[Q] New tablet owners advice on apps/practices

[Selutha]

This is going to be my first tablet and I was wanting to hear from the tablet vets what are the best, must have apps and what are the best practices for ownership?

Do you recommend some brand of shields for the screen?

Best cases for the transformer?

Apps that you install before anything else?

What services did you tie in and are their any tricks to using the? For example I use to use dropbox to sync many system pref between the systems by making symbolic links to the Dropbox dir. (yes, that is a very old and not usually needed trick but you get the idea.)

Are their any cases that allow the tablet to dock w/o removing the tablet from the case.

What do you think of the asus drive privacy terms? I will not use amazons cloud drive w/o encrypting the entire contents due to their privacy clause.

Splash top works well on my wife's iPad was planning to use that, then heard of asus's implementation of splash top or is there better for android? Did some searching on it and found asus is using splash top too, is there any reason to buy splashtop hd? Didn't see any solid answer on that with google.

I think that is enough of my ideas just interested in hearing what everyone has found in their own experences.

I did some searching and all I have found is threads about best app and such looking for alittle more that fotm apps. Though I think my search foo is weak, if this has been posted sorry and would appreciate a link pointing me to the right place.

Ah one more from me any brands of shdc cards I need to avoid?

 

[Wordlywisewiz]

I ordered a skinomi clear skin /screen protector! This will allow It to dock! I would have gotten carbon but the speaker cutout will look weird! Remember that with any case their will be a square cutout for the speaker!

I'm in the same boat as you this will be be my first tablet!
I think you should have made a separate post for the must have tablet apps!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Selutha]

I think that if I ask about best apps you would need what type of app you are looking at like
What is the best keyboard app?
What is the best rdp app?

Looking for something alittle more general than that. Like:

I need a battery monitor app/widget, I personally use battery monitor widget the pro version is nices as it allows battery tracking.

Best apps change as they new ones come out or old ones get updates, but the role they fill always needs filling.

Thanks for recommendation on the cover! Googling it now.

Also posters if you see someone recommending and app/case and you know of a flaw or problem with said item please tell us your experience and how you have worked around or solved said problems.

 

[demandarin]

This is going to be my first tablet and I was wanting to hear from the tablet vets what are the best, must have apps and what are the best practices for ownership?

Do you recommend some brand of shields for the screen?

Best cases for the transformer?

Apps that you install before anything else?

What services did you tie in and are their any tricks to using the? For example I use to use dropbox to sync many system pref between the systems by making symbolic links to the Dropbox dir. (yes, that is a very old and not usually needed trick but you get the idea.)

Are their any cases that allow the tablet to dock w/o removing the tablet from the case.

What do you think of the asus drive privacy terms? I will not use amazons cloud drive w/o encrypting the entire contents due to their privacy clause.

Splash top works well on my wife's iPad was planning to use that, then heard of asus's implementation of splash top or is there better for android? Did some searching on it and found asus is using splash top too, is there any reason to buy splashtop hd? Didn't see any solid answer on that with google.

I think that is enough of my ideas just interested in hearing what everyone has found in their own experences.

I did some searching and all I have found is threads about best app and such looking for alittle more that fotm apps. Though I think my search foo is weak, if this has been posted sorry and would appreciate a link pointing me to the right place.

Ah one more from me any brands of shdc cards I need to avoid?

Less than a handful can actually comment on experience with this tablet as it's not officially out yet. Less than 5 here have it in possession already. There are reads in prime section of forum that basically covers all your sections. You will want spalshtop HD as it works great with Android tablets. As far as accessories and cases goes, check out the thread called Ultimate transformer Prime accessories thread. Also look into accessories sub forum here. There's a lot of people commenting on various cases that would be good for this device. For apps, that depends on what you looking for. Productivity, entertainment, games, research, etc.. Be more specific. Now with memory cards, there's a few threads here in general section that will answer your questions on that.

I know there is a lot of b.s. Preorder threads to sift thru here in general section. But all the answers you looking for are here. They may be a page or two back in this section. I would post links but there are so many. Good luck on your search

 

[Selutha]

I will start flipping back in the pages to see what I can find. Thanks for the search pointers!

Though I do know only a few here have the device but, I was thinking that for most this would not be their first device and I was not looking for experience with "asus transformer prime" but more general knowledge with a leaning on the prime. I though that most here would be more knowledge able about the spec that the asus prime would have and most tablets have hc on them.

