Vymozenosti androidu: OTG kabel a externa pamet

I ked pouzivam na dennej baze Samsung Galaxy SII s vnutornou pametou 16 GB, po stiahnuti niekolkych videi sa mi malilo miesta. Kolega si v tom case prave predobjednal iPhone 5 a cely bez seba ma ohuroval o genialite toho telefonu - pricom na moju sarkasticku otazku ci mu staci pamet v telefone - resp ci sa da rozsirit cez externu microSD kartu, rovnako nadseny mi oznamil:

 ...ale videl som na nete taku malu vec, kt sa zastrci do "lightning konektora" a cez to sa pripoji usb kluc...

Galaxy SII s OTG kablom a USB klucom

Tak som sa vydal na dobrodruznu cestu hladania tej malej veci ...

Az som sa dopracoval k nazvu OTG cable  tj on-the-go kabel. Vysvetlenie funkcionality na wikipedii: OTG kabel umoznuje spojit telefon s USB zariedenim (velkokapacitne pametove zariadeni - USB kluc, mys ci klavesnica) a zaroven po pripojeni ku klasickemu PC sa sprava sam ako usb pametove zariadenie.

Velmi poucne je video od NZtechfreak na YouTube - ukazuje rozmanite moznosti vyuzitia OTG kablu v tomto pripade na Samsung Galaxy SII.

Pre nadsencov volneho pouzivania vonkajsej pamete - cez OTG kabel, tu je zoznam zariadeni podporucich OTG funkcionalitu. Ak sa tu tvoj telefon nenanchadza, netreba zufat napr aplikacia USB Host diagnostics (zaberie len niekolko MB pamete) po nainstalovani zobrazi ci dane zariadenie je schopne rozpoznat a pouzit OTG kabel - celkom uzitocna info pred tym ako sa zacne cely kolotoc okolo objednavky kablu zo zahranicia...

Niektore novsie zariadenia (Nexus 7 a spol) nepodporuju od vyroby OTG rozhranie, a preto potrebuju k tomu trochu napomoct: Tu je navod ako previest root zariadenia - osobne som este nemal potrebu takze nemam skusenost...(pozor - pri rootnuti zariadenia odpada zakonna zaruka - co sa vsak da vratit do povodneho stavu pomocou USB JIG :)

OTG kabel rovny

Pred kupou OTG kablu na amazon alebo ebay, odporucam skontrolovat si cenu postovneho do cielovej krajiny. Najvyssia cena sa uvadza za original Samsungu microUSB - USB Converter tj OTG kabel  (recenzia z mobilefanatics.com). Osobne uspesne pouzivam kus z ebay za EUR 3,- od samostatneho predajcu (third party vendor).

Na zaklade precitanych clankov a skusenosti ostatnych uzivatelov, neodporuca sa pouzivat kratku verziu (koncovka bez kablu) pretoze tento format velmi rychlo pokazi microUSB port na telefone.

Pre hobby elektrikarov dobra zvest - kolegovci z Indie si ho dokazu zbastlit aj samy - pre tych technicky zrucnejsich este video navod.

Zvlastnosti a postrehy:

Moj Samsung GT I-9100 rozpoznal OTG kabel resp 32GB microSD kartu a dokazal presuvat data.  Pri transfere vacsich objemov dat (vyse 4GB) nedokazal vykonat prepis dat z vnutornej pamete na externe medium (zastavil na 95%). Problem sa vyriesil ked som zadal na prenos len mensie subory - okolo 1GB. Avsak pri presune obsahu 16GB karty do telefonu - som si vsimol neprijemne zahrievanie microSD karty v plastovom adaptery. Na rozdiel od prehravania medii - filmov, tu bola zmena teploty externej karty zasunutej v OTG kably nebadatelna.

Osobne som neskusat pripojit pametove medium s vyssou kapacitou - ale typek NZtechfreak z horeuvedeneho YouTube video kanalu pripojil aj SSD s kapacitou 1 TB - samozrejme dotovany elektrikou cez samostatne napajanie.

Ako uz bolo na forach napisane, OTG kabel doda mobilnemu telefonu funkcionalitu stoloveho pocitaca (transfer dat na odpojitelnu externu kartu, zalohovanie dat, prehravanie multimedii, spojenie s tlaciarnou ...) - co je specialne na cestach / mimo dosahu klasickych metod transferu dat a datovej siete vysoko ocenitelna vymozenost.



USB a SD adapter pre microSD kartu

V kombinacii s microSD kartou a USB adapterom sa tato funkcionalita rozsiruje aj na presun dat medzi telefonmi / zariadeniami podporujucimi externu microSD kartu (fotoaparat, kardio zariadenie, GPS navigacia, ...)

