USB input devices and peripherals?

[Syrusoo]

I been doing a lot of reading on all the tablets. I am definitely going to buy the Transformer regardless but does anyone have any insight into what kind of devices will be able to work with the dock or any of the the tablets out there which have USB ports on them. I imagine using one to dock to the computer but then what could you use the second one for?

 

[ds2dale]

OK, the USB ports, as I understand it, act just like any other host computer USB port. If there is an app that uses the port for what you want to do, it will be supported. Neither USB port is used to connect to a PC, the docking connector does that (the tablet itself doesn't have a USB connector). But using your home's WiFi would probably work better. If you don't have one, you should. Don't neglect security.

Right now, there is a bit of a lack of usable software for Honeycomb. The app you want may not be available yet, but probably will be soon. The more apps there are out there addressing any given activity, the greater the chance that one of them will be really good. The good news is that the SDK is free, and an expensive compiler is not required. Take the plunge and write some software yourself.

While Honeycomb is running a Linux (2.5 or 2.6, I forget which) kernel, it has various C variant APIs plus other connective tissue, and runs apps generally built on Java.


I will/must/shall have one of these! I plan on having the SDK docs on it and use it to write (but not build) software. We'll see....

Dale

 

[Rhyyker]

From what I understand, the actual usb ports are only on the dock. So if you connect the tablet to the dock, you can plug a usb flash drive in there and access it with your file manager (like astro).

 

[Suntan]

As the video on the front page showed, you can also plug in mice and full sized keyboards.

-Suntan

 

[r-nice]

Being able to plug a mouse into the dock is niiiiiiice.

 

[redd214]

what about printers and usb game controllers? anyone know for sure if these will work with the dock? if so I will have no use whatsoever for the new Toshiba laptop I got on Saturday and will buy this thing tommorow. Thanks in advance for anyone who can answer!

 

[DroidCake]

what about printers and usb game controllers? anyone know for sure if these will work with the dock? if so I will have no use whatsoever for the new Toshiba laptop I got on Saturday and will buy this thing tommorow. Thanks in advance for anyone who can answer!

This is a big issue for me and so far all I have read is hearsay. So far I've seen nothing about the 40 pin connector on the tablet having host ability. USB hardware capability on any of the Honeycomb devices are dependent on the OS. Reports from people in the UK say some USB hardware works and some does not and this comes from connecting to the dock. The dock is nice and I will get one but I need usb host on the tablet and a deal killer for me. I had an Archos 101 with Froyo and almost every USB device I could throw at it worked.

ANYBODY reading this connecting working USB devices via the 40 pin connector please post and prove me wrong because I want this tablet.

~DC

 

[zach_alt]

with the dock you can use mice and external drive, no idea if USB game controllers will work.

 

[ds2dale]

As with all USB devices, all anyone truly needs is a driver for the device in question and, potentially, some software (it depends on whether or not drag-and-drop works in Android). If it's a printer you want, then you need the printer driver for your printer and then your document viewer of choice needs to recognize the printer, but if a printer class device is available the software will generally recognize it. Pointing devices are fairly straight-forward, too. As are mass storage devices (flash/ssd/harddrive/whatever). Etc, etc.

C'mon, guys, this sort of stuff isn't Honeycomb specific, nor is it exclusive to the Transformer. At the deepest level, these are Linux machines and will, with few exceptions, act accordingly. OTOH the driver needs to be an 'Android' driver.

Please note, also, that the two USB connectors on the Dock are strictly for USB Peripherals and are not to be used to connect the Tablet to a host computer (PC or whatever). There is a portion of the '40 pin connector' for communication with a 'Host'.

All the info necessary to verify this is available here on the 'net. You just gotta look....