. So if you are in the market for a portable keyboard for your Galaxy Tab and want to save yourself the embarrassment of carrying around a full-sized keyboard in your backpack, then go ahead and pick up one for yourself. I think with the perfect sized bluetooth mouse, you basically get a mini netbook. Prices due vary ($40-$90) so shop around. I recommend using ebay or google shopping to get the best deals. Just search for Galaxy Tab Bluetooth Keyboard Case! If your in a rush to get one, here’s one from Brando.com.
Recommended apps to use with this keyboard (Available on the Android Market):
-BlueKeyboard Pro: allows you to hide the standard keyboard when you are typing with the keyboard connected.
-Widget Locker: great for getting the homescreen in portrait mode and for waking/unlocking the Tab by using the back button on the keyboard
-Task Switcher: AMAZING tool used to program quick keys to launch your favorite apps as well switching between them. Much better than holding down the home button.
If you have recommendations for a good bluetooth mouse, leave a comment or email me at [email protected]!
From the Tab.
www.twitter.com/ayman07

Nice review! Glad I ordered one...seems just right for on the go!

Thanks for the review, its been 3 weeks I've ordered from brando, the package already left hongkong..but when I tracked in australia, the package still not in yet..
Why is it take long time??

Mine was shipped to Canada Feb 21st and just entered customs on March 8th. I guess shipping takes awhile.
Those app tips are very helpful OP.
Finally arrived so I did an unbox video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1FvXRajZUU Glad I got it.

Great review. I ordered one before my tab turned up and had an initial knee-jerk that I didn't like it. After using it for some IM though, I absolutely love it. I was lucky enough to pick one up from Amazon for £25, with free delivery, which is the cheapest I could find it.
It really does turn a big phone into a netbook.
Also, I've not got any 3rd party apps to suppress the keyboard. I just press the keyboard "go away" button when relevant.
If anyone is questioning getting one of these then I'd strongly recommend it. I've only had my tab for just over a day and this thing has already given it a new lease of life!

masbego said:
Thanks for the review, its been 3 weeks I've ordered from brando, the package already left hongkong..but when I tracked in australia, the package still not in yet..
Why is it take long time??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, I ordered mine from Brando back in February (10th, I think) and just got it today (22-March).

Nice find on task switcher, makes having the keyboard 10x better

Found a better app for the soft keyboard replacement, check out null keyboard.
Sent from my SGH-I987 using XDA Premium App

S-pen usage frequency

Hi all,
I was wondering how frequently everyone is using their S-pen here and if they feel its actualyl helpful/gimmick, as I never had a note before and soon be getting the note 4.
Furthermore, how useful do you find fingerprint scanner note 4 compared to the iphone button one.
feedback will be appriciated!

I used to think it was gimmicky until I got my note 12.2 tablet where the s pen is invaluable.
Which tempted me to this phone and again I find myself using it all the time purely because it is so much more accurate than my finger.
Only thing is mine seems to be so sensitive that I can't type with it using googles keyboard without typing multiple letters at a time, minor annoyance.
Sent from my SM-N910F

love to use the S Pen . It's So accurate and easy to use. | likto write with it because in landscape I'm faster with writing then with typing

soulfrigger said:
love to use the S Pen . It's So accurate and easy to use. | likto write with it because in landscape I'm faster with writing then with typing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
During the day, I virtually never use it, especially if I'm in a rush, but at home I've found value in it.

0k while I'm driving I can't use it =D

Definitely a gimmick, but a really well made and presented gimmick at that.
I've found myself using s-note every time now to write lists and memos, pinning them to the homescreen, so the gimmick has come to life although previously I was happy with Google Keep (which is s-pen friendly) and will probably drift back to that for lists especially.

oursoul said:
Definitely a gimmick, but a really well made and presented gimmick at that.
I've found myself using s-note every time now to write lists and memos, pinning them to the homescreen, so the gimmick has come to life although previously I was happy with Google Keep (which is s-pen friendly) and will probably drift back to that for lists especially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a gimmick. Use it a lot more than when I had the Note 2 3 and 8., I use it for business.

I use the pen for everything. Hardly ever use my fingers.

I couldn't live without it. I use it for making notes and I use it for sketching and painting.

For me it's essential. I've had Note 10.1 for years now and wrote hundrends on pages (notes at university and at work) on it. I bought Note 4 because of the stylus and I have already moved to it for taking notes. I recommend LectureNotes - it takes a bit of configuration to work great on such high resolution screen (you have to make the default pens much, much thicker) but then it is better than S Note (it has folders for example).

