[jeffn1]

It looks like there are fewer inexpensive large (13.3 is the size I like) Android tablets around

While Chromebooks seem to have come down in price. (?)

Any recommendations in inexpensive Chromebooks 13-14 inch screens to use with (Android version) of Mobilesheets?

Anything special I should know about choosing between a Chromebook versus an Android tablet for Mobilesheets? 

(Or should I consider switching to Windows MS?)

Jeff

[Scherzo]

Because I favor Windows, after much anxiety and research, I pulled the plug on on a 13.5 Surface Book 2 last November & couldn't be happier.

My biggest concern was how would the PDF sheets I created in my music notation software look on the screen versus the 8.5" X 11" sized sheets in my binders because, I didn't want anything smaller.

After much experimentation before buying the tablet and accounting for the scaling done by the PDF creation in the music notion software, what I discovered is if I create PDF leadsheets with a smaller left & right margin, with the 13.5" screen size & 3:2 aspect ratio of the Surface Book 2; when MS is set to full screen I am looking at the same size sheet as I did in my binders.

The other anxiety I had was with battery life on just the tablet portion which is all I intended on using when performing. The revelation was, cut the display brightness to about 65% (perfectly adequate for viewing) and I can get 4 - 5 hours on a fully charged tablet, maybe more but I haven't needed any more.

Of course if I used it with the keyboard attached it would be about double that or I could plug the tablet in while using it.

I'll add that I've had absolutely NO issues with the Windows 10 version of MobileSheets or the Companion which I have installed on a Windows 7 desktop.

Is the Surface Book 2 pricey, absolutely and especially so when you buy it specifically for sheet music but I am glad I went this route versus anything else.

[Defreeze]

I started off with MS (it got recommended to me by a musician friend) on a Hannspree Titan2 with Airturn Ped pedal. I liked it a lot, except for the fact that there is no pen that will work with the Hannspree screen and making notes with your fingers is not ideal to say the least.
Later on I heard that this friend started working on a Surface (not shure which one) with dedicated pen. So I went looking for a Surface or similar. Then I found out that Acer has a very nice Surface clone called Switch 3. The difference is a.o. that it comes with detachable keyboard cover and pen (Microsoft makes you buy theirs separately) and a new one is about half the price of the bare Microsoft version. I found one second hand two months old for € 375,- Now life has become a lot easier with the dedicated pen. It has an excellent 12.2' screen. For this price it seems to me to be the best solution.

The Airturn Ped worked quite well most of the time, but lately I did have some problems, like connection dropping and sudden battery death. Besides if I would put the tablet to sleep during a break connection would be lost. So I decided to try something else. I took an old USB mouse, took out the circuit board and placed it in a small box with switch pedals on both sides, connected to the left and right mouse button switches. This works very well for me and seems a lot more reliable as it doesn't involve a battery or bluetooth. It cost me €35,- to make. (see picture)

[Petra-Kathi]

I'm wondering if your system would accept a BT mouse without connection losses. In that case you might consider doing a similar pimping with it and get rid of the cable again!    

Cheers,
Petra

[Geoff Bacon]

I considered using a BT mouse but gave up when I found my tablet required BT4 (?) protocol (at the time, ordinary BT mice were a couple of pounds, BT4 were around £35 - much too expensive considering I would also have to buy the pedals)
i.e. before spending any money, check what BT protocol you require for your tablet

Geoff

[GraemeJ]

.....  before spending any money, check what BT protocol you require for your tablet

Also, check the mouse you intend to use does not timeout after a period of inactivity - in my experience most do, which makes them unsuitable for this use.

[dannytroy]

I'm using an Acer Chromebook Spin 15.  A convertible Chromebook.  Screen size is great, and image quality is very good.  I wound up buying a second one used on eBay as a backup, and for use at my home music area.  The only downside is the annotation is a problem, since I haven't found a stylus that works well with it.  I have a new one arriving today in the mail, so hopefully that will work out.  As far as charging, as mentioned in an earlier post, I drilled a hole in my music stand for the charging cable.  Worked out great!  All that said, I'm thinking about buying a used Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 to try, if the annotation remains a problem on the Acer.
BTW, I have a mouse velcroed to my keyboard, which I use for turning pages.   Nice, since I really don't have to take my hand off the keyboard and reach to the tablet.  Been working great.  I really didn't want to add another pedal, as I already have three for other purposes.

