How to use my new SD card?

[MigratedGamecock]

Hello thanks to everyone who responded to my "what SD to buy" quesiton. I bought the card w/o incident, stick it into the slot, and found it in the /favorites/ via the ES File Explorer. Wonderful, I can't say thankyou enough.

Now my next question is, what can I put on it without having to root my tablet. There is another on-going thread that is a little over my level. I figure I'll start another thread with a beginer's tilt.

I understand I can side-load ebooks and pictures. Can I store app data for such as an offline map app? Is it a tablet feature or app feature that controls allowing install to SD or not?

Oh, btw, I just moved about 3GB worth of pictures from internal storage to the card and it initially said would take 1 hour but in actuality only took about 6 minutes. This is a U-1 class card - just some extra info for anyone who's interested.


Thanks,
MG

 

[arbarnhart]

Some apps, like TubeMate (YouTube downloader) will let you specify their data folder. OverDrive (reader that lots of public libraries use) will also let you do this. Some of them are a little intimidating for the non geek user because they show you a full path. Usually you just have to change that path where it says sdcard0 to sdcard1 instead. Even without rooting your table, I suggest you go into the settings in ES File Explorer and go into the Root settings. There is one in there that does not require root privilege - Up to Root. Checking that allows you to go "up folder" one additional time and see the sdcard0, sdcard1 and usbdrive as folders. It is more logical to me to see them that way, but I am a techie type user. Also, be aware that many applications will refer to the SD card you installed as "external" because it is removable. For instance, in Cloud backup I don't have to set up a path that points there. I just have to pick external SD card as the destination.

 

[MigratedGamecock]

EXCELLENT!!!

I was able to find everything you said and follow the steps. And also thanks for the OverDrive tip. It has been one of my to-get apps and I am on to it.

Thanks,
MG

 

[arbarnhart]

I have a love hate relationship with OverDrive. The most recent version (or maybe my library's interface upgrade) is better as I can now skip that "add to cart and then checkout" monkey business. The navigation from bookshelf to library to reading can be confusing and the settings are not in one central location; different things show up depending on what you are doing and they are not always accessed through the standard Android settings button at the bottom. The reading settings are on a menu that shows up at the top when you tap a page in the middle to get status. To get it to remember your library login, you have to use the web page check box where you log in. Once you get that all set up and get used to the steps to get and read books, it's a decent enough reader and I certainly can't complain about the price (free) or the price of media (also free). It's gotten a little too popular in my area though; I am pretty far down the waiting list for some books. If you start a really popular series, you need to sign up for the second one and sometimes even the third one before you get the first one. But I read all the Game of Thrones books without spending a dime. Audio books are often easiest to get for some reason. If you start getting audio books, I recommend you look for a good set of blue tooth headphones. You can listen to books while doing stuff around the house.

I had OverDrive on my previous Android eReader, which was a 2.1 Cruz. On that tablet, it was obvious that OverDrive is a fairly heavyweight application. It is quick on the A2109 though.