Never use the Pen... even on my Note Pro. You can't really write with it like a normal pen, and I can't think of a use outside of that.
The fingerprint scanner works if you register the same finger 3 times, and you're not in a hurry or haven't been swimming/shower.
If you're calm the success rate is 80%, as soon as you're in a hurry to unlock the phone success rate goes down to 40%.

Personally, I was quite surprised at how much it IS like a normal pen, particularly with the palm rejection on most Samsung apps. Plus putting a Spigen Crystal screen protector on gave it a little bit more drag and made it even better. In terms of writing quality, my handwriting is not as neat as on paper, but for scribbly notes that doesn't matter!
There are two reasons I bought the Note 4:
1. I just started Uni a month ago, and I didn't want to spend half of my living funds on paper. Plus its handy having literally all of your notes on you, all the time.
2. I am the kind of person that thinks of something that I need to do later, but rather than get a piece of paper and write it down, I just tell myself that I'll remember. Obviously my memory isn't that good so I always forget, but with a pen attached to your phone its really satisfying to add it to an S Note.
No regrets moving from a stock Nexus 5 to TouchWiz!

I use the Spen almost all the time, it is far more accurate than my fat fingers and using the handwriting recognition is getting better every day as I use it, it also gives me a way to work on my handwriting to make it legible as until recently even I couldn't read my own writing.
And the Fingerprint scanner works all the time unless I have something on my finger

I don't use it much, but I really like it when I need it. I mainly find myself using it on non mobile websites that have hover menu's. It's also good for the odd time I need to make a quick 'note' or maybe grab a picture from something.

For clarity I use the S Pen for UI and multi tasking but taking notes for hours I use the Wacom Bamboo Feel pen. Also if you don't know Microsoft OneNote works well on Samsang Galaxy Note devices for viewing as well as input.
---------- Post added at 09:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------
See here for thread on stylus option http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2910462

rayone said:
Never use the Pen... even on my Note Pro. You can't really write with it like a normal pen, and I can't think of a use outside of that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can. I wrote hundreds of pages on my Note 10.1. If you are finding it difficult to write make sure: 1) you use the rubber ending (default in newer Notes), 2) try using a larger pen (although they are pricy).

This is yet another very subjective question, with thousands of variables... for me, I use the S-Pen more every day. I don't work at a desk most of the day. I have lots of random thoughts and lots of small little notes that I take. IE, jotting down a quick note every time I see a small project I want to add to one of my staff's work list for that day (I find writing it down when I notice it, rather than trying to recall it when I am actually leaving my directions for the next shift to be a huge benefit). I also do a lot of jotting down of things to find in the stockroom. I used to write notes on my hands with item numbers, etc. Short little notes I might only need for a few seconds. The ability to jot them down and have them at the ready has saved me lots of time... (I also found that the writing notes on your hand, or on the back of another note, or even on a box, doesn't work when you don't have a pen in your pocket!)
So for me, it has value and would definitely be missed without it. Its a decision making feature for me that will keep me with the Note line so long as it exists.

Calibrated for right handed people. That's crap, if you're leftie, and no way to switch or recalibrate. Really messes with my writing and drawing
Sent from my SM-N910W8

I use s-pen all the time for navigation but not for handwriting though. It is sooooo nice to have s-pen sensitive back and menu buttons! Any tip on using s-pen for home or invoking dock/apps?

I never used the S-Pen before, but now, with the Note 4, I use it very frequently! It kinda acts like a mouse for Web browsing, which is fantastic!
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

