What can I do with SD card on Non-Rooted VTAB?

[Deandec]

"So does that comparison include the same accessories for the other tablet? The GPS works fine with a nav app that has offline maps - you know - the same way that most stand-alone GPS units work."

Actually, one must download a GPS program and the associated maps to the VTAB to work offline. The included GPS program does not have an offline feature, hence my comment. Of course the limited internal storage of the VTAB then becomes an issue in comparison to other Tablets which cost more.

"I don't know about Sygic, but the maps for the the Southwest (AZ, CA, NV, NM, UT), the Plains and Rockies (CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, ND, SD, WY), and the Northwest (OR, WA) total 385 MB, not quite "consuming most of the storage".

Well, my math may be fuzzy since I only spent a brief time to add the State Maps I mentioned above. But the total I get from Sygic is @ 640 MB which is about 1/3 of the remaining available SD Internal storage. That does not include the Plains and the Rockies. I have only downloaded the GPS program and the California map and have 360 MB in storage consumed.

I am a newbie to Android and VTAB. I have read the rooting procedure to force the VTAB to do what it says it already does. I think I understand the mechanics of the internal "SD" storage vs the external SD storage coding as explained by the experienced Android folks.

This is the first time I have had a machine programmed to give me a false answer by any manufacturer. It says it moved my downloaded app to the SD card when no SD card was installed.

The only SD card described in the User Manual is the external SD card.

The referenced article seems to support what I am experiencing.

"Some designer dropped the ball. You can get away with a small amount of internal memory IF you make smart use of external memory.l",

"If you install an app, such a a nav app. that uses a lot of storage, you can fill up your user memory (remember it is 2.4 GB) pretty fast. Co-Pilot’s US maps are 1.3 GB, Navigon’s are 2 GB."

[Sponsors]

[motorcycle.jockey]

I wonder of you could move the maps to the external SD card (/sdcard/external) and make a symbolic link from the internal storage (/sdcard) to the external SD card (/sdcard/external). Then you could have the maps on the external card but the software would think the maps were in there default location.

I can't remember how to make a symbolic link, it's been a long time since I played around with Linux. Hopefully someone here will jump in and let us know if this will work and how to do it.

[hammbone41]

I understand that a solution for Rooting a VTAB has been offered.

But, I do not want to go that route while I am testing the VTAB for its usefulness.

I have yet to install my $20 micro SD card so I need to ask what I will be able to do with that card installed.

1. Can I put the maps from Co-Pilot on the card and retain functionality of Co-Pilot GPS ?
2. If I transfer music and photos to the card, with the VTAB find them?
3. Can I store apps on the card, and transfer them to the internal storage when I decide to use them?
4. What other uses will the SD card have on a Non-Rooted VTAB ?

On another topic, has anyone tried the HDMI connection to stream Netflix to a TV? Does it work well?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Dean

astro file manger for sd card on non rooted device . these are easy to root. hdmi works good. for rooting instruction email me at rtinman34@yahoo.com

[rprr]

Symbolic links don't work on a vfat partition However, for the Sygic app I was able to move the maps to a folder on the external micro sd card by editing one of the config files. Here is a link.

If you want to want to try installing the Maps to your SD card, try the following steps. This is from xda-developers - View Single Post - Put navigatin maps on external SD card?

For the Vizio, use "external" instead of "external_sd" in the procedure below.

1. Install Sygic GPS Navigation on your Android phone.

2. Start the Sygic Download application and download your favorites maps.

3. After download is completed close the Sygic Download application and connect your phone in USB storage mode to a pc.

4. On the pc side, move all content except database.xml and base-is-ok.txt from Aura folder on the internal phone memory to a folder called Aura on the external_sd card.

So after this process on the internal phone memory should be a folder called Aura with 2 files in it: database.xml and base-is-ok.txt and on the external sd card in the Aura folder should be all the files needed by Sygic.

5. Make a back-up copy of database.xml then open it with Notepad editor. You will see that the file is pretty consistent. While in Notepad press CRTL+H and the find and replace option appears.

In the <Find what> field write:Aura/

In the <Replace with> field write:external_sd/Aura/

Now press <Replace All> then Save the file (CTRL+S).

6. Disconnect storage from PC and start Sygic GPS Navigation. The program should start with no problem.

Make sure not to start Sygic Download application. If you want new maps you have to start the process all over again.

If something goes wrong and your Sygic GPS Navigation application is not working or you just want to go to default program folders you can always delete the Aura folder from internal phone memory and external sd card but be aware you'll lose all the downloaded maps.

Also you can move the content of Aura folder on the external sd card back to Aura folder on the internal phone memory, delete database.xml file, restore the back-up file and everything should be fine.

Try this also if you have issues of the app not working, etc.

[marvin02]

. . .

"I don't know about Sygic, but the maps for the the Southwest (AZ, CA, NV, NM, UT), the Plains and Rockies (CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, ND, SD, WY), and the Northwest (OR, WA) total 385 MB, not quite "consuming most of the storage".

Well, my math may be fuzzy since I only spent a brief time to add the State Maps I mentioned above. But the total I get from Sygic is @ 640 MB which is about 1/3 of the remaining available SD Internal storage. That does not include the Plains and the Rockies. I have only downloaded the GPS program and the California map and have 360 MB in storage consumed.

I was offering an alternative to Sygic that uses less storage. I stated clearly that "I don't know about Sygic".

I am a newbie to Android and VTAB. I have read the rooting procedure to force the VTAB to do what it says it already does. I think I understand the mechanics of the internal "SD" storage vs the external SD storage coding as explained by the experienced Android folks.

This is the first time I have had a machine programmed to give me a false answer by any manufacturer. It says it moved my downloaded app to the SD card when no SD card was installed.

The only SD card described in the User Manual is the external SD card.

The referenced article seems to support what I am experiencing.

"Some designer dropped the ball. You can get away with a small amount of internal memory IF you make smart use of external memory.l",

"If you install an app, such a a nav app. that uses a lot of storage, you can fill up your user memory (remember it is 2.4 GB) pretty fast. Co-Pilot’s US maps are 1.3 GB, Navigon’s are 2 GB."

Yeah - I know what the article says - I wrote it.