Is a "family message center" a reasonable expectation from an Android Tablet

[Hutch]

Is a "family message center" a reasonable expectation from an Android Tablet... and if so, what widgets/apps do you recommend to make that happen?

My family's schedules have been getting crazy, and sharing information is getting harder with our two kids, schools & sports, music lessons, and both my wife and I working full time.

I've been wanting some sort of WiFi tablet computer, that I could put in the kitchen as a central message center. I'd like to display our Google calendars and be able to send messages to it from our iPhones. The latter I could rig up somehow, maybe a dedicated email box or something, but basically the idea is I want to have always displayed more than just one thing: calendar + messaging of some kind.

Basically: A dynamic calendar + whiteboard that anyone can check, so my wife and I could send a message "don't forget to take out the trash" and the kids can see that & the fact that they have a music lesson that night, or a babysitting appointment, etc., etc. I find they don't always pull up Google calendar on their own using the laptop, so I was thinking an always-on tablet mounted to the wall would work.

Any suggestions on how this could be done? I've been looking through the android app store, including the one on Amazon but nothing is obvious to me.

Can it be done by running multiple screen widgets? Suggestions on which ones?

I was thinking the ViewSonic gTablet would be a good candidate for hardware, but not sure if that matters. Just something closer to the $200 price point than the $500 price point. Does not need 3G, WiFi is all that's needed, but I'm looking more for the app side of advice than hardware I think.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pbrauer]

We do exactly what you are talking about with the following setup.

We are using our g-Tablet with:
A Google Calendar that is shared among family members for events. Each person has their calendar, and then these cross-post color coded to a single view which is displayed with the Calendar Widget
An app called Post-It which gives us post-it notes for the desktop
A shared email box that we each send messages we want shared to in the family name

 

[Spider]

Sounds like you've got this all worked out nicely Peter, It's much better than my system of post-it notes on the fridge. I also like Hutch's idea of a frame/holder of some kind mounted on a wall or cabinet. This will definitely go on my "When I get around to it." list.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Text + has a free app for both ios and Android. It's fabulous for group messages , syncs to all devices at once so if you're on the fly and need to adda quick reminder or whatever, just send a text to your Text + account and it'll show up on all devices like a text message . It works over 3/4g and wifi.
I'd also suggest looking at Color Notes and Note Everything for on-screen notes widgets. Both free on the market

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[Hutch]

These are some great ideas, thank you Peter and Mark. I figured this had to be possible, but before I drop the $ on the device, I wanted to make sure. It will make a great single spot where the kids can check in when they get home & we can drop messages there.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Y'all reminded me that Color Notes has the ability to stick notes in different colors, has the ability to sync between devices. I'm currently Mr soccer mom and use it a ton on my Incredible phone. I can make a note on either my phone or Tab, sync and it's on both devices, set up a reminder, etc.
I also use Keeper for personal data I don't want others to see, again works on both ios and Android, so if I need information that I don't want others to see it's in Keeper. It would be great if your kids need your insurance info or whatever but don't have the card with them and can be set to delete all info on it with 5 wrong password attempts, very nice if their device is stolen. It's $9.99 a year for full usage (you pay just once and put the code in other devices, no matter the platform so no need to buy on ios then again on Android) like pc sync from anywhere, sync over 3g, etc but wifi only sync (sync on your home wifi network) is free

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[Mountainbikermark]

I just found ClickCal Calendar on the market. That app may help a ton

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