Though you make good points and I thank you for your advice. Going into the sub forums, damn there are a lot of pre order threads almost wish there was a temp sub forum called preorder.

I can't see if find if the asus splash top is splash top had or not anyone know?

 

[joepic]

This list should keep you busy for a while.


Best Free Android Apps 2011
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-android-apps.htm

Top 160 best Android apps 2011
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...-phones/top-160-best-android-apps-2011-693696

The Best Free Android Apps of 2011 (So Far)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/229323/the_best_free_android_apps_of_2011_so_far.html

The 10 best free android apps of 2011
http://galaxys2apps.net/newsandmagazines/the-10-best-free-android-apps-of-2011/

The 40 Best Free Android Apps for 2011
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366244,00.asp

Results for "best android apps"
http://www.cnet.com/1770-5_1-0.html?query=best+android+apps&searchtype=videos


Ultimate Transformer PRIME TF201 Accessory Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1377669

 

[Selutha]

Thank you for the links and yes it will keep me busy for some time.

Sorry for my weak search foo

 

[xTRICKYxx]

Tablets are pretty fun to use. However, it is rather difficult to bring out a tablet in public as they are quite cumbersome and you look like a pompous asshole with it; trust me. However, the transformer series has the keyboard dock, making you look like a more practical human being.

I used my TF101 in some college classes for note taking. I used Evernote. Worked beautifully. However, I want some faster speed lol.

 

[demandarin]

I will start flipping back in the pages to see what I can find. Thanks for the search pointers!

Though I do know only a few here have the device but, I was thinking that for most this would not be their first device and I was not looking for experience with "asus transformer prime" but more general knowledge with a leaning on the prime. I though that most here would be more knowledge able about the spec that the asus prime would have and most tablets have hc on them.

Though you make good points and I thank you for your advice. Going into the sub forums, damn there are a lot of pre order threads almost wish there was a temp sub forum called preorder.

I can't see if find if the asus splash top is splash top had or not anyone know?

There was a thread talking about that splash top. I don't think the one included is the HD one. I think it's the regular one. Splash HD is the one you really want though as it has all features unlocked and better for tablets. All I've heard is great things about it though. I have it on my iPad and Atix4g.

---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------

Tablets are pretty fun to use. However, it is rather difficult to bring out a tablet in public as they are quite cumbersome and you look like a pompous asshole with it; trust me. However, the transformer series has the keyboard dock, making you look like a more practical human being.

I used my TF101 in some college classes for note taking. I used Evernote. Worked beautifully. However, I want some faster speed lol.

What do you mean by cumbersome? Lmao as my iPad is light and very easy to carry around. Now for the pompous comment, I guess some could see it like that. I always get looks n comments like oh look, he has one of those iPad/tablet things. Lol. Like people who have/carry tablets are better than everyone...

 

[Selutha]

Just saw the stylus jot pro it looks like pure sex in the ultimate as stories thread I am ordering one of those.
Thanks for the info on splash top I was hoping that I could use the asus provided on but hd looks good compared to splashtop

 

[BarryH_GEG]

Less than a handful can actually comment on experience with this tablet as it's not officially out yet.

90% of what he asked was generic and the Prime's going to run the exact same applications every other HC tablet does exactly the same way (albeit faster). There might be some Teg3 optimized games but, other than that, it's just another tablet from a utilization perspective.

Here's some apps I can't live without:

Plex and Playon for video streaming

With Plex, you can store all your audio and video content on your home PC, NAS, or WHS and play it on your tablet, even over a 3G connection. It does an impressive job of organizing, labeling, and presenting your content and the tablet interface is pretty slick. I have 2TB of video that I stream to my tablet. It does a fantastic job of transcoding so the video quality's great even over sketchy connections.

PlayOn provides access to Hulu, Amazon VOD, and Netflix. It too is excellent at transcoding and actually does a better job in terms of video quality and buffering than the native apps. It's the best way to access Hulu content.

Pulse and News360 for news

Both have great tablet interfaces, sync with their desktop companions to bookmark or save stories, and can be highly personalized.

Zinio, PressReader, and Next Issue for magazines and newspapers

All have great content available and are designed for tablet screens. Next Issue content is free if you already have print subscriptions.

Read it Later for offline web surfing

Great app for finding web stuff to download to your tablet either as you see it or from your desktop PC to read later.