General Using the Mi 11 Ultra instead of a laptop

Hi All
This isn't rocket science, but thought I would pass on something I've been working on.
My Ultra has more ram, more storage and a better processor than my laptop along with 5x the battery life. So... I wanted to use it to work on the train and needed to print labels and stuff envelopes.
I bought a Zebra ZQ310 which is a very nice battery powered Bluetooth receipt/label printer. The printer is brill, but the Zebra Android software on Play is very old, but works.
I bought AndropenOffice Pro for £7.99 which I really like, it's got a mouse icon at the bottom and pressing it offers an area of the screen at the bottom as a touchpad, but for me,I bought a Jelly Comb Bluetooth trackball which is easier for me and won't take up too much area on the table. And, significantly it's much lighter than my old clunky laptop with a spare battery.
I bought the pro version of andropen Office as you can't print with the free version. My original idea was to use Google Print but that was jettisoned in December last year.
The only irritation with this is I bought it from the Amazon appstore and it requires you are running appstore and be signed into it to use andropenoffice. This is irritating as I'm guessing they are harvesting my personal data at the same time.
Any road up, Noroot firewall sorted that out. The appstore app is now blocked and andropenoffice seems to work just fine.
The combination of AndropenOffice and the Zebra printer work very well. I can print text, fonts and graphics and it's all fine.
For the keyboard, I've bought one of those PU leather wallets with an integral Bluetooth keyboard (see pic) so it ends up quite like a laptop.
This morning I processed half a dozen orders and printed address labels and it works well. It takes a little getting used to, with the small screen and occasional large windows that need dragging around but I'll stick with it and see how I get on.
Although our local trains often have Internet and mains power, you can't guarantee it so I've got an 18650 power bank which will charge the phone and the printer which, conveniently, is USB-C.
Although there are many more apps for Windows, I'm going to push ahead and see how far I can go. I use paint.net quite a bit on the laptop, so if anyone knows an equivalent for Android, please let me know.
Oops uploaded an Amazon joke too,so enjoy....
Cheers
Steve

You bought a 1500$ cellphone and can't afford a decent laptop to get your job done?
Get your priorities straight.

I disagree.This phone is powerful enough to comply with all his needs, what's the point to spend money on a laptop? The only reason he should buy one is the use of Windows

Hi @vagelis199 are you having a bad day or are you this rude all the time? I explained my reasons so try reading the post again lol. I Paid $1000.00 for my phone so I think you may have been stung lol.
I already have a laptop, but it's heavy to lug around and my phone is always with me.
I program PIC chips from time to time. I don't think there is anything for Android but that would be a real bonus for me.
Anyone know of a decent paint program for Android?
Cheers
Steve

Well, the keyboard/case arrrived and it works well (see pic).
The keyboardi s removable and very thin. It atttaches to the case with integral magnets. The only gotcha is it's a US keybaord so shift-3 is # and not £.
Need to find a good key re-mapper or save the £ symbol in a text file.....
Cheers
Steve

picitup said:
Well, the keyboard/case arrrived and it works well (see pic).
The keyboardi s removable and very thin. It atttaches to the case with integral magnets. The only gotcha is it's a US keybaord so shift-3 is # and not £.
Need to find a good key re-mapper or save the £ symbol in a text file.....
Cheers
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great setup man, you gave me idea that i can do some parts of my job with phone too

picitup said:
Well, the keyboard/case arrrived and it works well (see pic).
The keyboardi s removable and very thin. It atttaches to the case with integral magnets. The only gotcha is it's a US keybaord so shift-3 is # and not £.
Need to find a good key re-mapper or save the £ symbol in a text file.....
Cheers
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What mouse is that?

Hi @lortwarCECH
Glad you like it. With the latest generation of phones, I'm finding myself moving more towards the phone than the laptop. It's a bit of a learning curve, but processed a dozen orders today in no time.
Hi @22naresn it's Jelly Comb track ball Model MT50:
MT50 Trackball Mouse
Trackball Mouse: an amazing alternative to traditional mice, allows you to navigate the cursor through your thumb Ergonomic Design: minimize arm & wrist movements, reduce muscle strain, and relieves RSI (repetitive strain injury)Bluetooth4.0 & 2.4G Wireless: connect up to 3 devices...
www.jellycomb.uk
It's a piece of cake to use. It just fell off the arm of a chair and bust a plate on the floor and the ball popped out. Hope I didn''t break it sod the plate!
Cheers
Steve

Update: No tracker balls were harmed in this post. The ball popped back in just fine so life is good. The plate bits are in the bin.
It has a USB-C charging port so that's convenient. I forgot to turn it off (that's the issue with BT devices) and left it on all night. In the morning it worked just fine. Dunno what the battery life is, but it seems pretty good.
Cheers
Steve

