Android phones, apps and tablets

actually I know exactly what you need:

modu

the idea popped up around the time the first iPhone was announced and that basically killed its chances as apple created way too much hype for it to make an impact. I imagine if it had better timing it could have developed its way into a very compelling platform by now and would probably offer what you want.

Not really, I don't want a screen, I don't want apps.

Those are things connected devices can do if they want.

I just want the comms device. Nothing more.

Oh wait, sorry they've changed it (should have looked at the site properly, was under the impression they folded before they got anywhere).

This was the original idea from 2007, tiny device with a screen for basic functions, and then you could put it in different bodies that allowed it to do more. Don't think it was ever released in that format tough. Although it's not quite what you wanted, it's probably the closest thing the industry has come up with to date, and if they had stuck with that idea probably could be used in a setup very close to what you described.

Quick question (probably answered up-thread)
My SG2 charging pin is mashed and smoke comes (came) out when I attempted to plug into charger.
Can this be repaired?

So I bought a Nokia 100 and put in the sim from the sg2 texts and calls only which has run the battery down one bar ( out of 6 ) in 48 hours.

I got the sg2 repaired in a local phone shop for 35 quid (Vodafone offered to do it for 150!.

Have decided to use the Nokia 100 as my main phone and only transfer the sim to the sg2 when I really need smart functions. It's kind of liberating not being able to check the web all the time and being hassled by email notifications every second.

(Posted from my iPad ;)

Yes, it's a nice idea but I think you're probably better off with a mifi, a phone that can do voip over wifi and an elastic band.
Maybe also one of those big batteries with micro-USB to power it all.
What you then probably want is the mifi to autoconfigure a VPN to home or to use something like the Mobile IP stuff in IPv6 which I've failed to find usable open source implementations of and which looks even more of a headache than IPsec.
So, basically, a mifi running OpenBSD or something.

^Needs a picture

a milf running OpenBSDM or something.

euph?

Yes, it's a nice idea but I think you're probably better off with a mifi, a phone that can do voip over wifi and an elastic band.
Maybe also one of those big batteries with micro-USB to power it all.
What you then probably want is the mifi to autoconfigure a VPN to home or to use something like the Mobile IP stuff in IPv6 which I've failed to find usable open source implementations of and which looks even more of a headache than IPsec.
So, basically, a mifi running OpenBSD or something.

For this sort of thing, you might want to look at someone like Arnold & Andrews, who might be able to help. Pricey, but very good at what they do (ISP and telecoms). I think that they have things like this already setup, although that may only be for their MD.

Not really, I don't want a screen, I don't want apps.

Those are things connected devices can do if they want.

I just want the comms device. Nothing more.

How about a standard MiFi (configurable via USB), and a wifi-only SIP phone connected to an Asterisk server at your office, so the SIP phone basically becomes an extension on your office comma system. People use Asterisk for all sorts of stuff, a colleague at work has some extension numbers mapped to activate different modes on his smart central heating system...

You can even run Asterisk on an R-Pi...

I've just bought Dearly Beloved an iPad for her birthday, her dad loves it and and now he wants a tablet too... But he wants Android cuz he's got an HTC One and likes it...

Is the Nexus 10 getting an update next week? What else would you recommend?

So I bought a Nokia 100 and put in the sim from the sg2 texts and calls only which has run the battery down one bar ( out of 6 ) in 48 hours.

I got the sg2 repaired in a local phone shop for 35 quid (Vodafone offered to do it for 150!.

Have decided to use the Nokia 100 as my main phone and only transfer the sim to the sg2 when I really need smart functions. It's kind of liberating not being able to check the web all the time and being hassled by email notifications every second.

(Posted from my iPad ;)

Tempted to do something like this myself. Only with a nokia 105 , 1 month battery life!

How are you coping without a phone being able to do 'everything' are you carrying separate camera, iPod that kind of thing?

I've just bought Dearly Beloved an iPad for her birthday, her dad loves it and and now he wants a tablet too... But he wants Android cuz he's got an HTC One and likes it...

Is the Nexus 10 getting an update next week? What else would you recommend?

