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Need tablet recommendation
#1
My wife is a professional pianist who plays solo recitals as well as concertos and some chamber music. I want to set her up with a tablet or something similar that she can use during herperformances and rehearsals. I am searching around but nothing has struck me as the ideal solution.

I can't stand Apple products so an IPAD is not under consideration. I wonder though if the typical tablet screen size is comfortable for reading piano sheet music. A friend did show us what sheet music looked like on an IPAD and it seemed far from ideal.

On the other hand, she doesn't want anything really heavy and bulky that she has to lug around. So perhaps this is a catch 22 situation?

What experience do people here have that read from a device at the piano? I'm really in need of suggestions and recommendations. The Mobilesheets software looks like the software answer once I can get the right hardware.

Thanks a lot.
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#2
Mobilesheets is a great product and I don't have any problem reading my music on my 10" tablet in portrait mode. I have a Toshiba Thrive which is a little bulky but I like it because, as far as I know, it's the only tablet that lets you easily replace your battery by yourself.
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#3
I didn't realize until I read this http://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/forum/...hp?tid=356 that there were such things as 13" tablets.

Searching I found the 13.3" Archos FamilyPad 2. It looks like the active screen size is close to an A4 sheet of paper. I'm very tempted to replace my 10.5" Flytouch. Does anyone have any experience of using the FamilyPad?
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#4
I just received my 13.3" family pad yesterday and haven't loaded my database yet (1,250 lead sheets). I can't get the Companion App to see it. I bought the Archos to be a future backup for my end-of-life Freehand MusicPadPro, which still works fine. The Archos is the only tablet with a screen large enough for me.

www.edwardomusic.com

OK. I imported the database using a direct usb connection by first transferring my pdf backup folder to the tablet and then using batch import. Even though the batch import reported finding more than some odd number around 1,000 (didn't record it) in the import folder and saying that was the max allowed, it then went on to import all 1,265 files. The display looks great and is perfect for my needs. I wouldn't say the Family Pad has the color resolution or speaker quality of higher end tablets but for this purpose and price ($300) it's a good option. Now I just have to learn to use MobileSheets.
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#5
Thanks for the report on the familypad. Good to hear from an actual user. Have you been able to find a music stand for it?
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#6
Not yet. There's nothing out there that can handle that size. Closest I've seen is the Ultimate Support Hyperpad. Quiklok and others have laptop stands. A regular sheet music stand will suffice until something comes along.
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#7
I've got a Nexus 10 and haven't had a single regret. It's got a fantastic screen and when paired with MobileSheets, it's just so nice. I've used it while working a number of times without fail.
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#8
(05-14-2013, 05:05 AM)ekimgram Wrote: I've got a Nexus 10 and haven't had a single regret. It's got a fantastic screen and when paired with MobileSheets, it's just so nice. I've used it while working a number of times without fail.

I second that comment. I like my Nexus 10 very much; it is my 2nd tablet, the first being a Thrive 10", which I handed down to my wife (we both use MobileSheets in our church choir)

A side note to "sonola", regarding your database transfer of your music collection to your Family Pad: I've done a few "bootstraps" of music collections for people in our choir who have bought tablets and MobileSheets, and I've done the transfer by using MobileSheets to make a backup file (.msb), transferring that file via USB or "the cloud" to their tablet, and then doing a restore. By doing this, all of the other MobileSheets data (artists, albums, set lists, annotations, etc.) were preserved.
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#9
Here's an update on the Archos 13.3" Family Pad. IT DOESN'T HAVE BLUETOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!
So the AirTurn BT-105 I just bought for foot pedal control of page turns in MobileSheets is useless. For the majority of lead sheets I use page turning isn't an issue. I wonder if MobileSheets supports timed page turns?
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#10
MobileSheets does not currently support timed page turns. There is auto-scrolling, but you can't set the exact time per page. This is something I would like to add in a future update.
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#11
Thanks for all the replies. To update my original post, I went ahead and bought a Nexus 10 a few days ago. It seems to be working quite well with mobilesheets. I still have to get some sort of page turning pedal device and get to know the intricacies of mobilesheets, but I think I've made the right choice as far as the tablet goes.
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#12
Turns out the headphone jack doesn't work at all on my Nexus 10, so I'll have to return it for another, but after that I'll pursue the foot pedal device and continue learning mobilesheets.
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#13
Do you have any idea how long it takes time to scroll one page, can we have custom settings of this scrolling? I hope mobile sheet soon update their version so we can have this option with them.
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#14
(05-19-2013, 09:59 PM)sonola Wrote: Here's an update on the Archos 13.3" Family Pad. IT DOESN'T HAVE BLUETOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!
So the AirTurn BT-105 I just bought for foot pedal control of page turns in MobileSheets is useless. For the majority of lead sheets I use page turning isn't an issue. I wonder if MobileSheets supports timed page turns?

Idk if you are still checking up on the forums Sonola but you could get the usb wireless version of the AirTurn, it works better than bluetooth because bluetooth doesn't always work anyway...


http://store.airturn.com/at-104-professi...-software/

only $70 now
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#15
I have the Samsung 12.2 with a Firefly bluetooth pedal and a tablet mount that clamps on to my stand. The whole set up is awesome. It has long battery life, loads of memory and lightning fast. I also have it connected to my wireless Alto 15in loudspeaker to play my tracks. I am cordless and wireless and stand-less Smile
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