Zaujimave ponuky na microSD pametove karty zvacsa najdem v maloobchodoch s potravinami (typu Tesco) - 32GB microSD class 6 len za 17,- EUR. S ohladom na obmedzenia citacej kapacity samotneho mobilneho zariadenia, nemam potrebu siahat po hi-end produktoch pysiacich sa neskutocnou prenosovou rychlostou ...

Ako ste vy spokojny s vnutornou pametou svojho mobilneho telefonu? Citite potrebu rozsirovat kapacitu pre lokalne ulozenie multimedii? Preferujete rychlejsiu vnutornu "solid state" pamet?

Cut off the network by CamScanner

I went totally off the handle,  when after last update CamScanner seemingly changed preset format to save shots.

Naturally, everybody, I suppose is perfectly familiar with CamScanner app - if not watch the intro video by INTSIG - the app developer:

In main menu I could find only conversion to .pdf format.  In this form  the captured idea cannot be share on social networks esp. #GooglePlus . Infuriated, I wrote a  very negative reference on Play Store. Just by mere chance, clearing superfluous pictures with Total Commander app, I discovered that CamScanner still saves edited images at first as .jpg. Only afterwards convert them into pdf and offer 'share' option - to DropbBox &Co.

Generic file name in CamScanner

Jpg images are to be found in file tree under: Camscanner /.images / .bak  (saved as jpg - should be at least over 1MB.) 

The only insufficiency is naming of that file: CamScanner app applies generic code-like names.

Would be highly appreciated to save even these processed jpg images still within the CamScanner app under chosen name (renaming edited shot  here results in saving file as pdf, instead).

To my immerse pleasing,  AndroZIP saves me the trouble of browsing impersonal coded images:   rename function - in upper menu bar choose button MULTI and check just one desired file, type into the newly open window your desired name with file suffix like .jpg or .png Attention, the suffix should match the original one!
Alternatively, after back-up in DropBox choose from right-hand drop-down menu 'rename' to customise file label.

  

Hope you will spare yourself any feeling of frustration when your favourite feature disappears - NOW you can just enjoy the pure performance of CamScanner on your mobile gadget. ..

PS So my deep apologies go to developers at IntSig Information - and sure, I remain a loyal to this excellent and useful app.

Unzip a RAR and listen to audiobook

Somehow I happen to find on the internet a free copy of an audiobook in mp3 format - unfortunately packed into zip file. Searching for solution on android forum I found an easy-to-follow tip of how to open / extract downloaded zip file on an android device.

As a extremly happy and satisfied user, let me present you  and promote the great app, which solved my troubles: AndroZIP File Manager. Truly, guys from AgileSoft Resource are doing great service for android users - for what I am very grateful :)

So chronologically: I downloaded a free copy of an audiobook from a filesharing website. Unzipped the .RAR file in AndroZIP File Manager: longer tap and choose 'Extract to...' a specific folder and  rename the file accordingly. As a common format, mp3 can be played in every music player on android handsets.

Similarly I searched for epub format of this book title. Basically, after download, the file was transfered to folder dedicated to BOOKS using Total Comander by C Ghisler.

FB Reader as my preferred eBook reader, enables me to look up an ebook in directories - according to name, and additionally let me opt for a TTS option. However, I pretty enjoy listening to an audiobook version spoken by a human voice and simultaneously following the text. The reason to choose epub over pdf is that every single page of pdf file needs to be readjusted every time one swipes over to next page. So listening simultaneously to an audio book from music player in background, an ebook opened in eReader app (FB reader) as epub - fills up all the space available on the screen (a feature called automatic reflow of text to fit screen size ..). With simple swipe sideways a next page loads, additionally - size of letters can be adjusted to one's liking. Moreover, epub as simple text-only format takes only fraction of memory in comparison to pdf - what matters by larger files (classic books).

I found this as an alternative to extensive but still quite expensive offer on audiobooks on audible website.

To be honest, I still pay my monthly subscription on audible.de - which allows me for € 9,95 a month to pick 2 audiobooks of my own choice  from their vast audio library.
On the other hand, as proprietary, these sound tracks cannot be altered (renamed / played by app other than Audible app) - which I find way too stiff.

 Sure, as still in the process of learning a foreign language, audiobooks with complimentary pdf version always attract my attention. For offline pdf-to-epub conversion on android handset  the Nr. 1 app is ePUBator - very simple to use: just select a pdf file and the converted epub will be saved under the same name and in the same directory. Works well in most of cases, just forget those inevitable exceptions and you will be happy :)

Enjoy freedom in android :)

Look up and speak to me!

Deep into studying whatever language, sometimes there pops up an unknown word - almost inflicting the pleasure of getting the nuances of a particular text or an interesting conversation. If I cannot figure out their meaning from context, there still might be help:

IF ONLINE

With introduction of the new Galaxy S4, Samsung works hard to bring wide spectrum of services from their own house - for instance, S-Translator which is capable of text-to-speech as well as speech-to-text; recognise and translate written text through its camera - see more in news.

