So what do you do on your GTab?

PaTwRiK

Member
Jan 31, 2011
21
0
Out of curiosity, I am wondering what you all are doing with your GTab?

I am new to android and was hoping with this post that it would spark my interest in the capabilities of this device.

I have already rooted and flash a new rom, Vegan 5.1b.
Played some angry birds and other games. Browsed the interwebz. Set up my homescreens to my liking. Downloaded apps etc.

Anything else cool or useful productivity wise? Remote desktop software? App recommendations? Anything you think would help me get the most of my new Gtab.


Looking forward to your responses!

Patwrik
 

pbrauer

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 24, 2010
3,649
561
I use it for everything, and don't bring my laptop home anymore!

1. Touchdown from Nitrodesk gives me full Exchanges sync, including contacts and tasks
2. QuickOffice, there are other apps but I really like this one and seem to have the least amount of issues. I also have moved most of my docs that I can to GoogleDocs and the integration there is fabulous
3. Logmein with Ignition, gives me full remote desktop services, I even dropped the $29 for the full Android Client, LOVE it
4. CloudPrint beta, lets me have things ready for me back at my desk if I am in a meeting, and lets me print things at home for the wife if I forget
5. Evernote, love this for all of my clips etc.

All this tethered to my HTC Incredible on VZW running Wifi tether for unlimited Wifi.

that is the core of what I am using mine for.
 

irishpride

Member
May 3, 2010
9
0
Im sure just about everyone can agree that a Honeycomb port would be the best thing that could happen to the G Tab.

Sent From My GalaxyS
 

PaTwRiK

Member
Jan 31, 2011
21
0
As for Logmein, are yoy using the free or pro?

Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0B5.1 using Tapatalk
 

jdavis1779

Member
Dec 9, 2010
28
0
Watching Hulu can be done. Netflix using Play On. Really big XBMC remote is entertaining but a little overkill. Playing ROMS using a wiimote. The Ignition client to my understanding just lets you connect to windows clients you pay for be those free or pro accounts.
 

pbrauer

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 24, 2010
3,649
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I used the free version for a while, but have upgraded to the Pro.
 

cdkelly5

Member
Feb 8, 2011
61
2
I havenothadmytab for very long... I rooted and flashed it with inhours of getting it home. I plan to use it for meetings and studying. I would also love to use it for quick reference to source documents. Unfortunately due to company restrictions I cannot access the company servers and they restrict many of the cloud services. I can get my email ok, an if they activate a free wifi then I will have open access. What would help is getting swype up and running. I have tried to down load it but the swype website saysthat the grab is not an android device(lol). Any help on swype would-be greatly appreciated$$
 

gadgetrants

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 22, 2010
1,256
81
Using the gTab for: email; reading news, PDFs, and eBooks; web browsing; a bit of games (PewPew is fun), but here is the GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

The gTab is absolutely perfect for watching streaming video from my Dish receiver (with the Sling Adapter). I've done it on networked PCs and two Android phones (free Dish app), but for some odd reason it works best on the gTab (maybe the dual-core CPU?). On both the local network and remote wifi, I'm able to stream HD quality with no playback issues. Super, super cool.

-Matt
 

mydave

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2011
269
35
gadgetrants, what app and/or setup are you using to stream video to gtablet ?
I used qloud video and qloud server. The latter one is installed on a PC. It streams HD quality fine.
But the real target is to stream from our HP MediaSmart Server where all the collections reside. Do you have any tips ?

And to answer to the question of this thread, I still play around with it, in hope of finding a most suitable rom that provides stability and functionality. Speed would be a big help, but not mandatory. Once this is complete, then I go from there.
 

gadgetrants

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Sep 22, 2010
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gadgetrants, what app and/or setup are you using to stream video to gtablet ?
I used qloud video and qloud server. The latter one is installed on a PC. It streams HD quality fine.
But the real target is to stream from our HP MediaSmart Server where all the collections reside. Do you have any tips ?
Hey Dave, for general-purpose streaming in house I use Tversity. In fact, we almost exclusively use it with the PS3, and OMG it works nicely (even 1080p).

I tried the gTab with Tversity last night, and didn't really get it working. Most videos tried downloading instead of streaming. There are several Android threads on this issue (even at Tversity) and it looks more or less unresolved so far. :( The alternative with Tversity is to switch to streaming via Flash, but since it needs to transcode to Flash on the server PC in realtime, it downscales the video quite severely. It works, but not pretty.

Another route I tried was ES File Explorer, which has network browsing built in. This "sort of" worked, but in most cases, after a few moments of full-glory streaming, the mode would switch and start downloading instead. :( So not really a video streaming solution either.

I'd like to give qloud a try! I'll report back if I get a chance.

