Hey folks, so I know there have been similar threads to this, but the search function gives me a headache, and I can't think of a better group of folks to ask, so I hope you all don't mind me asking in a new thread. I've ordered an LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition, and I'm looking for any helpful hints/tips any of you may feel is worth sharing.

Any apps or games I absolutely must know about or avoid?

Any accessories one should consider getting?

What are the gaming possibilities outside of the Google Play / Amazon markets? Any GOG's that can be run on a tablet?

I know this is vague and that it's all subjective, and probably all covered before, but I'd love to hear any input any of you have about how to get the most out of this thing. I've used a Nook and got it running stock android, but it was so sluggish I just never got familiar with android at all. So I'm not completely in the dark, but I really don't know much of anything about what a decent tablet is capable of.

Oh, since I'm bothering you folks with questions instead of using Google (I truly do prefer the input I get from you all for things like this, though) I suppose I should at least leave a little something behind.


The Grave Digger (Desura): 2OTGJ-4X674-JDYBE-LYR1G-Z912I

Always Remember Me (Desura): MFNLR-S4NHA-NR4SY-HIRY6-X7A5B

Dead Sky (Steam): AYMX3-YRM94-0HWKB

Thanks for reading, folks!

Yay, thanks for Dead Sky! :D

One app you should get is the Amazon Apps app (it's not the Amazon Store app) that way you can find out about all the cool, free apps Amazon has on almost a daily basis. I got so many android games this way ^^

Also, I think the google talk, or gtalk, app is way better for messaging than any messaging app I've come across.

Hope you have fun with your tablet, and thanks again for the game! +1

Thanks for The Gravedigger!

As to apps, every day Amazon has a free app - you're not going to want every single one but it's kind of cool to check it daily and find something you like. Not sure if there are kids in your life but hey - you can just add stuff to your account for download later since they seem to offer a lot of kids games for free.

~ninja'd! totally ;-p~

Oh and GooglePlay has a bunch of free stuff too. In addition, all those Humblebundle's that include Android games should run on your tablet as well.

But as to GOG games - I haven't run across any specifically for Android systems as yet...

Of course you'll absolutely need to get this game though ;-p
http://www.tegrazone.com/games/wondermomo

I have nothing to offer but a +1 and this...

I too am a person who would rather ask a forum crowd that has actually done / used / experienced etc etc etc something instead of ask an algorithm that will possibly point me only to click-fests ;)

And I HATE when people reply with "First search... "Link"" because you KNOW it was more difficult to do that than to take 2 seconds and just say "Oh, hey, here's the answer to your question!" So I feel for you AK!

YMMV, but I do know of some tips I've accumulated along the way with my tablet(s)...

First, I always ditch the default launcher in favour of something more minimalist; my personal favorite is Lightning Launcher, though there are other minimalist launchers out there. The benefit of using such launchers is that they're faster, and lighter on system resources. Lightning Launcher in particular has some settings to help lighten its use of RAM and CPU even further, with a small performance hit.

Not all tablets out of the box come with Developer Options enabled, and if yours doesn't you can download several apps from Google Play that allow you to access them. What I like about this feature is that you can go into the animations options and actually disable them entirely. Not only does it lessen system resource use, but it also makes the UI feel faster too.

It's also worth taking a trip to Battery University too, which is a very useful resource into understanding battery longevity, and how you can maximize it among all of your devices.

Thanks for Always Remember Me !

Well, I bought a tablet quite recently as well, mainly in order to read pdfs- mostly magazines, as they usually have multiple columns and thus aren't confortable to view with a pc-and comics. Regarding tablet tips, I wouldn't bother replacing the default launcher, especially as the exisitng one (4.2 Jelly Bean Android) does its job. Actually, the best app for viewing pdfs is Acrobat Reader (preinstalled in my tablet)-however it doesn't give the possibility to bookmark. So, instead I use Aldiko-it does the job of reading and putting bookmarks on pdfs quite well. For comics in CBR-CBZ format, I use Komik-it has all basic necessary features and gets the "job" done. I would also consider putting an expense manager, a diary, a to do list and other practical stuff. As for the battery, so long as you have wifi turned off, it will be just fine.

For games now. Well, as I already mentioned, I didn't buy my tablet to play games on it, but there are some tips I know for that as well. Personally, I tried to play Anodyne, Incredipede and Planet Stronghold on my tablet, but found them uncomfortable to play with touch controls. Much better in that aspect is Tiny Little Thief (by Rovio!)-but at any rate, I personally prefer to play on the pc or a proper gaming handheld. However, having seen other topics regarding tablets here og GOG, it seems you can install SCUMM VM for android and play whatever GOGs use that anyways.

