Help me turn my Android into an all in one entertainment center

[Raincloak]

Oh wise nerds, please advise me in your creative hacker ways.

To make a long story short, I just got a new apartment and my laptop died simultaneously. New apartment does not come with cable or Internet, but can order them. I don't really want to pay 30 bucks a month and I cannot afford a new computer at present.

Here is what I have: a non-rooted Droid X with unlimited data and a micro USB thing for charging and syncing; a flatscreen monitor; a pair of crappy speakers with audio jack; an 8gb ipod nano (I think 5th gen?) with USB cable, a Nook Color with outdated Cyanogen install (it can pick up open wifi but doesn't have a data plan, and I'm still figuring out how to update it). The laptop is a 2 year old Toshiba and it might be repairable, but I suspect it is near the end of its useful life.

Here is what I can acquire with sufficient begging: a 6 year old flatscreen TV, a DVD player, a small netbook laptop. I also have computers with internet access and wifi at work, but can't take those home.

Here is what I want: wifi internet access on the chosen device (possibly using phone as hotspot?), wordcrunching ability with a physical keyboard and monitor hookup, ability to watch movies and tv on demand (but no need for standard channel surfing). I can consider rooting the phone but it's risky since I am not super tech savvy, I don't know how to protect it from remote hacking once it's rooted, and if I brick it I can't afford a new one. But im open to advice on these matters.

Can you suggest ways to do these things, on a budget of $100 or less? I am considering a bluetooth keyboard for the Nook tablet but those keyboards seem very expensive...I'm also considering a Wii since I understand they can do streaming video somehow, but not quite sure how that works.

[andygates]

The defining thing is how you get images to the telly. Does the laptop have a suitable output?

XBMC does a lot of good things: it's a free-open-source media centre. There are many plugins that should cover most TV channels.

A cheapo USB keyboard will get you the best typing for your dollar.

I'd go with cabling the laptop to the TV, installing XBMC, using the phone as a hotspot, cheap USB keyboard for nice typing.

If you want to go crazy, there's an XBMC beta for Android that you could run on your Nook But the problem remains getting the images and sound to come out of the TV.

[Raincloak]

Hmm... is there a kind of USB keyboard that works with Android? Or would plugging one in with a micro/mini USB converter work? The netbook laptop won't be available for six weeks since it belongs to my dad and he is taking it on an extended trip... and I'm sort of impatient.

How does one connect a laptop to a TV? You use a HDMI cable, right?

Will definitely check that xcbm thing, thanks

[MrHyde]

USB is a master-slave protocol. That is to say, you can only connect a slave device (keyboard, mouse, and so on) on a master (type A, big and squared) USB port. Some android devices (tablets) have USB-host functionality and associated USB type-A ports, but phones just don't have the space. Try a bluetooth keyboard if you can get someone to lend you one.

[andygates]

My bad, I was assuming the netbook.

Does the Nook have HDMI out?

[Aqweei]

I think the simplest thing available to you has already been mentioned. Connect the netbook to the tv via HDMI if it has the option. If not, you are looking at getting movies/music on your Droid X and watching them through the tv. Rooting is great and with all the guides and stuff it is basically fool proof. Just look at stuff on XDA.

If you use the Droid X for a hot spot you run the risk of being penalized by Verizon. I've heard different things but most of the general consensus is that if you get caught you will either be throttled, charged, or terminated completely. I have rooted phones and I do tether occasionally but I literally do it once a month at most and when I need it in a quick pinch.

My suggestion to you would be to simply purchase the hdmi cable for the droid x, acquire your media however you see fit, and enjoy it via the tv.

[Raincloak]

Thanks so much for all the advice so far, keep it coming looks like I may need to wait for that netbook after all.... too bad, I was sort of hoping the phone would do. It seems to have remarkably powerful hardware. I hear it can even emulate N64 games. Wouldn't that be badass if I could get it to work with a larger screen?

I just discovered another complication. The computer monitor does not appear to have a port for HDMI... unless it does and I'm pitifully failing my Spot check, which is perfectly possible. I actually am not sure what those ports look like. I can see the HDMI hole labeled clearly on the phone, and the monitor has two USB ports and a port that says DVI on it... now what do I do? Do I need some kind of adapter to plug the phone into the monitor?

The Nookcolor only has headphone and micro USB ports, now that I examine it. I have been reading articles saying that it may have Bluetooth capability but not sure about how this works.

(I don't know what ports the TV has but it's several years old. it's in storage so I can't go and check right away.)

[MrHyde]

Computer monitor very often don't come with HDMI ports but rather with DVI (digital with analog signal fallback) and/or VGA (old analog interface) ones. I'm sure you can find a cheap 5 USD HDMI-->DVI cable somewhere. I'd say go check the TV.

DVI: http://www.playtool.com/pages/dvicompat/dviconnscables.jpg

HDMI: http://content.answcdn.com/main/content/img/CDE/_HDMITYP.GIF

[Raincloak]

update: I finally went ahead and rooted the ol' phone using z4. Took two tries, but whew! It's over. And I am soooooooooo (not enough o's) glad that I can now use an ad blocker. Now ... could someone please advise me how to protect this super phone so it doesn't get all hackz0red? I'm terrified that with superuser enabled, someone's going to gain remote access.

unfortunately the wireless tether app I tried doesn't seem to be working. The Cyanook picks up the signal just fine, but no data goes through. Will keep fiddling with it before I trouble y'all for an answer

further update: Yes, my scouts report the TV does have HDMI input! hooray. I'll have to go check it out this weekend and see if I can get the phone to talk to it.

[MrHyde]

The Superuser app will pop-up a yes/no dialog before granting root privilegies to another app, so you should be fine.

[The Tin Man]

Completely irrelevant: Your avatar rocks.

[Raincloak]

went and visited the parents this weekend, but forgot to inspect the TV. However ... I picked up the Bluetooth keyboard, and SUCCESS! It talks to the phone! Took a bit of Google tech support (turns out you need to type a passcode on both the phone and the keyboard to connect), but it works. Hooray!

I also picked up the backup power adapter, meaning my laptop is now limping but live, and got wi-fi tether working so my phone is now a hotspot. unfortunately the "secure" connection doesn't work, but an open connection does work. I'm using it with the soapy laptop as we speak. I need to be careful to not alarm my phone carrier to the point of strangling my connection or hitting me with extra fees ... any tips for this? (Other than, you know, use it as rarely and as little as possible?)