Just a little more background on this as it's been quite a long journey then I'll stop droning on
The first printer I bought for this project was a Milestone MHT-L5801 here:
Milestone MHT-L5801 Portable Bluetooth Thermal Printer 58mm Pos Barcode Printer | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Milestone MHT-L5801 Portable Bluetooth Thermal Printer 58mm Pos Barcode Printer at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
And it really is a piece of junk. The plastic clip that holds the platen roller in place broke very quickly and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. One issue was the blutooth range which was about 3 inches lol. I almost had it working,then it started printing very light, with parts of the text missing, Cleaning the head with an IPA wipe made no difference.
I contacted Milestone initially by email and got no reply to my first email or chasers then facebook and they said they would send me new firmware by email. Nothing arrived and when I chased them, they just said 'sorry'. Chased them again and they jsut said sorry again, but no firmware.
So, poor mechanical design, crap firmware with zero support.
Next up was a Zebra LP2824 printer here:
LP 2824 Desktop Printer Support & Downloads | Zebra
Find information on the Zebra LP 2824 Desktop Printer drivers, software, support, downloads, warranty information and more.
www.zebra.com
I bought it for 30 quid on eBay and Zebra printers are good quality. They are designed for use in warehouses etc. It's a desktop printer which makes it a bt heavy to lug around, but it *just works* and there are plenty of spares for it on Aliexpress so it can be maintained.
The power supply is 19v, like most laptops and I bought a USB/19v power bank from aliexpress which works using 18650 batteries here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32619062806.html
The power bank powered the printer just fine and next up was to connect the RS232 port to a bluetooth dongle so the it would be transformed form a desktop printer which was battery powered with bluetooth.
I bought a couple of Bluetooth modules, but coudn't get them to work, then I saw an eBay ad with a guy selling the ZQ310 printers cheap (£100.00) which are designed to be portable (battery powered and Bluetooth) so bought one.
Now the desktop LP2824 is on my desk.
As mentioned earlier the Android software is very old and a bit scrappy, but it seems to work.
I didn't want to use some random labelling software, all I wanted was to be able to print from Open Office and I could then print anything. With Andopenoffice, this all works well and I can print text, fonts and graphics so job's a good 'un.
It's been a labour of love (and hate!) but now everything works fine.
I'm going to email Microchip and see if they are considering producing an Android compiler for their PIC chips. I guess they will think I'm nuts, but if I could program PICs on the train my life would be complete lol.
Ok I'll stop banging on now
Cheers
Steve

And finally (Ithink) here it is cast to a PC monitor using an Amazon Firestick
With the phone running andropenoffice
The firestick plugs into the HDMI port on the monitor and you go to:
Home/Settings/Display/Enable mirroring and it works like a dream
See attached pic.
Cheers
Steve

vagelis199 said:
You bought a 1500$ cellphone and can't afford a decent laptop to get your job done?
Get your priorities straight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you care what others do?

It looks a bit bizarre tbh but if it works for you and you have good eyesight go for it
I would guess a 14" laptop would be miles more productive but the phone is surely powerful enough to be a workhorse if necessary

Hehe I just got on abit of a roll and wanted to see what could be done. My eyesight is crap but I have good glasses and you can always zoom a web page.
I must admit, I like the laptop better, but for long battery life on a train with no Internet, USB or mains power, the phone is a good substitute. It takes a bit of getting used to, but my speed is improving daily.
You're right - it's a flippin' powerful computer and so small
Cheers
Steve

I have tried using large phones with Bluetooth mouse and keyboard cases for a long time. Every time I realized Android cannot replace desktop OS. Multi-tasking in Android is painfully slow, whatever you use, split-screen or free size windows, and whichever OS version, I have tried from android 6 to 10. Nevertheless, if you are keen on trying here is some setup I have used
Tablet autofit cases: http://amazon.com/ZAGG-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Android-Tablets/dp/B00IBW5XWY, it has a spring holder, tablet just fits snugly in the top shell. it becomes a foldable laptop-like device.
This used to come in 7 inches, 8 inch, and 10-inch compatible sizes. I used this with Huawei mediapad X1/X2, Mediapad M3 8.4
I then got this mouse Logitech t630. It's a very small slim mouse with a touch surface.
When I moved to a little less wider phone, due to unnecessary skewing of display aspect ratios (16:10 -> 18:9 -> 19:9 -> 20:9), the Zagg autofit keyboards no longer fit the phones even of 7+ inch diagonal.
I have Huawei mate 20x most recently. For this phone, I use this keyboard and Logitech T630 mouse as mentioned above.
Another trick to try is to add custom keyboard shortcuts from accessibility -> switch access.

