Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

Posted on
Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:18 pm
Vig offline
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Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

Never used Domotics Pad but am thinking of have shot at it since I can run it on a cheap adnroid table. What is a main difference between Domotics Pad and iOS Touch? Anything you can do in DomoPad that you can't do through iOS Touch?

Posted on
Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:51 pm
Different Computers offline
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Re: Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

Full time iOS guy here. I find Android clunky and foreign.

100%, my sole reason for experimenting with Android at all has been DomoPad. And the #1 thing that DomoPad does that iOS doesn't, is push.

With DomoPad and the matching Indigo plugin, Indigo can make an Android device open a specific Control Page on a specific trigger or schedule. That sort of function is unavailable on an iOS device.

And of course, Fire 8 tablets are way cheaper than even iPad 1s, though I have to say that the quality of a brand new Fire tablet is not equal to that of a nearly 10 year old iPad, visually or in terms of touch responsiveness. I also see slow network response on image refresh on the Fire tablets. This causes image garbling, which again, I never see on an iPad, even an iPad 1.

That said, I have three Fire 8 tablets and a Nabi 24" "tablet" all running DomoPad. Can't recommend the Nabi though, as it's easily the most unreliable hardware I have. And that includes some X10 modules!

SmartThings refugee, so happy to be on Indigo. Monterey on a base M1 Mini w/Harmony Hub, Hue, DomoPad, Dynamic URL, Device Extensions, HomeKitLink, Grafana, Plex, uniFAP, Fantastic Weather, Nanoleaf, LED Simple Effects, Bond Home, Camect.

Posted on
Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:56 pm
RogueProeliator offline
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Re: Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

Anything you can do in DomoPad that you can't do through iOS Touch?

Yeah, there are several things that DomoPad does that Indigo Touch does not do -- primarily centered around in-home tablets. A few of the major things that people are using that come to mind:
  • Run DomoPad as the home screen with a control page as the default view
  • Ability for the Indigo Server to instruct the tablet to display a particular control page (such as to a camera page when the doorbell rings, a video control when a movie starts, etc.)
  • Ability to wake the dimmed/sleep screen when someone approaches the tablet
  • A handful of additional, built-in device controls for A/V equipment (iTunes, TiVo, Roku) as well as ability to create your own popup controls
  • Popup (windowed) control page on a control page... e.g. clicking an icon can bring up a larger view of a weather radar
  • Ability to directly control timers/pesters, schedules (on/off/execute), and plugins (enable/disable/restart)
  • SOON... a few more enhancements to control pages such as the ability to show a web page; this has been pending a LONG time and after a couple of false starts that i was not happy with the results on, I think I am close...
Other features if the tablet isn't mounted / fixed in a location that might be of use:
  • Geofencing - though admittedly this is hit or miss depending on the device... an area that needs improvement
  • Push notification messages to the device
Others may chime in with other things they do differently. I believe DomoPad does everything Indigo Touch does except perhaps doesn't have a dark theme and I believe there is one UI control (binary devices?) that is missing. Perhaps other small differences, I don't use IT enough any more to know.

Adam

Posted on
Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:01 pm
RogueProeliator offline
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Re: Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

And of course, Fire 8 tablets are way cheaper than even iPad 1s, though I have to say that the quality of a brand new Fire tablet is not equal to that of a nearly 10 year old iPad, visually or in terms of touch responsiveness. I also see slow network response on image refresh on the Fire tablets. This causes image garbling, which again, I never see on an iPad, even an iPad 1.

I'll add something here as I think it is relevant -- the Fires are excellent tablets for the money, but @DifferentComputers is right that they are not going to match the better tablets. I have tried several and my current best bang-for-the-buck in terms of a step up (but not TOO expensive) is the Huawei Mediapad M3 Lite. They have 8" and 10" versions and are around $200. Great quality, much faster and better screen than the Fires. But, of course, not nearly as cheap!

That said, I have three Fire 8 tablets and a Nabi 24" "tablet" all running DomoPad. Can't recommend the Nabi though, as it's easily the most unreliable hardware I have. And that includes some X10 modules!

Yeah, I was all excited for the large format Androids a while back and have one, but thus far been a bit disappointed with the quality of these... mine was a ViewSonic but just the same, I think they make them pretty cheaply to keep the consumer's cost down. And it doesn't come out well...

Adam

Posted on
Thu Sep 06, 2018 12:42 pm
Vig offline
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Joined: Oct 06, 2015

Re: Domotics Pad vs. iOS Touch

thank you for the comparison rundown! I think push-notification factor is a big one, wish ITouch had that...

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