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Pinch Screen app

ParrotGuy65

Lurker
Jun 14, 2014
3
0
Hello,

I have limited use of my hand, and cannot use two fingers to pinch the screen of my smartphone or tablet.

I have an LG Optimus smartphone, which came with an app that allows the user to pinch the screen with one finger. This works great for me.

I had to use my wife's Galaxy Note, which does not have an app like my LG does. I searched the Play Store and found an app called Assistive Zoom. In the description, it said that it requires root to work properly. When I started it, it said the device was not rooted, and did not work.

I would like to get a 10 inch tablet, but without the ability to pinch the screen, it would be totally useless.

What is a rooted device? Is it the way the device is made, or can I make it rooted with software.

Thank you
 
Hi, DragonSlayer,

Thanks for the info and the welcome. Do you know of any apps that do what Assistive Zoom does without requiring the tablet to be rooted? I've been searching the Play Store and the Internet for weeks now, and Assistive Zoom is all I can find. If not, do you know of any tablets that come with that feature?


Thanks,


ParrotGuy65
 
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Hi ParrotGuy65,

Rooting is something that is typically done to a device by the user. That is, you'd purchase an unrooted device and apply some magic to gain root access. There are a variety of different methods for gaining this access, and it largely depends on the particular device.

In general, just about any Android device can be rooted, but some are significantly easier to root than others. If you'd like to let us know what 10-inch tablets you might be considering, I'm sure we can help you pick one that will be easy to root. :)
 
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Hello and Welcome ParrotGuy65. :)

You didn't mention which version of Android your Wife's Note was running, but if you go to menu>settings>accessibility>magnification gestures you might find something that may work for you.

If you do plan on going with a 10" tablet and rooting it, you should look at brand name popular devices as these will have a greater developer base and root should be much easier to achieve. If you go with a low price no-name brand you run the risk of being stuck with an unsupported Chinese knock-off.
 
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Hi,

The only 10.1" tab that we can afford is a Trio Stealth G2 Elite. Another tab that is within our reach is an Ematic 8". Are either one of those easy to root? Both have Jelly Bean on them.


Thanks so much,

ParrotGuy65

It's not a matter of which version of android the device is running, but if there is an exploit specific to the device. Off brand tablets are hard to tell. They may already be rooted out of the box, they may be easily rooted with a one click solution or they may not be able to be rooted at all. The only way to know for sure is to try.
 
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Are you dead-set on a 10" tablet, or do you think that a 7" would be manageable? If 7" would do, you may want to look instead at getting a gently-used Nexus 7, which looks like it could be had for about the same price as some of the off-brand devices you've mentioned:

2013 Nexus 7 on Swappa - $135 - 230
2012 Nexus 7 on Swappa - $75 - 145

Nexus devices are the absolute easiest to root without risk. They also have a large userbase so more people will be able to assist if you do run into issues at any point.
 
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