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I do most of my media consumption from drives on a couple of Windows 7 homegroup PCs. However, I would like the option of a tablet (or the right 2-1 device) with a full size USB port. I'm so far out of the tablet loop that it's not even funny. I'm OS agnostic so long as I can play .mp4 containers with h.264 video and AC3 audio. I'd prefer to stay in the 10" or less range on screen size, and I'd be fine with HD or FHD resolution. Thanks!

Pagey wrote:

I do most of my media consumption from drives on a couple of Windows 7 homegroup PCs. However, I would like the option of a tablet (or the right 2-1 device) with a full size USB port. I'm so far out of the tablet loop that it's not even funny. I'm OS agnostic so long as I can play .mp4 containers with h.264 video and AC3 audio. I'd prefer to stay in the 10" or less range on screen size, and I'd be fine with HD or FHD resolution. Thanks!

I've never seen a tablet with a USB Type A port (that's the rectangular one that all computers use, and we think of as "standard"), but a lot of Android tablets and phones these days offer what's called USB On-the-Go (often abbreviated to USB OTG) functionality via the same microUSB port they have for charging. For instance, I have a 2nd generation Nexus 7 tablet, and I can use a cheap adapter dongle to provide a regular USB port for plugging in a USB stick. The tablet sees it as a removable USB device, and I've read documents and played back h264 video files without any trouble.

The only downside is that you do need to have a dongle, as opposed to simply having an integrated USB port. If that's not a major issue, though, then you should have a wide available selection of devices to choose from.

A lot of convertibles (tablets that come with a removable keyboard "dock" that physically connects to it) will have one USB Type A port on the keyboard dock somewhere. Obviously you'd only be able to make use of it when the tablet was docked to the keyboard, but I figured that'd be worth mentioning.

Aside from that though, I haven't seen any modern tablets with Type A ports. They are just too large and require too much space around them. It'd either stick out of the tablet, or the tablet would have to be very thick (for a tablet).

Surface Pro 3. My favorite purchase in the last 10 years or so. Does everything a tablet does only better.

You will need to look at the larger tablets, such as the Surface Pro's.

Thanks for the input, guys. I will look at the Surface lineup more closely.

Pagey wrote:

Thanks for the input, guys. I will look at the Surface lineup more closely.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy line and an OTG (On the Go) adapter.
I have a Galaxy Pro 10" that I use the OTG when I want to travel with some media to watch.
I picked the OTG up on Amazon for about $2 from China

My Girlfriends Nexus 7HD does not recognize the OTG.

Trade off with OTG is you cannot charge at the same time since the Micro USB is in use.

Arvald wrote:

My Girlfriends Nexus 7HD does not recognize the OTG.

First generation or second? The 2012 model doesn't support OTG, but my 2013 Nexus 7 definitely does.

Wow, goes to show there is probably a website or 2 that answers your weirdest question : http://www.tabletswithusbports.net/

Looks like Android tablets with full size USB do exist. You need to try harder to find. Android devices grew up from phones so it is natural the micro USB port in them carry over to tablets.

Windows tablets "shrunk down" from laptops so some of them still carry the full size USB port. I don't particularly agree with the recommendation of Surface RT. If I am getting Windows I would want x86 Windows, hence my mentioning of the Surface Pro (the 2 in particular, SP3 is too large at 12" for your stated requirement).

Most of those "off brand" models are no longer available.

I have the Toshiba Thrive, bought specifically for the USB port (and full-sized HDMI out, and full-sized SD slot). I wouldn't recommend it. Battery life is not that great, and standby life is just as bad. Performance-wise it can't play HD anything. It was a good purchase when I got it, especially when I took it to India as a laptop replacement, but it is too old to be worth considering these days.

I would recommend a Surface Pro 2, to save a little money over the 3. Very fast, USB3.0 port. average battery life for a laptop. Aside from that you're probably looking at the USB OTG adapters others have mentioned.

Your requirement for a full sized USB port for playing back video seems quite a bit more restrictive than necessary.
Do you really see yourself watching video on a tablet that has a terabyte class USB3 external HDD attached while you're using it?

It seems much more reasonable to buy a tablet that supports microSD expansion and use a card to store and transfer media.

No, I don't plan to have a USB HDD hanging off the device. A small 128GB USB dongle was what I had in mind, for example.

Edit: I specified full USB, as I have a ton of USB storage lying around.

I am not sure how Windows file sharing works with homegroup, but if you have a wifi network, why not just stream the videos instead of spending the time copying gigabytes of data? Besides, how much video do you watch one at a time? Perhaps the cheapest (and most painless) is just to copy the files onto tablet/microSD storage.

If for some reason you don't want to use a microSD card you have the option of a dual USB and microUSB memory stick.
128GB options are available for both.

windwalker wrote:

If for some reason you don't want to use a microSD card you have the option of a dual USB and microUSB memory stick.
128GB options are available for both.

I think the OP does not want to buy even more USB sticks. He implied he has a few already.

Flying Fox wrote:

I am not sure how Windows file sharing works with homegroup, but if you have a wifi network, why not just stream the videos instead of spending the time copying gigabytes of data? Besides, how much video do you watch one at a time? Perhaps the cheapest (and most painless) is just to copy the files onto tablet/microSD storage.

