MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Shopping for a Calibre-friendly tablet

chaley · 05-25-2016, 04:08 AM

@BrooksNYC: Here are some more details on what said about CC (I am its developer).

In general, CC does not support connections over USB. It won't "see" books sent to the device over a cable. The one exception is if you send your entire calibre library to the device and then use CC's "Local Library Connection" to extract books from that library.
Given your use case, I suspect that CC's demo version is enough. It is certainly enough to test so you can be sure that it will solve your problems.
Android tablets really want to be connected to the internet from time to time so they can update. I strongly suggest that you turn your laptop into a WiFi hub. There are a zillion ways to do that. One of the easiest and most reliable software solutions is Connectify Hotspot, but given that you are using a 3G dongle you must use the paid version if you want the tablet to "see" the internet (they seem to have a trial version for testing). Windows 7 Internet Connection Sharing works, but is a bit more of a hassle to set up. Another option that I haven't tried is Virtual Router (free). Finally, you can buy a small (cheap) wifi hub and connect your tablet to the laptop that way.

Before going too much further, I suggest that you ask a friend who has an android phone/device to help test what you are considering. For example, you could get the trial version of Connectify, have your friend install CC Demo on his/her phone, then see if you can connect CC to calibre on your laptop. If all goes well then you can start looking for cheap tablets.

As for buying a Windows tablet: be aware that calibre runs only on Intel-based Windows tablets. The very-cheap tablets often use ARM (not Intel) processors that don't run calibre. Intel-based windows tablets get very expensive very fast, although the newer Intel Atom-based tablets seem capable and inexpensive (I have never used one).

Android 9-10" tablets can be had for under $100. Also, if you are willing to consider a 7" tablet, take a look at the Amazon Fire 7. It is amazingly inexpensive and runs CC just fine, but it does come with Amazon's Android that many people find annoying.

Depending on how your network dongle works and what company it connects to, you could consider getting a cheap tablet that contains a SIM card slot. With that the tablet could connect directly to the internet. In addition, Android devices with SIM card slots can usually be set up to "tether" (create a WiFi hotspot) even if there isn't a SIM installed.

Finally, if at all possible stay away from Android 4.4 (Kitkat). SD cards on Kitkat are for all intents and purposes broken. Android 5 and later work much better, as does Android 4.2 and 4.3.

05-25-2016, 04:08 AM	#13
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,486 Karma: 8025704 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	@BrooksNYC: Here are some more details on what said about CC (I am its developer). In general, CC does not support connections over USB. It won't "see" books sent to the device over a cable. The one exception is if you send your entire calibre library to the device and then use CC's "Local Library Connection" to extract books from that library. Given your use case, I suspect that CC's demo version is enough. It is certainly enough to test so you can be sure that it will solve your problems. Android tablets really want to be connected to the internet from time to time so they can update. I strongly suggest that you turn your laptop into a WiFi hub. There are a zillion ways to do that. One of the easiest and most reliable software solutions is Connectify Hotspot, but given that you are using a 3G dongle you must use the paid version if you want the tablet to "see" the internet (they seem to have a trial version for testing). Windows 7 Internet Connection Sharing works, but is a bit more of a hassle to set up. Another option that I haven't tried is Virtual Router (free). Finally, you can buy a small (cheap) wifi hub and connect your tablet to the laptop that way. Before going too much further, I suggest that you ask a friend who has an android phone/device to help test what you are considering. For example, you could get the trial version of Connectify, have your friend install CC Demo on his/her phone, then see if you can connect CC to calibre on your laptop. If all goes well then you can start looking for cheap tablets. As for buying a Windows tablet: be aware that calibre runs only on Intel-based Windows tablets. The very-cheap tablets often use ARM (not Intel) processors that don't run calibre. Intel-based windows tablets get very expensive very fast, although the newer Intel Atom-based tablets seem capable and inexpensive (I have never used one). Android 9-10" tablets can be had for under $100. Also, if you are willing to consider a 7" tablet, take a look at the Amazon Fire 7. It is amazingly inexpensive and runs CC just fine, but it does come with Amazon's Android that many people find annoying. Depending on how your network dongle works and what company it connects to, you could consider getting a cheap tablet that contains a SIM card slot. With that the tablet could connect directly to the internet. In addition, Android devices with SIM card slots can usually be set up to "tether" (create a WiFi hotspot) even if there isn't a SIM installed. Finally, if at all possible stay away from Android 4.4 (Kitkat). SD cards on Kitkat are for all intents and purposes broken. Android 5 and later work much better, as does Android 4.2 and 4.3.