However, if you are not a Samsung fan or a owner of their handset, do not worry! There are apps free of charge for almost every mobile operating system:

Apple's iPhone - iTranslate - see more recommendations for downloadable apps (working fine even offline) on a blog by +demetrius crasto.

Windows Phone brings their own Bing 'Translator'  - reviewed on CNET by +Jaymar Cabebe - with downloadable offline option, maybe their augmented reality support is worth mentioning - however, nowadays nothing extraordinary.



Google Translate via camera

Well, the most reliable online translate help can be clearly and responsibly declared: Google TRANSLATE - available as a mobile app either (full support for android  and IOS, limited funtionality for blackberry & Windows Phone)

Need to find out the possible original language? Check:  currently 64 supported languages, if only one word provided - several possible languages will be suggested.

Have a lengthy text on a paper / in a locally saved image? As reported by +David Meyer  simply use optical character recognition - quite handy with pictographic scripts (chinese, sanscrit...)

Google Goggles app may be here handy ....

Need to hear how it's pronounced? Read and listen directly (machine-generated or eSpeak opensource powered pronunciation)  to the translated text (non-roman languages spelled for instance in a separate link)

Have a recording ? - play it to the Translator through 'Allow phonetic typing' option

Do not understand the language at all? - Let google translate the whole webpage for you (even my blog has this functionality as a preset option).

For further info about open source Text-to-speech engines for eLearning give a glance to this blog post.

FREE OFFLINE

While travelling abroad or simply out of reach of internet, mobile app is a life-saver. Basically, if the searched term is in english, then it is much higher probability to find satisfactory results. Unfortunately, this does not apply to other languages!

My personal pick for simple word translations - esp when you guess the original language is Offline Dictionaries by NGHS.FR:  The only handicap I see here is the necessity to choose manually in which (bilingual) dictionary to look for translation.

* basic version with ads is free of charge, with optional downloadable dictionaries for offline use -  to be saved even on external storage.

* on current version (2.2.3)  'Text-to-speech'  functionality with IVONA TTS engine out of order ... - previously it would read aloud the whole text - (original and translated terms spelled in the same language, because tts engine can tell only one language in a given text)
* useful feature: 'Advanced / Crossword search' - use asteric (*) in front or behind letters to find words containing these letters.

In Free apps section on Play Store is ColorDict  trending - with extras including  voice recognition as a additional option to simple word type-in; word suggestion and ability to send search result to other apps - used preferably by eBook reader apps. When online - it  links translation results to Wikipedia. 

Well, voice recognition or better word recognition functions pretty solid and reliable - but only for english expressions - as with most apps out there ...  :(


eReader app (for example: Kindle or Barnes&Noble) come often with 'free to download' monolingual (explanatory) dictionaries - with 'tap and hold' on an unknown term, a small window with explanation pops up. (Have a look at my previous post on language learning apps).

OFFLINE - PAID

 Thefreedictionary from Farlex - A very appealing app even though kind of misleading name in case of the mobile offline dictionary, but well it's worth the charge (2,99 EUR):

"Free version limited to: 'Multiple English dictionaries, featuring extensive definitions, pronunciations, usage sentences, etymologies'  and 'Advanced Search options: "Starts with," "Ends with," and "In definition." (similar to Offline dictionaries)"

I lack here a TTS function - only limited vocabulary is still available to play back as a simple audio recordings.

On the positive side, just type in the searched term (english)  and get instantly a written translation in the desired language (up to 40 languages). Additionaly, monolingual (english) explanation with examples of application in sentence or idioms for vocabulary practice are automatically offered, too (on condition that the respective dictionaries were downloaded). Highly appreciated are the specialty dictionaries - medical...
With so many words in translation result list, 'a search for word' comes as a welcomed feature.

Jibbigo or a similar app from Lonely Planet Offline Translator promise to recognise voice input from several languages and instantly translate into and pronounce in bunch of other - which make these two preferrable over the previous mentioned.

Although 'speech to speech' translates the word pair quite reliably, from my personal experience, it is absolutely risky to rely on its voice recognition :(  See user comments here.

 

To sum up, there are plenty different translation apps working in language pair: English & other language. Neither of them has a sufficient dictionaries or all features one would expect nowadays. So for a better and reliable use - means when offline - I strongly recommend to downloaded more than one app with their vocabulary databases (loaded with languages one expects to need), with consideration to all available storage (potencially external microSD).

In my opinion, it remains a sure thing, to use Google Translate app, whenever one can connect to internet. And / or do some research before going out of reach ( particularly being abroad), on a local data plan offers. Otherwise, act smart and prepare for the trip in advance :) ... like: start learning now :)