Swiftkey Tablet X & Swype keyboards

Swiftkey is a fantastic keyboard with excellent predicitive word logic and layout. It also has a thumb keyboard setting which is great when you aren't using a physical keyboard.

Swype has a mini-mode which takes up about 1/8 of the screen and is really fast when you're writing longer e-mails or docs.

CoPilot for navigation

Google map caching is hit or miss when you need to deviate and don't have a wireless signal. CoPilot stores all data locally and doesn't require any wireless signal to be fully functional.

TouchDown for e-mail

It's the best e-mail app for contact management and tasks. You almost have to have it if you connect to Exchange. It's got the best widgets of any e-mail program out there.

Worldmate travel companion

If you travel a lot Worldmate stores the details of your future trips on your tablet. As you're traveling it provides alerts for gates and times and any delays or changes to your itinerary. You can check flight status for any airline in real time and look up alternates if you're screwed.

Widgets

There's tons of screen space to fill on a tablet and these are some of the widgets I think are cool looking, useful, or both.

- Google Market
- AP Mobile
- CNBC
- CNN
- Pulse (multiples)
- Touchdown e-mail, calendar, and tasks
- Worldmate (live flight alerts on your home screen)
- Social Hub
- Gallery
- Kobo
- Amazon MP3

Task killers, batter managers, and the like

Tablets are different than phones and they're used differently. Android as an OS manages resources incredibly effectively. While it's a personal choice, adding things that use resources to save resources seems counter intuitive to me and I don't use them.

Half the fun of an Android tablet (vs. iOS) is the ability to make it your own. Enjoy.

 

[kokusho]

Asus already included a big portion of the apps you might need for basic usage.

But here s some apps I use pretty much every day with my transformer, they re almost all optimized for tablet (android 3.0 framework)

Wizz Widget (for social feed)
tTorrent (for downloading)
subloader (for automatic subtitle downloading)
mobo player / bs player (for watching any kind of video)
File manager HD (a file explorer, better than Asus's one)
Newsr (a google reader better than google reader)
Catch note (to take and read note in the cloud, protect by password and synchronised on every device)
Google Current (offline reading of RSS feed with a very nice looking layout)
Beyondpod HD (best podcast apps)

And Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe Idea, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, Picsay Pro, cause I'm a computer graphist.

Those are the apps I use the most, along which there is some usefull apps like skype, messenger, dropbox, splashtop HD, Facebook and pretty much every google Apps. (chrome to phone, translate, maps, etc etc)

 

[hauj0bb]

Unless you're a super reckless user, a screen protector isn't going to be necessary (and is sometimes ugly/degrades screen quality). It's really hard to scratch this screen, and other ones like it.

 

[Magnesus]

File manager HD (a file explorer, better than Asus's one)

I second that.

Newsr (a google reader better than google reader)

I would reconsider. Newsr is really buggy and slow, crashes a lot and behaves very strange when you start it before WiFi is connected. I didn't find anything better though.

For me most important are also:
- ezPDF - I don't know any better app for PDFs on any system or device (great for taking notes on books or writing answers in exercise books for school).
- Writepad Stylus - for writing (not perfect, but the best I found, if you are buying Adonit Jot, you will find it useful),

The rest for me is mostly games. Cut the Rope is the "must play". Dizzy is the "greatest but probably only appreciated by fans of the original".

 

[Mithent]

Unless you're a super reckless user, a screen protector isn't going to be necessary (and is sometimes ugly/degrades screen quality). It's really hard to scratch this screen, and other ones like it.

I agree. I've had my Galaxy S (Gorilla Glass screen, like the Prime) in my pocket "unprotected" for about 18 months now, and although I was anxious at first, I haven't noticed any scratching of the screen. Screen protectors might have been recommended for resistive touchscreens, but I don't think they're necessary with capacitive touchscreens, because the glass is tough enough already.

 

[kokusho]

I would reconsider. Newsr is really buggy and slow, crashes a lot and behaves very strange when you start it before WiFi is connected. I didn't find anything better though.

Weird, I don't have any problem at all with newsr. Butter smooth, fast feed load, super stable, not a single crash. Sure if you re offline it doesn't login but that's expected from a RSS reader and nothing strange happen, just a message saying that you need an internet connexion.
I wonder why you seem to have problem with it.