Hi @bark1234
Thanks for all the useful info. Although my speed with the setup described isn't yet as fast as a laptop, I'll be doing 5 hour train journies, so any time I can use fruitully is good. Some eBay pages don't seem to scroll or zoom so that's an irritation, particularly when giving feeback.
I guess time will tell. I will either eat if for breakfast or pull my hair out lol. Fun project though
Cheers
Steve

Just a quick update on this. I've been using Andropenoffice to print labels to a Zebra battery label printer for some time. My speed has improved and now prefer my mi 11 ultra to a laptop. I got caught out with the A12 update as I bought andropenoffice from the Amazon Appstore which doesn't support A12 yet. The options were Update or Quit, but update didn't work so it broke Andropenoffice. Good 'ole Amazon. On the ball (asleep at the keyboard) as usual.
Anyway, rather than grab a pen, I bought Andropenoffice again, but this time from the Play Store. Works great lol.
So in summary, nice small phone to process my orders, but problems with software compatibilty just like a PC.
Some days I really like being an early adopter and other days....
Cheers
Steve

I bought a mi pad 5 pro
It actually feels faster than the mi 11 ultra somehow
Maybe because it has more space for cooling down the chip etc
The battery life is great and it's super smooth
Might be a better productivity device because it is designed for a keyboard and mouse and pen etc but I just wanted to use some apps on a bigger screen and it's great

Question Should i buy the Tab S8?

Dear XDA community I am very tempted to buy the tab s8 but i may need your help to understand whether this device is for me.
I bought a Tab S 8.4 waaaaay back in 2014 and I have been using it happily ever since. Before buying a tablet i thought that tablets were mostly productive devices rather than glorified phones with a bad camera. The tab s was an amazing device for what it was (especially at 350€) but i quickly found out that it couldn't do most things that I wanted it to do.
It couldn't be truly used to write documents due to the castrated mobile office apps
It couldn't be used for true multitasking (multi window worked only for selected special apps which most of the time where not the one I used)
External monitors could go only up to 1080p 30Hz and had way worse colors and i couldn't charge my device while displaying something on a TV
There is no concept of "running apps" infact every app except for the one i was using was just closed after a while, it has happened to me to actually loose edits on documents or comments.
Laggy alt tab and more in general laggy UI (yes even when it was new. In fact I'm quite sure it's more responsive now without all the Samsung bloats)
Instant throttling due to extremely poor thermal solution
Updated only twice and each update gave me worse and worse performance.
Now the reason why I didn't upgrade so far is because tablets just didn't inspire fun anymore. I tried iPads but they were not even capable of coping some files in background without errors. Windows tablets unfortunately have just eighter bad performance or impossible prices (really you could spend 3000+€ on a flimsy quad-core just to have as little as 16gb of ram, which truly i the minimum for windows). Chrome os tablets just don't exist, most have 4gb of ram and the ones with a decent build qualty like the HP x2 have massively under-powered internals. This is a shame because they are now supported for 8 years and i really value long term support. Then i took a look back at android and saw a graveyard of devices built to be trashed after one year and never updated.... except for one that suffered from chronic underfuned development: the tab S. Even that though was not as impressive as the original version. It had barely more ram, extremely inflated price, still no decent apps.
Now i wonder has all of this changed for the Tab S8?
I write less documents so may be able to withstand a crappy office suite.
8gb of ram finally a decent size although the phone i have in my pocket already has 8gb of ram and i bought it 6 years ago so i wonder if that little amount of ram will doom the tab S8 to be trashed in a couple of years.
External monitors seems to be decently handled by dex but I've read that it supports only 1440p60....... which seems strange because 4k monitors are very cheap..... like I litterally bought mine for 250€ to replace an old 1280x1024p75 and the difference is amazing. That alone if it is true is a reason to not buy the tab. I don't pretend to do video editing on it but device that costs as much as a semi decent laptop and cannot fulfill basic computer tasks like browsing on a big screen would be a no go. Also it is not clear whether dex supports window snapping, fast alt tab, and persistent applications that don't close without my permission.
Is the UI still bloated? I've read some reviews that when switching from one app to the other the animation can drop a lot of frames and the alt tab stutters. I was really hoping that after so many years that would not be even thought to be possible anymore.
Also about throttling: i've read that samsung gave up on not making it throttle so they under-clocked it to keep the thermals within a controlled range.
For what concerns the 4 years of support i wonder: does that mean true support and updates or i will receive updates 9-10 months later than google devices with a final bloated update that cripples the device?
NO HEADPHONE JACK? really? on a device that is supposed to be productive?
16/9 aspect ratio..... so they put a screen to watch cat videos on a 700-1200€ product....it makes me wonder why not a more normal 3/2 or 4/3.
Also it seems that if i want a screen that is not worse than the one i already have in my very old tablet I need to pay 200€ more and have a bigger device that is heavier and less confortable to hold. Also i've seen online that when you activate the night mode on the TFT display the colors become way worse.
One thing that really interests me is the S pen.
The idea of properly taking notes and drawing on a device like this puts me in a position where I am very willing to try and see how the experience of using it is.
Are there some decent drawing apps? Paid ones as well as long as it is a one time payment and not a lifelong rental.
Do you know if there are some programs that recognize hand writing to transform it to computer words?
Guys sorry if I am criticizing a bit. I really don't want to offend anyone. I was just looking for some help to select a decent device. Thank you, i hope you understand.

