Affordable Tablet for running The HMDCC App

[Julian-350457]

I want to go down the HM DCC 7000 app route but only have an I phone 8 s and don’t have a Mac tablet. I find the screen is too small for my 67 year old eyes so I did a quick search for an I pad and it was about £369. As the app will work on Android soon so can anyone recommend a tablet that has Bluetooth that is much more affordable?

[SteveM6]

Have a look at refurbished tablets at Argos, Amazon etc but be wary of which operating system they have. The app currently requires ios13 or better but may be developed for ios12.5.7 in time.

Difficult to comment on android tablets as a list of known compatibles tablets is not yet available - be aware that there are literally thousands of possible tablets available with android and getting the app to work with all of them is not the work of a moment.

[meatloaf]

The problem is cheap, as far as android goes normally means sluggish. Although having said that my lad had a 10" Lenovo tablet at xmas, on offer for 99 quid ( normally 149 ) and its actually suprisingly nippy.

EDIT : Back on offer now at 130

Buy Lenovo M10 3rd Gen 10.1 Inch 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet – Grey | Tablets | Argos

[Moccasin]

If you want to stay with Apple, they do their own refurbished range with a 15% discount, sometimes more. These are generally devices that have been returned to Apple within the 2 week period after buying and have been fully tested. I’ve used them in the past and have been happy. There are no basic iPads showing in stock at the moment but new stock arrives all the time.

Another source is Cex who sell second hand devices, but the same warning about the age of the operating system goes.

Without turning this into an Apple vs Android discussion, Apple tend to be better at supporting their devices, with software upgrades being compatible for at least 5 years (often longer) and a device bought now should last a good long time as it’s still usable after those updates stop. The HM7000 app will likely run for even longer.

[ColinB]

I have never been into Apple, expensive devices that put me off. You are better waiting for the Android device application because there are a huge array of Android tablets. You could probably buy many for the price of one Apple device. It is a shame that they don't develop apps for the Kindle Fire, in its colour large screen form it is relatively cheap for a large screen display. On the other hand I do wonder how well the download will work once it gets swamped with the large array of Android users.

[dBerriff]

Buy the tablet that you can afford and make sure it gives you the software capability you need. Check the Bluetooth spec and perhaps read a few impartial reviews before you part with the cash.

[96RAF]

Once the Android testing gets into full flow ask the developer (there is a direct contact email) for advice about if your intended choice of tablet is supported.

In general if the free app installs from the store then loads into action then it will be fine. You could even try this in store on a demo model if possible.

E.g. The app installs onto my v12.5.7 iPad Air but will not open correctly. This is one of the devices listed as supported but not working yet.

[SteveM6]

Subject to the usual caveats around processing speeds and operating system compatibility, Amazon have some very reasonably priced android tablets on offer.

They also have a very good returns policy........if you know what I mean.😏

[Bulleidboy]

There are a large number of refurbished Apple ipads out there, but the problem is knowing what level of IOS it is at. I am currently using an iPhone 8 which works well with HM7000, but support might stop this year. I have been offered an upgrade, but an ipad might be a better bet - the eyes are getting olderthinking_face

[Brew Man]

I have a Lenovo M10, similar to the one @meatloaf refers to above and agree that it is an excellent tablet. My main gripe with Apple devices is their price - way too expensive for a lot of people. AFAIK, any Android version from 6 upwards should have no problem from the Bluetooth perspective, though other factors will (may) affect compatibility and a later version may be required.

I have the same dilemma as BB in whether to install the App on my phone or my tablet. There are pros and cons to each.

[ColinB]

I don't know about Apple phones but the big issue with my Samsung is literally holding them while you do something. You normally inadvertently press a button or softkey and your app goes into the background. Of course it only takes a few clicks to get it back, but it is a pain. With a pad it gets a lot better as the user area is much bigger. Again with the DigiKeijs you can run ITrains on a Smartphone which does a lot of what the Bluetooth interface does although not the CV reading, but I found that from a user point of view the screen is too small. I don't know how the Hornby system will expand, it definitely needs to display accessories from say a drop down menu so that they are easy to control. As long as the app is written correctly I would suspect that virtually all new Tablets should support the Android app when it is released, usually the biggest issue with conformity is where an application writer has not rigidly stuck to the rules.

[LTSR_NSE]

I am successfully using the apple app on iPhone 7 - it is on iOS 15 & no longer supported by apple.

(Sorry for going slightly off topic, but with the mentions of iPhone 8, I wanted to let people know that at least one generation earlier still works too!)

[Barry-350851]

Spend the money on the ipad. The developers prefer iOS so Android is always going to be treated as the poor cousin.

[Clement Matchett]

Spend the money on the ipad. The developers prefer iOS so Android is always going to be treated as the poor cousin.

For a good reason, though I cannot articulate that reason. All I can say is that I haven’t had any problems generated by the Hornby HM7000 app. Temporary download problems, but those are to do with internet speed and the capacity of the server. On my modern IPad, it all works well.

In contrast, and in a completely different genre, when setting up my Hauptwerk digital organ, which blows away this Bluetit (sic) technology in its demand for computing power, on my Mac it works straight out of the box.

