must have apps??

[skeeve]

Xbox 360 controller works better wired and you need the USB OTG host adapter. I am not rooted and can use keyboards and play Dead Trigger and a few other games with the 360 controller.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

So you plug the 360 controller into the USB OTG adapter and plug that into your N7 and then... it just works?

• Do you have to configure key-maps for anything (native games/emulators)?
• Does android recognize the controller as a keyboard?
• Do you use an app to interface with it?
• How do the joysticks work? Do they just map to up-down-left-right or can you use them to simulate screen touches?

 

[Moviecouple]

Saw that Somerussianguy had posted Minimalistic Text was a must have. Really like that style app/widget.

Is there something similar for Email/Gmail? I see something like it on the Asus Transformer models that is just worded text... Email and a number of how many unread you have in your Inbox.

 

[Sesami]

skeeve, try looking for Youtube videos of it, there's a couple that explain how to do it. For the Playstation 3 controller (and I'm not sure if it's the same for the Xbox 360 or Wii controller), you will need a OTG cable as well as the USB to Mini-B cable (used to charge PS3 controllers and other devices). The OTG cable goes into the tablet and the PS3 cable goes into the OTG's female USB. I don't think you need to be rooted to use this feature UNLESS you choose to use the app to sync the controller to the device. In this case, I think you can play wirelessly but I think you also need to be rooted. I do not know how well the controller works wirelessly.

I think in some games, you can specify that you want to use a gamepad or an alternate controller configuration, you might have to mess around to find out what that is. I'm waiting for my OTG cable in the mail now so I can test this out with my PS3 controllers at home.

And why can I not access the Android Central forums from Tapatalk? I downloaded this app yesterday and all it's done is tell me it can't connect to the server or find the forums I go to.

 

[MikeLip]

Saw that Somerussianguy had posted Minimalistic Text was a must have. Really like that style app/widget.

Is there something similar for Email/Gmail? I see something like it on the Asus Transformer models that is just worded text... Email and a number of how many unread you have in your Inbox.

Minimalistic Text is very nice - but man getting a decent layout is painful! I just installed it and while I can see where it will look really good getting it there is not very clear.

 

[Rhoq]

I have to agree that I can't get use to Swiftkey...I keep hitting the home button when I try to type fast when pressing for the space button. I really like the split keyboard in landscape mode though. I, too, am pretty used to Swype on my phone but I can't stand the new beta. I don't like how you can't hold delete and erase words at a time anymore and especially hate how it stores words you don't want in your personal dictionary and there's no on/off setting for it. Going back and forth between the two...a choice between rotten apples.

I'm not a fan of Swype. I try it out about once every 6 months to see how it has progressed since the last time I used it and it's just not for me.

Count me in towards another recommendation of SwiftKey, however - SwiftKey 3 for phones (NOT the tablet version). It looks great on the Nexus 7, performs exactly like you know and love on your phone and best of all... no tablet layout weirdness.

 

[skeeve]

skeeve, try looking for Youtube videos of it, there's a couple that explain how to do it. For the Playstation 3 controller (and I'm not sure if it's the same for the Xbox 360 or Wii controller), you will need a OTG cable as well as the USB to Mini-B cable (used to charge PS3 controllers and other devices). The OTG cable goes into the tablet and the PS3 cable goes into the OTG's female USB. I don't think you need to be rooted to use this feature UNLESS you choose to use the app to sync the controller to the device. In this case, I think you can play wirelessly but I think you also need to be rooted. I do not know how well the controller works wirelessly.

I think in some games, you can specify that you want to use a gamepad or an alternate controller configuration, you might have to mess around to find out what that is. I'm waiting for my OTG cable in the mail now so I can test this out with my PS3 controllers at home.

And why can I not access the Android Central forums from Tapatalk? I downloaded this app yesterday and all it's done is tell me it can't connect to the server or find the forums I go to.

I appreciate your response and I've seen a bunch of those youtube videos but what I'm looking for are all the specifics people can offer about all the various options out there. The videos tend to be more of the, "Hey! Look what I did!" variety. And while that's cool, it doesn't exactly answer my question.

Regarding Tapatalk, I'm not sure but it could be that AC removed their forum from tapatalk's compatibility when they released their dedicated forum app.

 

[zedorda]

I'm not a fan of Swype. I try it out about once every 6 months to see how it has progressed since the last time I used it and it's just not for me.

Count me in towards another recommendation of SwiftKey, however - SwiftKey 3 for phones (NOT the tablet version). It looks great on the Nexus 7, performs exactly like you know and love on your phone and best of all... no tablet layout weirdness.

Have you tried Swype Beta or only the base Swype?