Hello! use S8 ultra.Everybody think is the best tablet.

Well s8 ultra is really good, I own one and I can even run desktop mode of dex straight onto my s8 ultra. Without needing tv or so.
Also screen is biggest one ever as a OLED one. Next I like is that it's smooth and hardly lags for me at all.

I use the Tab S8+ as an upgrade over my Tab S4 from a few years ago and I'm just saying that I'm never looking back. The bigger screen is amazing for media consumption, drawing, editing (whether it's photo or video), multitasking, etc. I don't output to a monitor or TV very often, but if I do, the experience is pretty good. Dex has come a long way over the past couple of generations and device revisions and is almost good enough to be a laptop replacement (for some, not for all though). I'd only recommend the Ultra if you SERIOUSLY need double the ram, a bigger screen ( 2.2" bigger than the S8+, 3.6" bigger than the S8), and the second forward-facing camera. The performance is practically the same for all three Tab S8s, the only difference being the size, cameras, and ram. 8GB is enough for most people, but if you genuinely need more, then I'd spring for the S8U, but if not, then either the S8 or S8+ is perfectly fine. I chose the S8+ for the bigger, more vibrant, super AMOLED screen. After daily driving a device with an OLED screen, I can't go back to LCD, but I've heard the TFT LCD on the S8 is pretty good for being an LCD. You do miss those deeper blacks and some color fidelity though.
Edit: I thought I should answer a few of your questions and address some of your concerns.
- The UI is still pretty bloated (especially if you have an S8 with 5G capabilities like Verizon), but it's a lot more manageable than before. You can disable a lot of apps that you don't plan on using, as well as uninstalling their updates, not allowing them to change system permission or have any permissions at that, or even straight-up hide them from the app drawer if you're using the OneUI Home launcher. You can even remove them via ADB commands if you hook your tablet to a PC as long as you input the right commands.
- The aspect ratio of all Tab S8s is 16:10, not 16:9. The tablets are a little wider to account for that. As a result, it's not going to cover the entire screen when outputting to an external display, and yes, it'll only be at 60hz.
- The Tab S8 line will continue to receive software updates for the next five years (until 2027), so we will probably get the next two or maybe three next versions of Android, as well as semi-frequent security updates and patches. We'll be up to date for quite a while, at least until the next Tab line comes out.
- Not having a headphone jack is one of the main reasons why I didn't spring for the Tab S6 line back in 2020, but times have changed and now I've found pretty reliable alternatives to continue using wired headphones, use the mic attached to those headphones for calls and audio recordings, and to charge at the same time. I'll use the ANKER USB-C Hub mainly for displaying to an external display, but I did use it for simultaneous wired headphones and charging until I got the Stouchi USB-C 3.5mm Headphone and Charging Adapter. This dongle has served me well for some months now and while it can give me some occasional charging issues (mainly due to my poor positioning), it's a quite durable and serviceable dongle. Not to mention that if you ever have issues with it, customer support responds via email very quickly, and has a quite friendly staff team that'll help you out.
- The tablets really aren't as large and unwieldy as many people try and make them out to be. Maybe it's just because I have big hands or have no problem carrying reasonably heavy things, but it's genuinely not that bad. With the specs that are in these newer tablets, I'm surprised that they're not heavier. The S8+ is 1.25 lbs (around 0.6 kg) and is quite thin and quite lighter than it should be given what's inside and how well they perform. Adding the cover case included with the official keyboard for these tablets (not the slim one, as those are one piece as opposed to being made of a magnetic back cover with an S-Pen cover and a keyboard attachment) does add a bit of weight to it, but not enough to cause any sort of strain.
- I use Sketchbook for drawing, but I've been recommended Medibang quite a few times since it has a lot more creative tools that you can use. Both are free as far as I know.
- Samsung Notes has a feature where it can turn words you've written down with the S-Pen into regular text. I believe there's also an S-Pen related app that you can use in its little sub-menu (when you press the button on the S-Pen close to the screen), but if there is, I don't use it very often. I just stick to Samsung Notes since it seems like a dedicated app for exactly this purpose. You can even backup notes you've made to the cloud if you log in to your Samsung account. Quite the handy application if I do say so myself.
It may be a lot to read, but I hope I helped you in your decision a little bit. These are some pretty great (if a little pricy) devices, and any of them would be a great upgrade over your previous (or I suppose current) Samsung tablet.