I had to get a technician in to help me get it to work on my PC.

As ever, you get what you pay for.

 

 

 

 

[SteveM6]

Spend the money on the ipad. The developers prefer iOS so Android is always going to be treated as the poor cousin.

 

 

Could you let us know your source for that statement?

[Barry-350851]

Could you let us know your source for that statement?

 

 

It's an opinion. Are opinions not allowed?

 

 

[SteveM6]

Could you let us know your source for that statement?

It's an opinion. Are opinions not allowed?

 

 

Of course opinions are allowed but you presented that as a statement of fact - big difference.

 

 

In fairness, developers may find it easier to release an iOS app as it only has a very few devices to be compatible with. As has been said before, Android is a bigger challenge as there are exponentially more devices to cater for - for bigger challenge read it takes a bit longer. This was also fully explained during the recent Hornby video.

[Barry-350851]

Of course opinions are allowed but you presented that as a statement of fact - big difference.

In fairness, developers may find it easier to release an iOS app as it only has a very few devices to be compatible with. As has been said before, Android is a bigger challenge as there are exponentially more devices to cater for - for bigger challenge read it takes a bit longer. This was also fully explained during the recent Hornby video.

 

 

I never stated anything was a fact. Pretty much everything ever typed on an internet forum is opinion and taking anything as fact is an error of the reader not the writer. I treat what you say above as opinion, because there are thousands of apps out there that were released and are updated simultaneously cross-platform.

 

 

Regardless of the reasons for the iOS app coming first, it is; and for the same reasons all of the updates are likely to be released on iOS first, so Android will be the poor cousin as far as this app and therefore iOS will be the better bet for anyone buying a device specifically for this app.

 

 

 

 

[Daedalus]

Could you let us know your source for that statement?

It's an opinion. Are opinions not allowed?

Of course opinions are allowed but you presented that as a statement of fact - big difference.

In fairness, developers may find it easier to release an iOS app as it only has a very few devices to be compatible with. As has been said before, Android is a bigger challenge as there are exponentially more devices to cater for - for bigger challenge read it takes a bit longer. This was also fully explained during the recent Hornby video.

Android is the Linux Kernel with loadable device modules ported to the Arm processor

Where did you get the idea there are exponentially more devices to cater for? If the manufacture has not made significant changes to the "standard code" it should just run.

 

 

I think cult Apple is appearing on the forum.

 

 

P.S. The BBC have an Android iPlayer app are you trying to tell me they tested it on all possible Android devices before release? Of course they didn't.

[ColinB]

Isn't this a duplicate of another thread. Yes in my old company the IT department preferred IOS, but when you realise that that hadn't written a line of code in their life but were just package configurators it doesn't mean much. The Android platform is the more popular platform for users, it is cheaper and because of that has more sales. If Hornby want this to be a success they have to port the App to Android no matter what their IT guys say. So I would say wait for the Android app and then buy a decent Android pad, which you will get for a fraction of the price of the equivalent Apple product.

To be quite honest if you are worried about eyesight then buy an app which works on a Laptop which admittedly pushes you down the DCC route and just use the bluetooth features on your current phone for loading the sound profiles.

[Fishmanoz]

I see preference for iOS v Android as largely analogous to a religious preference/decision - there may be little logic to a choice between them but, once made, people rarely change. Any discussion of merits here will be largely preaching to/against the converted, so I see little value in it (yes, this is an opinion, but one backed by some years of experience in this sort of market, in fact goes all the way back to DOS days and choice of DOS utilities).

Colin, iOS version will run on recent Macs, so that will solve your eyesight problem. But what I’ve seen on my iPad Pro tells me the full-screen graphics will cater to less than perfect eyesight (yes, another opinion, but one backed by personal experience of running the app).

[dBerriff]

I have an M2 Mac mini and checked the App Store yesterday. The HM-DC app appears but not the HM-DCC, yet.

[96RAF]

Search on Hornby Hobbies or HM DCC without the hyphen. The iOS app is there but it is only for iPod touch, iPad and iPhone, not laptops or boxes.

[ColinB]

Fishmanoz, I don't have an eyesight problem, but if you read the original post the the contributor does. I must admit I find it a pain looking at small screens but a bigger issue is to hold the thing, you invariably accidentally press one on of the buttons you are not meant to. I must admit I like the security of a nice large screen, if I wanted to use a phone I can control my locos via wirelessly using the Itrains app. I choose not to. Then you have the more important issue, I have many locos all fitted with various sorts of decoders, many with sound, so why would I want to use Bluetooth. As I said it is good as a gimmick and loading sound files, but not much else. I must admit I keep looking at Android pads to put the ITrains app on, but I would rather spend the money on a new loco or decent sound decoder that fits.

[dBerriff]

I should have been more specific. The Mac mini is a desktop running MacOS. Apple Silicon, including the M2 processor I have, can run some iOS apps under MacOS. The Mac App Store lists all the apps I have downloaded, MacOS or iOS. That should have included HM-DCC as it is the most recent iOS app I have installed. It was not in the list for reasons unknown. HM-DC was, but it comes up as “not approved for MacOS”.

I only took a look out of curiosity. I am quite happy running the app on an iPad.