I'm sorry if my earlier message was deceptive. What I was gloating over was streaming--not from the PC--but from our Dish DVR/Receiver. With the free Android Dish app and the Dish Sling Adapter ($100), you can not only view what's on your receiver but also control it, and play back anything on the DVR remotely. And that's turned out to be great on the gTab. Not sure if that will work for you though.

With your HP server, since ES will probably find it, I suggest giving that a try. I am not optimistic, but it's worth a try!

-Matt
 

mydave

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2011
269
35
Hey Matt,

Glad that you tried Traversity, so I don't have to mess up with it. And just as you found out, ES File Manager won't do the work.

What I found is (LOL, the male ego again !):

To stream video from a PC, it is best to install Qloud Video Server on a PC. Run it, and select a share for a client to stream from. The app also generates a PIN and displays the PC's IP. On the gtable, run the Qloud Video.apk. It will prompt to enter the PIN. After entering the PIN, then media file can be selected and play. It is simple and effective.

I have all media files stored in a HP MediaSmart Server, and use WDTVLive to stream to HD screen. This work awesome. Therefore, I don't want to take a risk of install Qloud Video Server on it. Luckily, there is this little app called UPnPlay, and it is free. This app allows network browsing, and when a media file is selected, it prompts for selecting a media player. RockPlayer-ARMv7neon-1.5.1-r.apk seems to be the best. The UPnPlay method works with any shares on local LAN, although it takes a little more work than the Qloud Video & Server combo.

Thought that it may be of interest to you, especially when sitting outside with a beer or two.

Dave,
 
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gadgetrants

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Sep 22, 2010
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Thanks Dave, those are two awesome suggestions, and up until last week, I didn't know either existed! Sounds like you have things working well for you. I'll have to give both of them a try.

FWIW I tend to rely on Tversity, but I also have Orb and Windows Media Server running on my PC. What's dumb is that when we access our library from the PS3, we see all of the servers, but select Tversity because it works the best for us. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is we have three servers on one PC, and they all coexist happily. I definitely wouldn't want to mess up your perfect setup, but I wonder if installing a second server on the HP MediaSmart will be OK?

-Matt
 

mydave

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2011
269
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. . . FWIW I tend to rely on Tversity, but I also have Orb and Windows Media Server running on my PC. What's dumb is that when we access our library from the PS3, we see all of the servers, but select Tversity because it works the best for us. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is we have three servers on one PC, and they all coexist happily. I definitely wouldn't want to mess up your perfect setup, but I wonder if installing a second server on the HP MediaSmart will be OK? . . .-Matt
Matt, hope that I could arouse your interest even more.
The HP MediaSmart, in my opinion, is the better solution for many reasons. It consumes little power, has 4 drives capacity and can expand to 32 drives, safe data protection, and at most reasonable price. Therefore, with that capacity, I am not sure if adding server could benefit anything.
I have 8 drives x 2 TB setup. All DVD's are ripped and stored in there, along with important backups. We can be anywhere within the range of our LAN and stream the media from there, without the hassle of switching disks. Streaming over the net is possible as well. I heard that people have method to capture netflix streaming and save to their storage. In your case, since you have media files stored in the DVR, I guess they can be transferred to the HP should you opt to go with it.
The HP has Twonky, which is the paid alternative to Tversity. But it is simpler to stream directly from the shares. WDTVLive does a wonder job. Now the gtablet can do the same but no way it can compete with the WDTVLive. I just want to explore its capacity. The HP's CPU can be upgraded, as well as the Ram.

Best,
Dave
 

gadgetrants

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Sep 22, 2010
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Dave, the HP media solution is mighty attractive. Unfortunately, I'm married--woops, this is not starting off good--what I'm trying to say is that I've made a few too many "consumer electronic" purchases recently, and so it will probably be another 6+ months before I'm out of the doghouse. ;) So it's mostly a fantasy solution for me, for the time being.

In the meantime, excuse me for shouting but UPnPLAY IS AWESOME!!!!!! I installed it, ran it, and presto there were my ridiculous 3 (or 4 or 5) UPnP/DLNA servers on the gTab. Didn't need to configure anything! Browsed to my movie folder under Tversity, clicked on an AVI and it started to stream and play perfectly! I couldn't be happier.

Well, I could with a 4TB industry-strength complete home-media server solution, but I can wait on that. :)

Thanks again for the tip!

-Matt

PS By the way, did you know the recordings on the DVR are encrypted by Dish? :( I can stream them (with the Sling Adapter), but I can't simply transfer them off as digital files. So I use a capture box (Hauppauge 1212) to move them to a PC. It transfers in real time (boooo!) but I end up with HD-ish video quality recordings (1280x720) with the original 5.1 audio. I love that HD analog "loophole."
 

mydave

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2011
269
35
Glad that the UPnPlay works for you, and thank for the good tip about capturing encrypted recordings. It would be handy someday.
 
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