Has anyone used a Krause catalog on an Android tablet?

dorancoins · November 29, 2012 1:05PM

Greetings,

Wondered if anyone here has used the Krause World Coin catalogs on an Android tablet? Seen some people use it on an iPad, but never have seen anyone use it on an Android tablet. I will admit that I am not a fan of the iPad or any of "Crapple's" products. Any answers would sure be appriciated. Thanks.

Michael Doran (dorancoins)

dorancoins · December 3, 2012 2:52AM

coinpictures · December 3, 2012 3:06AM

Reading your post just now prompted me to try using Numismaster on my Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphone. Other than the pitfalls inherent in their kludgy search interface, it works absolutely fine.

Caveats:

1. I am using DolphinHD as my browser rather than the default.

2. I have my user-agent set to "Desktop" when browsing rather than the default "Mobile", since the GNII has a large enough screen to render most websites fully.

3. As with any touch-focused device, Numismaster's search model is a pain in the butt, since any selection of a field auto-prompts the onscreen keyboard to pop up, obscuring much of the screen, when you want to be selecting items from dropdown lists. Presumably this is less of an issue on a Galaxy Tab or Note 10 which have larger screens.

At any rate, it is usable.

dorancoins · December 3, 2012 4:32AM

Well, as you are aware, Numismaster is a paid service of Krause. I'd rather have my world coin and currency info at my fingertips anytime. I have seen some dealers use iPads. I will be honest - I am not a big fan of Apple (or Crapple, as I call it.) I am looking into getting an Asus Transformer Prime or Infinity. They have the USB plug in (iPad doesn't) and since I'm used to Android (from my cell phone) I figured it would be the way to go. As of now my Krause/Pick catalogs are in a digital format on my laptop computer. Need something lighter as I do not always set up at coin shows and a laptop is a bit clumsy.

coinpictures · December 3, 2012 4:48AM

It should work fine for you, assuming that you have Internet connectivity. I'm not sure if the Transformer Prime has 3G or 4G connectivity, or you're planning to use a mobile hotspot, or will be depending on facility Wifi.

While I don't attend coin shows, I attend enough stamp shows on a regular basis to know that depending on the venue and its construction, facility wifi is either sporadic or incredibly expensive. In many halls even cellular data is iffy, as you're frequently buried in the bowels of an overbuilt monstrosity.

Without Internet access, Numismaster is useless. If you have your Krause catalogs on you laptop, you should be able to copy them to any tablet and use them there as well. Both Apple and Android devices have PDF apps readily available. Most Android devices have MicroSD slots for expanded storage, so the file size of all your catalogs should not be a limiting factor (it would be if you only got a 16GB or 32GB iPad). My smartphone has 16GB internal storage plus I have a 32GB mSD card in it. Storage is never an issue...

I use a 3rd-generation iPad at shows for many things, although any more I now rely on my Android smartphone for virtually everything.

pmac · December 4, 2012 4:55AM

I've been using the Krause/NGC World Coin pricing in their web site. Has anyone found this equal to the app that Krause has?

dorancoins · December 12, 2012 4:07PM

Done a little more research on digital versions of the Krause catalogs and tablet computers and hit an "ah-ha" moment. I can put the stuff on one of those MicroSD cards. I think my problem may have been solved.

Has anyone used a Krause catalog on an Android tablet?

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