Shopping for a Calibre-friendly tablet

[BrooksNYC]

Hello, friends. Am about to shop for a tablet, and would appreciate it if you could steer me in the right direction.

For reading ordinary text, I'm happy with my Kindle Paperwhite. However, for reading cookbooks—or any publication where one might want a larger screen capable of rendering photos in color—the Paperwhite doesn't cut it.

Everything in my Calibre library looks great on my 15-inch laptop, but I'd sooner keep my laptop out of the kitchen. So I'm considering a tablet. For cookbook reading, a 10-12-inch screen ought to be a good size, and if I can find a tablet for under $400, that would be swell. Then again, I'm willing to spend more for a tablet that won't croak after a year or two.

In choosing a device, the ability to run Calibre (or at least display the contents of its library) is my number one priority. My laptop runs Windows 7, so should I be shopping for Windows tablets? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I have little experience with operating systems outside of Windows.

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Brooks

Windows 7 Pro, SP1, x64
Calibre 2.57.1

[theducks]

Android and Calibre Companion
Presto !
Calibre Compatible


You will need Reading Apps:

Moon+ YMMV
Something for PDF, Comics...

[BrooksNYC]

Thanks very much, theducks!

So any Android tablet will work? (I don't even own a smartphone, so Android is a whole new ballgame.)

Also, there seems to be more than one version of Android floating around. Is there one you would particularly recommend?

Thanks again!

[PeterT]

I trust you do have wifi at home ...

[BrooksNYC]

I'm afraid I don't have WiFi, Peter. I get online via a USB wireless modem that plugs into my laptop.

Dealbreaker?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by BrooksNYC

In choosing a device, the ability to run Calibre (or at least display the contents of its library) is my number one priority. My laptop runs Windows 7, so should I be shopping for Windows tablets? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I have little experience with operating systems outside of Windows.

If you want to run full blown Calibre you'll need a full Windows tablet.


Android is a good choice if you want to display the contents of your Calibre library but don't need full Calibre (such as the conversion & editing options). Calibre Companion will take your tags and other info from Calibre and display your library in the same organized manner. This is combined with your choice of reading apps to display your books. Note that books get transferred to CC via either a wireless connection, the Calibre server or by connecting CC to a copy of your library stored in a cloud someplace (such as DropBox). CC doesn't support USB transfer of books (although there may be a workaround).

Originally Posted by BrooksNYC

I'm afraid I don't have WiFi, Peter. I get online via a USB wireless modem that plugs into my laptop.

Dealbreaker?

For any mobile device like a tablet your generally going to want a WiFi connection (for downloading apps, system updates at the very least). I don't know the specific details for your setup, but you may be able to set your laptop up as a WiFi hotspot that your tablet can connect to. Probably not ideal, but should work.

[BrooksNYC]

I greatly appreciate your comprehensive explanation, AnemicOak. I have a much better grasp of how tablets work than I did before.

So either I get a Windows tablet, or.......I need to look into other ways of getting online. Homework!

Again, my thanks to all of you.

B.

[theducks]

Brooks
When you said 'Tablet', I assumed it was a reading device

Calibre does NOT run on Android. CC integrates with your Calibre Library Host
You can use your Laptop as the Calibre (Library) server

Your USB WiFi dongle should be able to be configured to allow 'Peer' connections
CAUTION: enabling peer mode while in public locations. The security is weak.

? How old is this Laptop?
No (built in) WiFi is something I thought disappeared 10 + years ago

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by theducks

Your USB WiFi dongle should be able to be configured to allow 'Peer' connections
CAUTION: enabling peer mode while in public locations. The security is weak.

It's not a WiFi dongle, it's a cellular USB modem. 3G or 4G/LTE depending on the model.

[BrooksNYC]

Originally Posted by theducks

When you said 'Tablet', I assumed it was a reading device

I really just meant a flat thing with a color screen that could be used for reading. Whatever that thing might be!

And now I'm clear that I'll need to choose between a Windows device (for full-blown Calibre), or an Android device (in conjunction with Calibre Companion).

My three-year-old laptop does have built-in WiFi, which I sometimes use in places such as libraries, cafes, airports, or anyplace with public WiFi access.

I'm not hooked up to cable in my apartment, however, and have no wireless router (if that's the right word). To get online, I use my wireless USB modem, which connects to the same Verizon network as my cell phone. (Brian explains it better than I.)

[theducks]

Your new tablet can talk to calibre via USB or WiFi.
The WiFi does not need outside access for this to work once CC is authorised.
Thus my Peer level statement. You will need to configure Static IP's since there is no DHCP server (usually the router)

[BrooksNYC]

Thanks, ducks.

To confirm:

I'd only need to authorize CC on an Android tablet once (which I could do from Starbucks or the library). Thereafter, I could copy books from my laptop to the tablet via USB cable. Have I got that right?

We won't wade into static IPs tonight. Little steps for little feet!

Thanks again.

[chaley]

@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.

[BrooksNYC]

Chaley, thanks so much for your detailed response and extremely helpful suggestions! Using my laptop as a WiFi hub is a new concept to me, and I'll definitely look into it.

On behalf of all techno-bewildered geezers (and non-geezers, too....there must be a few out there), I'm sincerely grateful to all of you. The info you've posted here has been hugely helpful.

B.

[gbm]

Brooks:

This is a link to screen shots of calibre on my Insignia 8" windows 10 tablet.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=13