[jdeluyck]

I've recently gotten the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 - and while expensive, I find it to be worth it's money. MSP is super easy to use, thanks to the stylus, and it all just.. works.

[actarusweb]

Hello everybody, 
I'm looking for a tablet android with USB port AND power supply port. 
Any advice? 

Thanks for reply. 

Max

[sciurius]

Do you want an USB port for host connections (USB-A, for mouse, usb-stick, etc.)?
And at the same time being able to charge the tablet?

I'm not sure there are tablets that provide this. However, you can buy split cables and small hubs for that purpose.

See e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZjSn3zzMk
https://www.informatique.nl/473423/gembi...-bm-m.html

[actarusweb]

Thanks for reply. 
I use MSP for sheets and for changing sounds to my keyboards.
With just 1 keyboard tablet consumption is perfect, 15 minutes 1% of battery. 
Now I started  using 2 keyboards. And even if I use a powered hub battery consumption is 10 minutes 1% .

I'm just a little afraid to use that stuff, I read about few problems,. so I was thinking about a tablet with a port for power supply. I start to think  that it will be a problematic search...

Max

[actarusweb]

Thanks for reply. 
I use MSP for sheets and for changing sounds to my keyboards.
With just 1 keyboard tablet consumption is perfect, 15 minutes 1% of battery. 
Now I started  using 2 keyboards. And even if I use a powered hub battery consumption is 10 minutes 1% .

I'm just a little afraid to use that stuff, I read about few problems,. so I was thinking about a tablet with a port for power supply. I start to think  that it will be a problematic search...

P.S: Lava stuff looks interesting. at the moment they are close for holidays, I'll take a look... next year. 

Many thanks 

Max

[tjrob]

I have been using MSP since 2013. I have two six-year-old Hannspree 13" tablets that are slowly dying, and a new RCA 12" tablet. I could not find any 13" tablet at a reasonable price. The RCA is well built, runs a modern version of Android, and is much faster than the Hannspree. I paid $200 for each Hannspree (in 2013/14), and paid $190 for the RCA a few months ago. All three came with a charger, a jack for the charger, and an OTG jack that accepts my BiliPro USB pedal with an adapter; they all accept a BlueTooth pedal, and the RCA also has a USB Type A jack that needs no adapter for the pedal.

MobileSheets Pro is GREAT! It has every feature I want, and many more that I don't use. I currently have 1375 "songs" on my tablets (some vocal scores are > 200 pages); most are showtunes for sight-reading. I keep the primary copy of all music on my Mac, and make all edits and annotations there. I run the PC Companion app in a virtual machine and keep all three tables configured identically. I organize my music only by genre, with one genre for each group I accompany, plus general ones for piano solos (classical, pop, showtunes, ...). On the Mac each genre is in its own folder. That way I can re-initialize the tablet, re-install MSP, and batch import each directory with the proper genre.

Unlike most, I accompany several choruses, and have found that I cannot reliably read 4-staves-tall choral parts (S,A,T,B), so I play them into Finale as two staves (SA,TB); I then build a PDF with the 2-staves on top of the original 4-staves choral plus 2-staves piano part. That enables me to play all the vocal parts at full speed, any individual part, and the orchestral parts. I typically spend less than 20% of my practice time manipulating the score that way (without doing this I would be unable to be a choral accompanist).

I have found that I press the wrong pedal all too often. So I configure both pedals to PageForward, and manipulate the PDFs to only go forward (copying pages for repeats, and blanking out portions that are not played).

I want to display the music as close as possible to its original size.

• Letter paper (8.5"x11") paper has a typical image size 7.5" by 10.5".
  
• The Hannspree has an image size 6.5" by 10.7".
  
• The RCA has an image size 6" by 10".
  

So some reduction in page size is inevitable. I am living with it. I am experimenting with using the RCA in landscape mode, one 6-staves line per page (or perhaps per half-page). That's twice as many page turns, but also larger images.

I have learned that my local public library has a scanner that is MUCH faster and more efficient than my 3-in-1 printer/scanner/copier. For classical music, IMSLP has had just about everything I have needed.

[jdeluyck]

Which RCA tablet is that? The ones I find run ancient versions of Android :/ (6.0)

[tjrob]

About Tablet says Model Number CT9223W97, Android Version 6.0, screen is 12.2". It came with a detachable keyboard (which I never use). It's also offered with Windows 10.