USB Host library - Beta testers wanted

[Erel]

The first version of the USB Host library will be available in a couple of days.
Only Android 3.1 and above support USB host mode.

Are there currently any developers who are interested in such functionality and have access to Android 3.1?

 

[hackhack]

Well my tablet is 3.2 - but I don't know what USB host mode is. Haven't used USB for anything

(I FTP stuff back and forth via wifi

 

[thedesolatesoul]

USB host allows you to connect peripherals to your tablet.
I dont have 3.x unfortunately

 

[Kamac]

USB host allows you to connect peripherals to your tablet.
I dont have 3.x unfortunately

I get you bro, i get you

 

[Brad]

Wish I had 3.0.. I have a project that has been on the shelf for over a year because droid phones can't act as usb host. Looks like it's time to find a device. That's awesome news Erel!

 

[agraham]

I have a project that has been on the shelf

What is it that you want to connect to? i.e. what USB device protocol support would you need?

 

[NJDude]

Only Android 3.1 and above support USB host mode.

That host mode, is intended to read/write USB drives only or to handle any USB device attached to the tablet?, I'm asking this because (please pardon my ignorance) I have a tablet running Android 2.2 and I can hook up a USB mouse, keyboard and USB thumb drives.

 

[Brad]

What is it that you want to connect to? i.e. what USB device protocol support would you need?

I want to hook up to trail cams. I'm a hunter and use trail cams and would love to plug my phone into them to download the pics. I know other hunters that are wanting the same. As for the device protocol I wouldn't know. When I discovered that the phone couldn't be used as a host I dropped my research.. I'll dig into it and see what is required.

 

[agraham]

If you have a trail cam (or any camera) that implements the Media/Picture Transfer Protocol then Android 3.0 with a host OTG cable can directly pull any pictures onto the device without any extra application needed. Connecting my Canon Ixus to my Motorola Xoom starts Gallery to display and import photos without any further intervention.

 

[agraham]

I have a tablet running Android 2.2 and I can hook up a USB mouse, keyboard and USB thumb drives.

I assume that is a custom, probably rooted, ROM. It's not possible on standard Android devices before 3.0 (and reliably before 3.1) and even then USB drives are not supported.

 

[NJDude]

I assume that is a custom, probably rooted, ROM. It's not possible on standard Android devices before 3.0 (and reliably before 3.1) and even then USB drives are not supported.

Then it has to be custom, this is one of those chinese cheap tablets.

Thanks for the info.

 

[hdtvirl]

Erel, I have an Acer Iconia 500 Android 3.1 with dual usb ports.

Can I connect a USB 2 Serial device to it with this Library ?, or do I need to have a driver for the usb 2 serial converter also ?.

I can test the beta library for you.

Regards.

BOB.

 

[bluedude]

One second here, is this the accessory stuff like Arduino ADK's? If so, wow!

 

[Erel]

Can I connect a USB 2 Serial device to it with this Library ?

It will probably work. It gives you low level access to the USB functionality.

One second here, is this the accessory stuff like Arduino ADK's? If so, wow!

This is not Android accessory stuff. This is the standard USB host introduced in Android 3.1.

 

[agraham]

do I need to have a driver for the usb 2 serial converter also ?

You would need to write your own driver on top of this library. For that you would need to know the USB Classes implemented by the converter to implement the correct protocol. It might be that your converter implements the standard USB CDC Class and Erel might decide to implement that protocol in the library - but I somehow doubt it for the time being!

 

[Darkwoof]

I assume that is a custom, probably rooted, ROM. It's not possible on standard Android devices before 3.0 (and reliably before 3.1) and even then USB drives are not supported.

The stock Samsung Galaxy S II with Android 2.3.x is supposed to come with USB host mode support, Samsung is even selling a USB-Micro USB adapter for it. It's not in-stock yet at most places, though there are already YouTube videos showing it in action - with both the official adapter and cheap USB OTG adapters/cables, browsing flash drives and even a powered portable HDD. There has also been reports of it working with certain USB mouse and keyboards.

I was just about to get one and try it myself.

 

[agraham]

with both the official adapter and cheap USB OTG adapters/cables

A dirt cheap OTG cable works fine on my Xoom. Individual manufacturers may have added their own USB device support but to the best of my knowledge stock Android is as I said.

The main reason I think is that Google is still deciding how to support removable drives properly in android so that users don't suffer data loss removing them without unmounting them. For this reason "official" Honeycomb 3.x does not support write access to a removable SD card. It is read only on the device file system and and can only be written to by the media APIs on the device and by an externally connected PC which has to use MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) for this reason. A stock Honeycomb device no longer looks like a thumb drive to a PC like earlier devices did and there is no longer a need to mount and unmount storage when connecting to a PC.

 

[bluedude]

Ok, clear. Was hoping for the accessory support because the Arduino stuff is already a big market.

Unfortunately it isn't exactly the same as the IOIO library.

Anyway, not sure what to use this stuff for.

 

[Harris]

I just purchased the Acer A100 7" tablet running version 3.2 for 349.00 CDN at Future Shop.
Works great! Surprised to see the scaling is 1 - as it is for most tablets I see. The device states 1024x600 by getlayoutvalues reports 1024x554.
It has a mini USB port which, I believe you can get a mini to regular adaptor for.
The GPS works fine and it also has Bluetooth 2.1 EDR.
Cant believe how fast B4ABridge connects to it - instantly - whereas my cheap Flytouch would take forever...(if at all).
Anyone looking for a smaller tablet for vehicular apps, this is it. I am still waiting for the 8.9 Samsung to compare with (new 10.1 is out).

 

[nfordbscndrd]

I just purchased the Acer A100 7" tablet running version 3.2 for 349.00 CDN at Future Shop.
Works great! Surprised to see the scaling is 1 - as it is for most tablets I see. The device states 1024x600 by getlayoutvalues reports 1024x554.

As noted in the Wiki:

A 7" tablet screen's dimensions are about 6"x3.5". To have a density of 1.5 (240 dpi), it would need a resolution of around 1440x840