Rumours so far are about the new 7 being released next week, not the 10.

How are you coping without a phone being able to do 'everything' are you carrying separate camera, iPod that kind of thing?

Yes the camera function is a loss. Though forcing me to use my SLR to take proper pics when I really want to take photos. I rarely travel with music and listen at home. My collection is on google play. Maps? Well London is easy using the hard copy cycle maps. (Or transfer the sim to smart phone if I get lost)

Early days though

It's really a case of: If the display were external (a watch, a tablet, Google Glass if you must), and anything could be a headset... then why not fundamentally change the shape of a phone and make it a pocketable hub for every other device?

And... once you've followed that logic, what are the problems with phones? Battery life has gone to be up there, signal and connection as well... but if you're freed from the shackles of "battery is constrained to fit behind the display" and "most of the external body must be glass/plastic"... then one could make the core of the phone's true functionality (communications) and put it in a body which contained a more capable battery, and if metal bodied the whole thing could be the antenna.

It could fix battery life and signal, whilst liberating us to choose the sensors, microphones, speakers/headsets, displays that we choose.

I just don't see the point of this stuff being on the phone any more. The assumption that it is, leads to bad technology.

A company, whose name I forget, were doing this ten years ago. The central part of the device was a comms box, with the SIM, cellular radio, Bluetooth etc, then you could buy modules that connected to it via Bluetooth. I can't remember what they were called though.

I'll see if I can dig out their name and what happened to them. It was an interesting, and viable, concept.

Velocio you should speak with these people maybe:
http://m.instructables.com/id/ArduinoPhone/

What I'm going to do:

1) Reduce my main contract to a SIM only voice plan @ £9 per month Vodafone

2) Get a 3 SIM only contract One Plan for unlimited internet (includes 4G later this year)

3) Buy a Huawei E589 http://www.huaweidevice.co.uk/mobile-broadband/Huawei-E589/

4) Turn off the data enabled setting in the Android phone (forcing all data over wifi, the Huawei device plus home and work networks).

Then everything else (tablet, kindle, laptop, iPod, etc) will be connected via the Huawei device.

I'll also investigate the smallest, longest battery life, most durable disposable mobile... might even dig an old one out of a box.

I have a version of this http://www.nokia.com/gb-en/phones/phone/105/ as my backup phone, cost about £13 and the battery lasts for ever.

I attempted a version of that with the original MiFi 3G router - worked fairly well, but e battery in them is not huge and they also turn themselves off when they deem fit- generally due to inactivity. This wouldn't be an issue if you didn't then need to turn them back on manually- dig it out of your bag and go through the right sequence of button pushing. Obviously no good for inbound stuff like email if you need it in real time if you see what I mean. You may be able to change this in the settings of course but that'd muller the battery faster.

That Huawei mobile wifi thing only offers 10 hours battery time though. You have to hope it is clever at switching systems on and off when needed to make that into a decent day's use.

Or, what dammit said.

dammit.

Yeah, it's good for "on-demand" usage, but not so good for "always-on".

Bit sucky... if only it used Bluetooth 4, it would be low power and would last ages.

It's a nice concept- your idea is exactly what I was trying to achieve, with multiple devices running from one hub.

I blame my attempt on an episode of Tomorrows World where they talked about the PAN, and what it would mean for all our gadgets.

Sadly I think the technology to do it is still in tomorrows world.

At the moment I have an iPhone 4S and an iPad mini- on O2 and 3 respectively.

This actually gives me quite good coverage as where one is poor the other tends to work, and I use the iPhone as a wireless hotspot if I need to fire the laptop up (for something that needs Flash- Training Peaks I'm looking at you).

For my somewhat numinous touring project I'd love to work out a way of using either of my Apple devices to be able to download a file from a Garmin and then upload it again, but I don't think that my 910 and 800 support that.

It'd be great if the hubs worked as a mesh network too... so that if we were doing a group cycle ride and that only 1 hub needed a signal and it was then shared over a low-power technology across the riders.

Works for motorways too... and people in trains and on buses.

It just makes so much sense.