Concluding, you can find great app suggestions at Lifehacker (I use the AU site, as I prefer its layout from the US one) searching for "Android" on the site.

Tablets are perfect for pinball, if that's your thing, because of the touch control. Zen Pinball HD and Pinball Arcade are two of the best. Give them a try since they both come with a free table.

You'll also want to keep an eye out for the Humble Bundles (they have an android app) since you can acquire android games on the cheap there.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks! @Treasure, you mentioned SCUMM VM and it made me realize I need to research what the hell that is. I feel silly for not knowing, but I've never used it (at least not knowingly.)
Time for some more research! :)

I was looking for pointers on my tablet the other day too, but then i discovered there are no pointers because it doesn't have a mouse or keypad!

I have only bought Android games from Humble Bundles. They are mostly DRM-free (a couple of HB Android games which download game data after the initial installation... not sure if those can be called DRM-free?), and they are not using free-to-play model. There are some ports or remakes of old PC games there, like Broken Sword 1-2 etc.

From GooglePlay, I have mostly installed some "free-to-play" games, like Plants vs Zombies 2 and Candy Crush Saga (I play the former, my wife plays the latter (and hates it with a passion nowadays)).

That said, if I were to consider a tablet today, I would probably consider a phablet instead, ie. an overgrown Android phone (or you could call it a "small tablet with phone functions"). For my tablet, the internet connectivity is usually the issue. At home I use wifi with it, but on the road I have to use my phone to give it internet access, which seems pretty stupid.

I wish my Android tablet would accept the same 3G internet USB stick that I use with my laptop for mobile internet connectivity, but unfortunately it doesn't.

I could of course buy a tablet with a SIM slot and buy another SIM just for the tablet, but that sounds pretty stupid too. Why then not just buy a bit bigger phone (phablet), there you have a SIM anyway? No wonder that e.g. Koreans use phablets so widely nowadays, it starts to make more sense to me as well, even if it is a bit big for a phone. But still beats carrying both a smaller phone AND a tablet around.

Pixel Dungeon is a brilliant (and free) rogue-like RPG.

In addition to SCUMM VM there are also a few DosBox apps in the Play store and an Infinity Engine emulator. With all three you should have just about all your old school GOG games covered. I have used DosBox Turbo on my Android phone for playing The Elder Scrolls Arena and it works way better than I imagined. The way you attack in Arena on a PC is to hold down the mouse button and slide it across your desk, depending on how you move the mouse you can hack, slash, chop or stab. On a touch screen you simply swipe your finger across your enemy and the weapon pretty much follows your finger.

As others have mentioned there is the Humble Bundle, they are currently running an Android bundle now which includes Broken Sword 2 and Ravensword: Shadowlands.

I got the BG Series running on my android tablet with gemRB. It requires a BT Mouse, but seemed to work okay. There is a possibility to get the other IE games (IWD & Planescape: Torment) running on it, but I stopped playing with my android tablet awhile ago.

Get this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gokgs.client.android

Regular java & browser versions: http://www.gokgs.com/

I've got an older Toshiba Thrive with a rooted ROM, so I'm big on customisation. These are the apps I find the most useful for the basic system:

Apex Launcher - Tried a lot of the desktop replacements, this one does it the best in my book. I really like the separate scrolling dock below the pages. Most launchers have a free version you can try out before you commit to buying the unlock key for all the features.

Hacker's Keyboard - A great replacement keyboard with the common symbols where you expect to find them, rather than squirreled away on half a dozen alternate keyboard pages. And it's free.

File Explorer - Really nice file manager that will expand features if you are rooted. Also supports attaching to cloud folders seamlessly.

Dolphin Browser for Android - Great feature-rich browser.

EBookDroid - Good free reader for PDF and DJVU. I didn't get into the DJVU (Deja VU) format until I got a tablet, but it's a great format for technical books and such. Combines PDF with plain text in a small file size.

Moon+ Reader - Very nice EPUB reader with extra features.

Komik Reader - As Treasure indicates, probably the best CBR/CBZ reader out there, even if it hasn't been updated in a while. Works beautifully for me still.

Transparent clock & weather - Dozens of these out there, but this is the free one I use and like.

Far too many games to recommend, but as for emulators I have MAME, UAE (Amiga), and Genesis emulation all running quite well.