I do use a Homegroup and stream to a Kindle Fire HD6. It works beautifully. I was just curious if such a tablet (one with a full USB port, as I have already invested in the USB drives) existed, as it would be handy, for example, to store content on one of the "stubby" USB drives and carry that around plugged into the tablet. Say I was at the family cabin for the night or weekend and wanted to "stream" something. It has become quite apparent, however, that what I am looking for doesn't really exist. I simply need to invest in another type of storage or look at the Surface lineup.

Pagey wrote:

I do use a Homegroup and stream to a Kindle Fire HD6. It works beautifully. I was just curious if such a tablet (one with a full USB port, as I have already invested in the USB drives) existed, as it would be handy, for example, to store content on one of the "stubby" USB drives and carry that around plugged into the tablet. Say I was at the family cabin for the night or weekend and wanted to "stream" something. It has become quite apparent, however, that what I am looking for doesn't really exist. I simply need to invest in another type of storage or look at the Surface lineup.

Then an Android tablet with USB-OTG should still work for "walking around in a family cabin". Or the Surface 3 (non pro) if you don't need laptop class performance (Cherry Trail is definitely good enough with iGPU accelerated H.264 playback in MP4 containers, even MKV should be fine too with the right player software).

It makes no sense to let a few $10 accessories dictate which tablet you can buy.

I am not letting it totally dictate my decision. I was just asking if a device existed that would work with my current storage devices. Again, I think the answer is "not really". So I will look at other storage. No big deal.

Chuckaluphagus wrote:

Arvald wrote:

My Girlfriends Nexus 7HD does not recognize the OTG.

First generation or second? The 2012 model doesn't support OTG, but my 2013 Nexus 7 definitely does.

2013. Unless they patched it in later, I tried before Android 5.

I've never used USB to get media to my tablet.

I have roughly 10TB of media on my network that my tablet has access to . I run Plex Media Server under Linux and stream my media to my tablet via Wi-Fi. If there is a file on my network that I want to view that is not yet added to the Plex Server I use a file browser on my tablet to find the file and then push it to an app to stream. If I want media files on my tablet I just copy them over via Wi-Fi (ac).

I have an Acer Iconia A500 tablet. It stopped being supported at Ice Cream Sandwich. It still works pretty well and I use an unofficial build of XBMC for android that works really well plus the newish build of MX (video player) works great on all my HD files.

I use the full USB port on the tablet to attach a USB of all my daughters' Peppa Pig, Daniel Tiger, etc videos. I could store them locally but it helps to keep closer tabs on what is on the stick than the tablet.

I think you can find these on Ebay for less than $50.

Pagey wrote:

I am not letting it totally dictate my decision. I was just asking if a device existed that would work with my current storage devices. Again, I think the answer is "not really". So I will look at other storage. No big deal.

Just something to keep in mind is that for android your existing storage devices would have to be formatted in some form of FAT or EXT2 to work. I've read that NTFS can work with additional software but I've never tried.

On my Kindle Fire 6, I use ES File Explorer, which will see my SMB shares on my Homegroup. Then I use Vidon HD Player to play the files. It works well, but again, my initial interest was the ability to use my current slew of USB drives as a way to carry "offline" media if and when I wanted.

So is an OTG adapter just a non-starter? I get that it sucks when you forget to bring it along, but if you're already carrying around a handful of USB sticks, or you're regularly swapping them in and out of whatever bag / pocket you're carrying the tablet in, making sure you also have the OTG cable shouldn't be too difficult. Heck, they're cheap: buy a bunch and attach them to all your USB sticks, or just make sure there's one in every pocket / bag. It certainly widens your set of choices (though you do have to make sure any tablet you're considering has OTG support).

UberGerbil wrote:

So is an OTG adapter just a non-starter? I get that it sucks when you forget to bring it along, but if you're already carrying around a handful of USB sticks, or you're regularly swapping them in and out of whatever bag / pocket you're carrying the tablet in, making sure you also have the OTG cable shouldn't be too difficult. Heck, they're cheap: buy a bunch and attach them to all your USB sticks, or just make sure there's one in every pocket / bag. It certainly widens your set of choices (though you do have to make sure any tablet you're considering has OTG support).

This. Or you may as well get a cheap laptop with full USB. Those 7-8" tablets that are coming, even on the Windows side, likely will not have full USB ports.

UberGerbil wrote:

So is an OTG adapter just a non-starter? I get that it sucks when you forget to bring it along, but if you're already carrying around a handful of USB sticks, or you're regularly swapping them in and out of whatever bag / pocket you're carrying the tablet in, making sure you also have the OTG cable shouldn't be too difficult. Heck, they're cheap: buy a bunch and attach them to all your USB sticks, or just make sure there's one in every pocket / bag. It certainly widens your set of choices (though you do have to make sure any tablet you're considering has OTG support).

I will look into the OTG option. I was not really aware of it until this thread.

A "hard" device, dongle, full hub, take your pick.

Flying Fox wrote:

A "hard" device, dongle, full hub, take your pick.

Nice! Thank you for that, sir.