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I recently (just a few days ago) picked up the 9 inch tablet from B&N (Nook HD+) just for reading PDFs. After zooming in to trim off the margins, I find them v

by derekp7 13y ago

I recently (just a few days ago) picked up the 9 inch tablet from B&N (Nook HD+) just for reading PDFs. After zooming in to trim off the margins, I find them very readable on this device (similar resolution to the new Nexus 7). Question, however, about the need for LTE on a tablet. Assuming you have your phone with you normally, why not just use your phone's hotspot feature to get the tablet online? Or, turn on bluetooth tethering if you want to have your tablet online all the time, with minimal power drain.

dspillett 13y ago
Bluetooth tethering seems to be something phones don't bother to support (Windows phones don't as far as I can tell, and some but not all Android devices do). I tether via WiFi rather than paying extra for a tablet with its own cell radio (and paying extra for a separate data account for it) - I carry an "emergency" battery that is enough to cover those occasions when I need to use it long enough for it to kill the phone's battery (though others may find that inconvenient).
rayiner 13y ago
It's a question of optimizing "time to online." I find my iPad Mini to be my "go-to" device, the thing that I pull out of my bag most often. So for me the extra time it would take to connect and power up via Bluetooth wouldn't be a win. Also, I'm not good at recharging my devices and I really like it that I can use tethering heavily on my Mini for several days to a week between recharges. I already kill my phone battery every day as it is--depending on it even more for tethering or surfing in line at the Starbucks would mean mid-day recharging.
JeremyNT 13y ago
I do the tethering thing with the Galaxy Nexus. There really is no need for a dedicated modem in the tablet, at least not in my case. I think one reason consumers prefer devices with their own modems is (intentional?) UI friction which makes "tethering" less convenient. In stock Android you cannot configure a device such that it will "use wireless if available, tether if not," which is what you really want to happen. It is possible to achieve something like this with third party apps, however.
- solnyshok 13y ago
  Do you use such app? Could you point me to it?
  - JeremyNT 13y ago
    Sure. There are multiple components, and I think it requires root (can't recall for sure): * Force the phone to enable bluetooth tethering on every boot with Bluetooth Auto Tether: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bat&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... * Install Bluetooth Auto Connect on the tablet, which allows for the tablet to connect to the phone automatically: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bac&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... * Use an automation app (I prefer Llama https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bac&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... ) to configure Bluetooth Auto Connect to happen when (e.g.) "screen on" and "wireless not connected", and configure it to disable Bluetooth Auto connect when "screen off" or "wireless connected." Add small delays here to avoid race conditions. It all seems needlessly complicated, but the end result is that the device will tether if it is awake and cannot find wireless, and it will disconnect from the phone when it goes to sleep or when it does find wireless, which is exactly what I want.

by derekp7 13y ago

dspillett 13y ago

Bluetooth tethering seems to be something phones don't bother to support (Windows phones don't as far as I can tell, and some but not all Android devices do). I tether via WiFi rather than paying extra for a tablet with its own cell radio (and paying extra for a separate data account for it) - I carry an "emergency" battery that is enough to cover those occasions when I need to use it long enough for it to kill the phone's battery (though others may find that inconvenient).

rayiner 13y ago

It's a question of optimizing "time to online." I find my iPad Mini to be my "go-to" device, the thing that I pull out of my bag most often. So for me the extra time it would take to connect and power up via Bluetooth wouldn't be a win. Also, I'm not good at recharging my devices and I really like it that I can use tethering heavily on my Mini for several days to a week between recharges. I already kill my phone battery every day as it is--depending on it even more for tethering or surfing in line at the Starbucks would mean mid-day recharging.

JeremyNT 13y ago

I do the tethering thing with the Galaxy Nexus. There really is no need for a dedicated modem in the tablet, at least not in my case. I think one reason consumers prefer devices with their own modems is (intentional?) UI friction which makes "tethering" less convenient. In stock Android you cannot configure a device such that it will "use wireless if available, tether if not," which is what you really want to happen. It is possible to achieve something like this with third party apps, however.

solnyshok 13y ago
Do you use such app? Could you point me to it?
- JeremyNT 13y ago
  Sure. There are multiple components, and I think it requires root (can't recall for sure): * Force the phone to enable bluetooth tethering on every boot with Bluetooth Auto Tether: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bat&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... * Install Bluetooth Auto Connect on the tablet, which allows for the tablet to connect to the phone automatically: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bac&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... * Use an automation app (I prefer Llama https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.android.bac&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.refluxa.and... ) to configure Bluetooth Auto Connect to happen when (e.g.) "screen on" and "wireless not connected", and configure it to disable Bluetooth Auto connect when "screen off" or "wireless connected." Add small delays here to avoid race conditions. It all seems needlessly complicated, but the end result is that the device will tether if it is awake and cannot find wireless, and it will disconnect from the phone when it goes to sleep or when it does find wireless, which is exactly what I want.