 

[hippocat]

Thumb keyboard is my keyboard of choice. Didn't see it mentioned here. The layout is exactly what I want it to be for thumb typing in portrait mode and landscape. Customizations are endless. Needs to make better corrections though. Won't separate something like "thisnweek."

TabletTalk - sync sms between phone and tablet

Imo.im - messenger service aim/msn/facebook/steam/etc

Osmos HD - great game

Moon+ reader - best ereader app IMO

vplayer - my media player of choice. Has played everything I've thrown at it and is the only
one I have tried that hides the softkeys

LMT - Not in the play store, can find on XDA. It opens up a pie menu just like the stock
browser can. In the pie you can have any softkey action, plus many other options.
Allows me to hold the device on the sides and not move my hand to the bottom to
go home, or back, or search

ColorNote - Make post-it like note widgets that can sync between devices. Quick and easy
editing. Has list ability. Really enjoy it.

Perfect Viewer - Current comic reading app of choice. Not sure if its the best, I am open to
suggestions. Not that there is anything in particular I find wrong with this
app, just not confident it couldn't be done better. If such an app exists.

 

[moosc]

I prefer thumb keyboard on mY tablets also.

Thumb keyboard is my keyboard of choice. Didn't see it mentioned here. The layout is exactly what I want it to be for thumb typing in portrait mode and landscape. Customizations are endless. ThumbKeyboard

TabletTalk - sync sms between phone and tablet

Imo.im - messenger service aim/msn/facebook/steam/etc

Osmos HD - great game

Moon+ reader - best ereader app IMO

vplayer - my media player of choice. Has played everything I've thrown at it and is the only
one I have tried that hides the softkeys

LMT - Not in the play store, can find on XDA. It opens up a pie menu just like the stock
browser can. In the pie you can have any softkey action, plus many other options.
Allows me to hold the device on the sides and not move my hand to the bottom to
go home, or back, or search

ColorNote - Make post-it like note widgets that can sync between devices. Quick and easy
editing. Has list ability. Really enjoy it.

Perfect Viewer - Current comic reading app of choice. Not sure if its the best, I am open to
suggestions. Not that there is anything in particular I find wrong with this
app, just not confident it couldn't be done better. If such an app exists.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

 

[jaredw444]

Need I say more, this is best app ever:thumbdown:

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

 

[yankswinagain]

Flashlight (by Devesh Parekh)

Tiny Flashlight + LED.

Don't you need a flash for those?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[Chocoburger]

Hi there, would you mind elaborating a bit on your setup with these two controllers?
Do you need an app for the Xbox controller?
Are you rooted/do you need to be?
What kinds of setup do you do to make the controllers work with various apps?
Have you tested with emulators?
Anything else you can say about the experience?

I recently purchased a wiimote classic controller specifically for emulators but I would very much like a more well-rounded solution.

Thanks!

I should clarify a little bit. I have only used a PS3 controller (wirelessly) on my N7, but I have not used a USB Xbox 360 controller yet, since I don't have the OTG cable.

I'm still a bit new to this, but I do have a lot of info for you, first, I don't think you need to be rooted to connect a PS3 controller with USB. But you DO need to be rooted to connect via bluetooth. PS3 controller via USB is in my opinion a pain because the cable can unplug at two locations, so wireless is by far better.

Yes you can set up the PS3 controller to work with almost all games, or apps or any menu. But some games and apps work better for controller than others. I don't have any emulators yet on my N7, but everyone says that they work with controllers, and if they don't, dump it for an emulator that does. The experience is very good, I am extremely pleased with the sixaxis app, it's only $2 and well worth it. Look below for more info.

So you plug the 360 controller into the USB OTG adapter and plug that into your N7 and then... it just works?

• Do you have to configure key-maps for anything (native games/emulators)?
• Does android recognize the controller as a keyboard?
• Do you use an app to interface with it?
• How do the joysticks work? Do they just map to up-down-left-right or can you use them to simulate screen touches?

To my knowledge, the 360 is natively supported in Android 4.0+, yes you just plug it in and it 'just works'. Games that support controllers will either 1) automatically switch to controller support or 2) have an option to select gamepad controls.

I believe the sixaxis app emulates the native 360 controller features, the Android device thinks it's being connected to a 360 controller, but you're using PS3 over bluetooth. The Android device does not recognize it as a keyboard, but as an actual controller.

The Sixaxis app is very versatile, you can map any button or D-pad or analog stick to a touchscreen button press or as a swiping feature. Even games that do not have controller support (like Roboto) you can make it work perfectly with Sixaxis/DualShock 3 controller. Here is a screenshot that should help explain:

Roboto is a basic game, you move left or right and you can jump and shoot. As you can see the PS3 D-pad, square and cross buttons are 'interacting' with the touchscreen where the virtual buttons are. There is no noticeable lag when playing like this. The moment I press is the moment the action occurs on screen.

