Tablet for Photo Storage While Travelling

[RzB]

Hi - I'm new to these forums and would like some advice on purchasing a tablet. I have a Galaxy S2 phone which I'm very pleased with, so I have a little experience with Android. I also have an iPad 2 which I am not pleased with!

i do a lot of fairly serious photography. I am going on a trip to India in February and expect to take a lot of photographs. On days with morning shoots, cattle fairs, and sunset shoots I may well fill a 32g Sd/Cf card. In the evenings I will be backing up these photos to multiple external hard drives using a card reader and laptop.

My question is - would it be possible to replace the laptop with a tablet.

Is there a tablet (the smaller the better) out there with two full size USB ports so that I can hook up both a card reader and a hard drive?

Thanks,
RzB

 

[Johna2u]

You just need a tablet with a micro USB port that supports host mode (USB otg). Then buy a micro USB to otg adaptor. You will be able to plug your card reader into that. If you buy a powered USB hub you can have a card reader, keyboard, mouse, hard drive etc. All plugged in and running at the same time. You might also want to upload your photos to dropbox.

I just bought a Le Pan mini. 8" IPS screen, quad core. Supports otg and its cheap. 149.00 at OfficeMax. I love it.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

 

[SpeMall.com]

Hi RzB, according to your requires, i think one tablet is very suitable for you: AINOL NOVO 7 AX1 3G TABLET PC , 7 Inch 1024 x 600 IPS Screen, support 3G GPS Bluetooth Phone Call Dual Camera HDMI OTG..... you can have a look !

 

[RzB]

Hi RzB, according to your requires, i think one tablet is very suitable for you: AINOL NOVO 7 AX1 3G TABLET PC , 7 Inch 1024 x 600 IPS Screen, support 3G GPS Bluetooth Phone Call Dual Camera HDMI OTG..... you can have a look !

Johna2U and SpeMall thank you for your responses.

So to recap - the plan would be, with either of these tablets, is to buy...

a powered USB2 or USB3 Hub - something like this one - http://tinyurl.com/mwh97fe.
a micro USB Host Mode OTG Cable - like this one -http://tinyurl.com/knthtjb

Then I connect the Hub into the big (female) end of the OTG cable and the little end of the OTG cable into the tablet. Then hard drives and card reader into the hub.

I take it there is software on Android that will allow me to transfer my photos from the Card reader to the hard drive, and from hard dive to hard drive - I come from a Windows background so would be looking for some sort of file manager - yes?

If that is correct it sounds excellent!

I wonder what performance will be like? I will on occasions probably fill up a 32G card with RAW photos. How long is that going to take to transfer to a 7200rpm 2.5in hard drive I wonder? Hmmm...

Many thanks with your help for this.

RzB

 

[Johna2u]

Yes those are the correct items. You will also need a file manager app to transfer files just like in windows. Believe it or not they are generally not included on a new device. I use es file explorer. Not all devices support USB host (otg) which is very important for your needs. I can confirm the Le Pan Mini does. You can find information and reviews on it at LePanForum.com

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A

 

[RzB]

Yes those are the correct items. You will also need a file manager app to transfer files just like in windows. Believe it or not they are generally not included on a new device. I use es file explorer. Not all devices support USB host (otg) which is very important for your needs. I can confirm the Le Pan Mini does. You can find information and reviews on it at LePanForum.com

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A

Thanks for your help with this.

I must admit I was rather drawn to the AINOL NOVO 7 AX1 3G mentioned by SpeMall. Mainly because of the HDMI connector and the price! I guess I need to confirm that it supports Host Mode though.

RzB

 

[RzB]

Hmm.... How do I tell if a tablet supports Host Mode. This doesn't seem to appear in any of the specs.

 

[SpeMall.com]

Hmm.... How do I tell if a tablet supports Host Mode. This doesn't seem to appear in any of the specs.

What's "Host Mode" ? Can you explain it for details ?

 

[Johna2u]

That ainol does look pretty nice. If I were you I would search for reviews on it and read as many as you can. From looking at the specs here is what I noticed.
Both are quad core. I'm no expert on which has the better processor
Both have IPS screen with similar resolution. The ainol is 7" 16:9 screen ratio. Sort of letterbox shape pretty typical android.
The Le pan is 8" with a 4:3 ratio. Same as iPad mini. I personally prefer that shape.
Viewing angles aren't mentioned but are very important. The Le Pan has a clear image from any angle. I don't know about the ainol.
The ainol supports 3 g so you can use it as a phone and connect to the internet anywhere you get phone service as long as you have a data plan. The Le pan is WiFi only. If I want to use it while out and about I just connect it to my phones hot spot.
It looks like they both support otg (host mode)
The ainol has android 4.2.2 and an HDMI port.
The Le pan has android 4.2.2 and supports wireless display. Basically accomplishes the same thing wirelessly.
The Le Pan has a bigger battery..

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A

 

[Johna2u]

What is host mode? Basically allows your USB port to work like one on a computer. You need an otg adaptor and then your tablet will read and power thumb drives, external card readers, keyboards a mouse etc. Very handy. The only way to know is to read the specs or read reviews because it is often not mentioned.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A

 

[edap]

I would suggest taking a close look at the new Acer Iconia A1-830. It has a 7.9" display; a quad-core, 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor; and, lots of ports: micro HDMI, micro SD and a micro USB port, which supports host data (USB OTG) for all your file transfer needs and accessories. It was announced today at this week's CES event and will go on sale for $149.

 

[Johna2u]

Yeah that Acer looks pretty nice.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A