Also another thing I want to add is that s8 ultra is durable. Since jerryrigeverything did a durability test and even he failed to snap the s8 ultra in half. Like he could with first Ipad pro gen 1 when it was first biggest tablet on the marked.
The Ipad pro broke in half like paper, but when he tried to do same with s8 ultra 14.6 inch he couldn't bend it at all, even if he took all his strength. Yet it wouldn't bend and he was impressed on samsung on managing to build a 14.6 inch tablet that is impossible to bend. He was expecting some bend or breaks on first tablet that big.

Ops double posted my bad.
Was trying to edit post above and for some reason it went double post.

SavXL said:
I'll use the ANKER USB-C Hub mainly for displaying to an external display, but I did use it for simultaneous wired headphones and charging until I got the Stouchi USB-C 3.5mm Headphone and Charging Adapter.
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Click to collapse
FYI, I think both your links are borked somehow. Thanks for all the info, though!

Massive thanks to all of you for your replies, especially to @SavXL for the detailed reply.
In the end I decided to give it a try and see what happens.
I choose the 10.4'' size because it is definetly a bump in dimensions and weight compared to the 8.4 i was using. The main bummer is that the screen is a literal downgrade from the one i was using before. Still as you said for an LCD is not bad at all and the colors are decent. It is however true what it was told online in a couple of other places: "turning on the blue light filter totally destroys the screen"... such thing would not happen with an oled.
I went with more storage and with the keyboard cover because there was a 50% discount on both the upgrade and the keyboard. What can I say, the device feels solid however I was worried to scratch the lens without the cover as it is literally rubbing on every surface without a cover. The keyboard is surprisingly nice to type on for what it is, keep in mind that still if used as a desktop attached to a monitor it makes sense to have a 20€ membrane or 60€ mechanical keyboard at least. The difference with the official tablet keyboard is massive. The track-pad is just trash. unfortunately there is no better way to put it. A thinkpad or dell from 2007 will have a better track-pad. With a bluetooth mouse and the touchscreen thankfully the trackpad can be ignored. The software keyboard improved a lot to the point where for now I'm not replacing it with my normal "Swiftkey".
The pen is surprisingly natural to use and surprisingly.... small. It is strange to say because it seems massive from the pictures. But I've noticed it slips while writing a bit more than a normal pen. Maybe i find a "case" for it that increases the diameter and grip but still fits in the space dedicated in the cover. Pen gestures in the air are just a meme so I will not talk about them. Still it is a joy to use.
I didn't try dex in a real way so maybe I write an additional message in the next weeks after I thoroughly try it. For that I will source an adapter and try it on a 4k monitor, I really hope the tab S8 has improved resolution handling..... being limited to HDMI1.4 bandwith in 2022 will not be funny. For what concerns the multi window the limit went from 4 of the original tab S to 3 of the S8 ...... now I get that we have a small screen and it may be stupid to use more than a couple of applications in parallel... but I would like to be the one deciding that on my device. One major annoyance with the split screen support is that when resizing windows the content blurs... hopefully I can find a way to disable that crap because it truly slows down the interaction with the device. In general the multi window behaviour improved a lot, but the way i interact with windows is still strange as if we were still in the windows 3.1 days where we hadn't figured out a way to properly grab windows, resize them, move them, snap them. This awkwardness is a lot reduced by enabling the multiwindow line even on full screeen windows. That helps to feel the environment less forced.
Speaking of slowdowns: I was shocked that after 8 freaking years Samsung didn't manage to have a fluent interface. Don't get me wrong it is mostly fluent but full of small hiccups that I may accept on a cheap underpowered device but not at this price range. There is a lot of preinstalled bloarware, most of it can be removed or disabled so for now I'm accepting it.... after I get more confident with the device I will definetly debloat it.
Alt tab between the last 2 applications takes ages. It takes literally seconds. By disabling all the animations in the developer options the situation becomes a lot better but still the point is that the alt tab works correctly when you want to alt tab between several applications but not when you want to alternate between the last 2. Try on your normal computer. You shouldn't see the list of applications when quickly alt tabbing. If you see that, it then becomes distracting and slows the workflow because then you need a couple seconds more to focus on what you were doing in that app. Continuing with the alt tab I have to find a way to make the recents smaller and/or vertical and/or fit all in the screen. I have no use for big previews that show the content of the app. I opened that app, I am already aware of what I am doing with it. Another problem with the alt tab is that there is no text. If i have 2 documents that look very similar to one another you can bet that they have a different name so I'd rather be able to identify them at a glance rather than squeeze my eyes and play "spot the differences".
The sidebar to quickly open applications in split or floating mode is very handy. I have to use it more to get used to it but for now i can say that i wished the icons were smaller, that there was more compact content, and less "pages". If it takes me more than a couple of seconds to scroll through the pages then I might just as well go to the home screen and do there what I wanted to do. Maybe there is a way to customize it more than what I noticed so far. This seems very much a phone app ported to a tablet rather than a proper tablet app.
I was almost forgetting the fingerpint. It's fast. I'm glad I chose the smaller device for that as well. Under-screen sensors in the past have been slow, though I don't know how much they improved in the past couple of years.
Video calls are great. The front facing camera has a decent contrast and dynamic range, obviously better than windows devices that cost twice as much. It is also positioned as close to my eyelevel as it can be on a small device. I have yet to try the microphone in a proper way but considering I didn't have to raise my voice too much to be heard on the other side it seems good.
On the software side I'm happy. I had a couple of issues with skype where i cannot move the automatic floating window that appears when I go home during a call, dropbox decided to limit me to 3 devices all of a sudden so I will just use google drive from now on. I've downloaded a bunch of drawing apps including the ones suggested by SavXL. so far so good.
In conclusions: Is this device worth it? Yes if you use the pen. Everything else on this device is excellent but not unique. Otherwise If you have a decent phone you could just grab a cheap lapdock or tabdock and you will have an amazing experience. If you want more proper windows or a more proper browsing experience you can grab a chromebook. It will still have the same hikkups in the interface but at least is because you saved some money. What makes this tablet unique is the pen, which is amazing.

