How to make a tablet (iPad or Android) wake up always with a particular app in foreground?
Folks:
My favorite whole-house music system is Sonos. They used to make a handy controller that cost $400, but discontinued it because the same functions can theoretically be accomplished from a standard Android or iOS device running the Sonos app. Consumers did not want to pay $400 when an Android tablet can be had for as little as $50. Unfortunately, the standard Android or iOS tablet turns out not to be nearly as convenient as the Sonos dedicated controller.
The Sonos controller would wake up if it sensed motion, i.e., if a human picked it up. Is there any tablet on the market that will do this? Or is there an app for iOS or Android that will make it happen?
The Sonos controller always woke up in “Sonos control” mode because that’s all that it could do. An iOS or Android tablet will typically wake up or boot up on its home screen, presenting a bewildering array of options and necessitating extra steps to get to the Sonos app.
Is there an easy way to have an Android or iOS device automatically start the Sonos app when the operating system boots? And then present that app on wake-up?
[Separately, I will note that it is amazing how easy it is to become lazy. I used to take LP records out of their jackets, clean them, and put them on a turntable, then flip the LP over after 20 minutes. Now it bothers me that I have to press an extra button or two!]
dominic
October 20, 2012 @ 2:43 pm
From a quick google, it looks like the Tasker app could do this, using either the Proximity event or Shaker event.
You would have to spend some time googling/setting it up, though.
CD
October 20, 2012 @ 3:08 pm
http://www.cultofmac.com/195524/use-guided-access-to-safely-hand-an-iphone-to-your-kids-ios-tips/
Joshua Goodwin
October 20, 2012 @ 3:09 pm
iOS has a sort of “kiosk mode” for disabling the home button, as used by Apple for its in-store information pads. See http://joris.kluivers.nl/blog/2012/03/02/kiosk-mode-for-ios/
Not sure about when the device is restarted. You could also stow all unwanted icons in folder on a second home screen, and remove some built-in app icons using Settings/General/Restrictions.
Phil
October 20, 2012 @ 3:53 pm
Read about “Guided Access” mode in iOS 6 – it will let you lock the device into one particular app.
jeremie
October 20, 2012 @ 4:11 pm
You could use the new iOS 6 guided access feature (part of accessibility settings) to lock the iPad into the sonos app, sort of like kiosk mode. A bit expensive to use the standard iPad, could be a good use for iPad mini.
jeremie
October 20, 2012 @ 4:12 pm
It does launch you back into the app upon restart of the iPad.
philg
October 20, 2012 @ 4:15 pm
Thanks, Jeremie (and others). Maybe it is time to buy an iPod Touch to dedicate to this? I guess one issue that I forgot to mention is that it would be nice to be able to get out of the Sonos mode and into a Web browser or whatever. But then whenever the device was woken up again, have it be running the Sonos app. I don’t absolutely want the device locked to Sonos so much as have it start in Sonos.
John
October 20, 2012 @ 4:20 pm
Twenty seconds with Google:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.iiizio.screenwakeup&hl=en
combined with:
http://www.42gears.com/blog/2012/08/convert-your-android-device-into-a-wireless-sonos-hifi-music-controller/
Or just use Tasker, which lets you easily script any sequence of actions.
philg
October 20, 2012 @ 4:39 pm
Thanks, John. I did Google for this info before posting. I swear! You’re just better at it than I am. But I don’t think this SureLock thing is quite what I want. I want to be able to escape Sonos easily but have the device start back with Sonos next time it sleeps/wakes. Do you think Tasker could do that? Have it go back to Sonos on wakeup?
John
October 20, 2012 @ 6:53 pm
Sorry, that came off a bit harsh; was just underlining that I’m not associated with either option.
Tasker makes your goal easy:
just tell it “on wake, run Sonos” and install the app from my first link, or this plugin:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intangibleobject.securesettings.plugin&hl=en
which lets you say “wake on motion and run Sonos, but only when I’m at home” entirely in Tasker, but might drain the battery more than an optimized wake-on-motion app.
Ronald Pottol
October 20, 2012 @ 7:51 pm
For Android, Locale may be easier to set up if it can do what you need. Tasker is more powerful but more complex.
philg
October 20, 2012 @ 8:40 pm
Thanks, John. I admit that I am sometimes guilty of using http://lmgtfy.com/
This is sounding promising with Android, which I would generally prefer for this application due to the low cost.
One of Android’s best features turns out to be for me one of its worst problems: single sign-on. I have been really annoyed during my year with iPhone (related to an expert witness project) by the fact that I have to keep retyping both my Gmail and Apple ID passwords. On Android I set it up with my Gmail account and everything magically works. But I actually don’t want this for a music controller that anyone in the house can and should grab. I don’t want the device to have my Gmail available, for example. Has anyone figured out how to solve that problem? (Other than the obvious method of creating a second Gmail account.)
Mitch Berkson
October 20, 2012 @ 8:43 pm
You may have ruled out this option, but, with a little patience, you can get a Sonos CR200 on eBay for around $200.
philg
October 20, 2012 @ 8:48 pm
Thanks, Mitch. Maybe that is the answer! The old ones (actually I was thining of the CR100) don’t have the best battery life, though. So you’re pretty much struck leaving it in the cradle all of the time. I guess it could be sent back to Sonos for a replacement (the device is more or less waterproof and therefore the battery is not easily replaced as with a standard phone).
But at the same time if I am going to clutter the house with devices it would be sort of nice to have something that COULD be used to answer a question with Google as well. And my three-year-old just loves touch screens! (not sure if the last point is a positive or a negative)
philg
October 20, 2012 @ 8:54 pm
Hmmmm… http://www.amazon.com/Generic-SONOS-CR100-Replacement-Battery/dp/B003WHYI4M indicates that people are buying batteries so I guess it can’t be THAT hard to open up a CR100. But people must love theirs because nobody is selling one on eBay right now (except as part of a bundle).