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Using Nexus 7 or 10 as a PC

R

rugbyandroid

Newbie
I'm thinking of buying a Nexus 10 to use as a PC, with a mouse, keyboard and 22" monitor. But before doing that I plan to try it on my Nexus 7 first to see if it's a set up I'm comfortable with.

Has or does anyone use their Nexus 7 or 10 in this way? How do you connect keyboard and mouse along with a connecting a power supply to the sole USB port (apart from using bluetooth for the keyboard/mouse).

Also how do you connect the Nexus to the larger screen?
 
You can't connect the 2012 Nexus 7 to an external display. The 2013 Nexus 7 can be connected using a Slimport adaptor.

The Nexus 10 (I think) has a micro HDMI socket for connecting an external display.

In principle a keyboard and mouse can be connected to the USB socket with an OTG adaptor, though I must admit that I have never tried it.

Unless you really want a Nexus 10 I'm not sure buying one just to use as a PC makes a lot of sense (especially right now when there is a new Nexus 10 on the horizon). You can buy a powerful PC for well under the price of a Nexus 10.
 
I guess that is possible if you surround it with enough gear. But then you are really only using the CPU and the RAM.

But even that has it's limitations. Try e.g. to do some video encoding on such a setup.
 
If you use a OTG adapter that changes the MicroUSB to USB, then you could use a USB Hub, then connect keyboard, mouse and a Slimport adapter for HDMI output to a TV/Monitor. This might be feasible technically, but it might not work. For the price of a couple adapters (OTG and Slimport) and trial and error, you might find the solution that works for you. I'd like to hear more about it.
 
While it might be technically possible, I'm not sure it is a reasonable solution as of yet. You will be using mobile apps on a big screen, not the same as a pc. For very little additional $$$ on top of the keyboard, mouse and monitor, you could get a last gen pc with more speed and far more storage than you'll have with the tablet. Then, when tablet is being used elsewhere, the pc is still functional.

I thought I might be able to use a Nexus 7 as a mobile laptop replacement in conjunction with my phone. It didn't work for me and I ended up buying a $180 chromebook that for me is a vastly better solution. The N7 resides on my nightstand as my "morning paper" and a game machine for myself and my kids.
 
pastafarian said:
I thought I might be able to use a Nexus 7 as a mobile laptop replacement in conjunction with my phone. It didn't work for me and I ended up buying a $180 chromebook that for me is a vastly better solution.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I prefer the Nexus 7 for many tasks like reading or watching videos but my Chromebook is hugely more useful as a mobile laptop, especially with a full (Linux) desktop installed via a crouton, complete with the ability to instantly switch between the installed crouton and normal ChromeOS with the press of a hotkey.

With a USB3 portable HD plugged in there's very little I can't do on my cheap Samsung Chromebook.

Perfect :-)
 
That link is for the original N7 which I assume is what you have. If so there is no way it could be connected to an HDMI monitor no matter what adapter you use - the N7 (2012) hardware simply doesn't support it.
 
John Bean said:
That link is for the original N7 which I assume is what you have. If so there is no way it could be connected to an HDMI monitor no matter what adapter you use - the N7 (2012) hardware simply doesn't support it.
Click to expand...

You have to select 2013 HD version on this page. I have the N7 2013 with this bluetooth keyboard. I'm still going to try that configuration. I'm sure it won't support it, but hey, worth a try messing around with cables and adapters!
:D
 
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