Just as a comparison: A modern wacom pen on the left vs the S-Pen on the right. I can assure you that the diameter difference makes it slip more.
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knosso said:
Just as a comparison: A modern wacom pen on the left vs the S-Pen on the right. I can assure you that the diameter difference makes it slip more.
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It's ironic since I only had one S-Pen before - from the Note 10+, so when I bought the Tab S8 Ultra as my first Samsung tablet, I was surprised it was that big, but what you say definitely makes sense. I would be afraid that putting anything around it semi-permanently would interfere with either the magnetic sticking to the back of the Tab and/or the wireless charging of the S-Pen.
Also with at least the Ultra's Keyboard Cover, it might not allow fully closing the top-hinged portion of the back cover where the S-Pen is.
Of course, an easily removable solution would beat these concerns.

knosso said:
In conclusions: Is this device worth it? Yes if you use the pen.
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I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.

lloydsw said:
I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.
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I haven't fooled with the Tab S8 Ultra's S-Pen much yet, just experimented with both Samsung's and Google's implementation of handwriting to text conversion. On my Note 10+ which got rid of, I would occasionally sketch out rough ideas for building things or rearranging furniture, etc. I rarely play games but with some games, the S-Pen came in handy as well.
My wife plans on using handwriting to text conversion.
Edit: I'd like to add that from research I've done in the past, Samsung owns patents on several aspects of their styluses which prevent other styluses from being quite as good.

lloydsw said:
I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I think that literally any function other than the pen can be done by another device better than an android tablet (chromebooks have a real browser, phones are always in your pocket and have good cameras, computers have real applications to do real work) but if you want to paint, sketch, and take notes you don't really have any other option aside from the tab S line and the iPads.
The Remakable is wonderful to take notes but you cannot paint on it. Wacom tablets are amazing to paint but are to do creative work at home with a computer, it would be cumbersome to use them in a park.
If you are in classes or in a meeting and want to take notes but then also be able to sketch something on your free time in a park or cafè then a tablet is a must have.
Personally im not an artist but I'm having tons of fun with medibang paint, ibis paint, sketchbook, and other apps. When i become a bit better at drawing I will invest in Clip Studio Paint.
I wish there was something like premiere rush but for davinci resolve available for our tab s8. Starting my video editing on the tablet with dex to then finish it on a real computer would be amazing. I would hands down pay for that app instead if being forced to rent the adobe suite. If it existed I would be forced to use my pc 10 times less.