Tablet 'Inputs'

[gordon_s1942]

My friend had his old cheapy laptop crash recently and he was considering going for a Tablet for its eventual replacement.
At the moment its not the make or size of the Tablet thats important at this time but what connections it has to allow attachments like a USB dongle.

He still has a Crazy John modem with a 'Hello' Optus SIM card that allows him calls all day for $2 or $3 flat rate as well as unlimited Internet and he obviously wants to keep that for as long as he can until Optus finally shuts it down so thats the number one priority.
I know there are Tablets available with the SIM card capacity but apart from what size SIM card they take, will his 'Hello' card work in a Tablet as it does now in his Dongle and not loose any of current access.

Again, its cheaper to buy a Tablet without SIM card access if he can use an adaptor such as I saw for a Galaxy 3 Tablet that has a 'standard' USB socket on one end and the 'mini' connector to plug into the Tablet, similar to a USB extension cord.

All these damned Tablets seem to have their own 'proprietary' plug and getting the correct one is a hassle.

Any thoughts please?

[lsemmens]

I bought a 9.7" phablet for SWMBO and only paid around $200 for it, runs Android and has provision for 2 SIMs, seems to work well enough for her needs. I'll see if I can find a link if you're interested. Purchased off Ebay and was delivered next day! (The seller was across town and it was new as he also had other new products so not just a 'bought this and don't like it' sale)

[Downunder35m]

A Nexus 7 will support OTG and most USB modems are supported by Android anyway.
The early model needs a custom Rom to support OTG though but with a cheap adapter plug or cable you can connect the stick, a HDD or simply a USB hub for all the needs.

[lsemmens]

Found a similar item from the same supplier

[gulliver]

I have a ViewSonic for years and has fullsize USB and HDMI ports.Very happy with it.

[admin]

Buy a standard Optus mobile broadband modem and connect via wireless.

[gordon_s1942]

Buy a standard Optus mobile broadband modem and connect via wireless.

We were talking about going that way but he/we had a problem before trying to get his SIM to work in another Optus type dongle, actually the one I got of you about a year ago.
When we put the SIM card in the dongle it wouldnt work the same as the Crazy John dongle did with the 'Hello' card and Optus told him that setting it up using the Optus dongle basicaly cancelled the features like his unlimited Internet and his ring anyone landline or mobile for 35 cent connection fee and talk all day flat rate back to a timed call (cent per second) and a fixed amount of Internet, like 500 MB per Day like most basic plans have.

This is why we thought if the Tablet can accept a USB connection, he could just plug in the dongle as he does now with his Laptop and hopefully it would all work as it does now.

Basically neither the SIM or the Dongle were the problem, its that Optus have changed their plans regarding the Hello card and while they have phased out those excellent features on their own devises, my guess is Optus hasnt 'Hit' those sold by 3rd party Onsellers like Crazy John, to me thats like back in the days with Satellite decoders and the 'Country' code that blocked access to using an Aurora card Gold cards in a non approved receiver.

[lsemmens]

You can get a USB adaptor cable to plug into the mini/micro USB slot on most phones/tablets, even Apple, so you could possibly still use the dongle anyway.

[admin]

We were talking about going that way but he/we had a problem before trying to get his SIM to work in another Optus type dongle, actually the one I got of you about a year ago.
When we put the SIM card in the dongle it wouldnt work the same as the Crazy John dongle did with the 'Hello' card and Optus told him that setting it up using the Optus dongle basicaly cancelled the features like his unlimited Internet and his ring anyone landline or mobile for 35 cent connection fee and talk all day flat rate back to a timed call (cent per second) and a fixed amount of Internet, like 500 MB per Day like most basic plans have.

This is why we thought if the Tablet can accept a USB connection, he could just plug in the dongle as he does now with his Laptop and hopefully it would all work as it does now.

Basically neither the SIM or the Dongle were the problem, its that Optus have changed their plans regarding the Hello card and while they have phased out those excellent features on their own devises, my guess is Optus hasnt 'Hit' those sold by 3rd party Onsellers like Crazy John, to me thats like back in the days with Satellite decoders and the 'Country' code that blocked access to using an Aurora card Gold cards in a non approved receiver.

Ok, I can vaguely remember something in regards to this with that setup being classified as a phone and allowed where as in a wireless modem its classified as a data plan and not allowed.

[gordon_s1942]

Thats it, they did that change possibly 12 months or so ago?

Anyway he has called me to say he has bought the ONIX 9 inch tablet from Aldi for $149 so now to wait and see what happens.
Obviously if it cant use his 'Hello' SIM card he can take it back but this will give him some idea of what Tablets can do and how to use them which is a bit of a learning curve for 'beginners'.

I see in the advertising there is an accessory pack that includes a USB cable so fingers crossed.

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Update 15 minutes later, My friend just rang me USING the Tablet so now he's off to hopefully to surf the net with it.