You can make a very large number of games work like this, especially those annoying 3D touchscreen analog sticks (that suck--no fun!) with this app. But not everything will work, especially racing games. Apparently the app can not emulate tilt controls to the analog sticks, so you can't play Need For Speed on your controller. I have no idea if this support will be added or not in the future.

Overall, if you want to use SA/DS3 on Android, BUY THIS APP!

Don't you need a flash for those?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

I use the flashlight app on my N7. It uses the main screen as a single big white screen of light. It definitely works well, but obviously drains battery out the wazoo.

 

[skeeve]

Thank you so so so so much. That information about the SA/DS3 is suuuuper helpful. I don't have either controller but I may pick one up after your review. (I think I might have a wired 360 controller I can play with and try first though...).

This is totally the wrong forum to be asking about this, but when you root your N7 to enable the PS3 controller setup you have, does this have any effect on your ability to receive OTA updates or anything like that? I'm assuming you'd unroot to update and then reroot or something? Thanks!

 

[armeddroid]

Tablet Talk (if you have an Android phone) is a must have.

I love Pocket and Flipboard.

I agree with SwiftKey X for Tablet... Landscape mode is nuts.

There is an xkcd app, if you're into that. It remains on my home screen.

BeyondPod is my favorite pod catcher, I've been using D7 for RSS (and looking for alternatives... hint, hint).

Get a file browser, I use AndroZip.

Lookout scans installs for problems, most other features touted are likely insincere, however, due to Android's sandboxing stuff.

I use Flick Note for syncing with Simplenote. It is a great app: simple, full-featured.

Perhaps that is about it for the moment... And I do mean 'moment'

I use Nova for a launcher after using alternatives (I still use ADW on the phone). I love Nova on the Nexus 7.

Mocha VNC has been my desktop sharing go-to... I'm still having trouble with copying and pasting between desktops, however.

Thanks to this thread, i had no idea about Tablet Talk.
If you have an android phone accompanied with the N7, Tablet Talk is a must have.
Think a nice Office Suite App would also be a must have. But that would be just me.

 

[Tonzilla]

Great thread so far, lots of app's I didn't know about! Checking out Tablet Talk right now, looks great...can't wait to give it a try when I get home.

 

[Chocoburger]

Thank you so so so so much. That information about the SA/DS3 is suuuuper helpful. I don't have either controller but I may pick one up after your review. (I think I might have a wired 360 controller I can play with and try first though...).

This is totally the wrong forum to be asking about this, but when you root your N7 to enable the PS3 controller setup you have, does this have any effect on your ability to receive OTA updates or anything like that? I'm assuming you'd unroot to update and then reroot or something? Thanks!

You're welcome, I'm sure a lot of others needed that info as well.

As for rooting, here's how it works (I believe--someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Step 1: You need to unlock the bootloader (this is mandatory) and it will WIPE your entire N7 device, 100% wiped clean.

Step 2: You root the device (nothing is wiped) and you still have the ability to accept Google-certified OTA updates.

Optional Step 3: You can add permanent CWM and this will change the recovery files so that Google OTA will not work (I have not done this step since I want Google OTA updates). Though you can switch back to stock recovery before OTA then accept OTA then go back to CWM recovery no problem (I just don't want to deal with that hassle).

Note that rooted devices can not rent movies from Google Play but I'm not sure if they can buy movies or not. Someone else can answer that one.

 

[BlueSauce]

vplayer - my media player of choice. Has played everything I've thrown at it and is the only one I have tried that hides the softkeys

I took a quick look at vplayer. It hides the softkeys but it still has the dead space on the top and bottom. MX Player gets rid of the space on top but still has it on the bottom.

 

[skeeve]

Oh man, 100% wipe? I've already installed a TON of stuff I'd rather not have to go through all that again :/

Once again, I seriously appreciate all the advice and explanation.

Cheers! That's a big help as well

 

[gglee]

I'll have to look into tablet talk. One app I use a lot on my phone is OI Shopping. Probably won't go on the N7 because that hasn't even left the house yet. lol

 

[xyzlene]

Hope some of this info helps.

Games

Asphalt 7
They need to be fed
Whale trail
Edge Ex
R-Type
Sky force
Jazz
Abyss attack
Alpha quadrant

Random apps

Touch screen booster
Nova launcher
WiFi finder
WiFi analyzer
No lock
Ak notepad
Dead pixel test
Pattrn
Stitcher