Android News
On my Android wish list: the Google Calendar fridge tablet
September 9, 2010 | by Ed Clark
Android, Android Devices, Rumors, T-Mobile, Tablets
As one of the parents in a tween/teen 4-kid family, my family calendar is very complicated. Music lessons, soccer, karate, and parent teacher conferences (not to mention homework and special projects) all conspire to make my daily life a crazy affair. Google calendar is a perfect solution: I can input everyone’s schedule on one family calendar (making each person a separate color-coded calendar entry) and see the whole week’s wackiness in one view. This is great except for one problem: no one else knows what is going on besides me.
All I want is something that sticks on the side of my fridge like a magnet and displays the daily calendar for everyone to see. No more “I didn’t know that I was supposed to do that!” or last-minute Need For Speed-style dashes to the game/lesson/tournament. As it turns out, I am not the only one that wants something like this. The T-Mobile Vega, an Android-powered device, was unveiled at CES this year and promised to do everything that I wanted and more. Sadly, like 50% of announced Android tablets, nothing has materialized so far.
Yes, I could run a PC of some kind, buy an LCD screen, and mount the thing somewhere in my house, but this would be clunky, power-hungry, and expensive in comparison. I don’t want another machine, I just want a cheap WiFi-capable appliance with a power cord. Interaction, although desirable, is not really necessary because I can get to the calendar from every other device I own.
Although my needs are mainly focused on the family, the same solution would work very well in the workplace too. Conference rooms, small offices, and similar places could all benefit from seeing everyone’s schedule on the same screen. What do you think, Android fans? Would this be helpful for you as well? Have you figured out your own workaround? What is on your Android wish list?
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My wishlist contains an app that picks up unknown/restricted calls says, "This number does not accept calls from restricted numbers" then hangs up. I watch your blog faithfully for it LOL
How does Google Calendar not fit that bill? My recent post Goes Without Saying
Hi Josh, I don't get the question. How do I display the Google Calendar to a family of six people in a central location (like the kitchen) for cheap? Do you have the answer?
I love this idea! I want one in the kitchen, and it would be great to have a unit for the car that will periodically connect to wireless and update itself . That way my husband and I could add in things that get scheduled on the fly like doctor's appointments, a play date for the kids, etc. And, I would be able to check for schedule changes before I head home from work to my "real job" of raising kids.
Wouldn't a cheap Chinese tablet from Euogo.com fit the bill? As long as you can get Google Calendar syncing on Android 1.6 you should be good to go, and all for about $100 (I presume the cheapest 7" tablet would suffice). The Sony Dash might fit the bill, too, although I don't believe it runs Android, so maybe not (you may be able to get Android loaded on one, but I don't know).
sirwally, thanks!! This is starting to look right to me, I am encouraged by the fact that people have rooted and hacked them. Do you own one yourself and would you vouch for it?
You're welcome
Unfortunately I don't have either a tablet or a Dash…yet. I am considering getting a tablet — an Archos for myself, perhaps, but a cheaper Chinese model for my boys so they can leave my phone alone 
Has the Dash been rooted/hacked, or the tablets? I would be very interested in knowing which tablets have been hacked, if that is the case, because only a limited number of them have Android 2.1 (a new one that just showed up even has 2.2!) and I would want at least 2.1.
Yes, a bunch of them have been hacked and rooted. I was checking out androidtablets.net, and a lot of the models listed at euogo are discussed there.
http://www.handeholder.com/ From Ihnatko on TWIT TV's Macbreak Weekly
I was thinking of this exact thing a couple of days ago, wondering if somebody had come out with something yet. I've had enough of paper calendars and being gazumped on dates by my wife saying 'no, we've got something booked that day – look at the calendar'!
Bring on real-time collaborative kitchen calendars! The Vega looks like a beautiful device (which I'd be tempted to buy), but it's possibly a bit too well spec'd for something that might mainly just act as a kitchen calendar. I think the ideal would probably be just a simple calendar-only wifi tablet (Android-based, please), keeping the cost super-low, and the device very simple (I bet this product would get good sales). There are obviously other useful kitchen-related services that could be built in, e.g. shopping lists (linking into apps for home delivery of groceries, or that you could just send your list from your fridge tablet to your mobile so that you've got it when you're walking around the shop), etc, which would only increase it's awesomeness/usefulness. Another thought is that it could also help you to discover relevant events (for the family, shows, etc). Various interesting monetisation opportunities with this. The guys who actually designed this device are http://convergeddevices.net and I've emailed them to ask what's happening with the Vega. Will post their reply here if I get one!
I'm also interested in such a device, but also with wired ethernet if possible. Currently I'm using the Joggler from O2 (a mobile operator in UK). They're not for sale any more in shops, but still available on ebay for around 100 dollars. You can buy the Google calendar app (for free) in the O2 app shop. It's not running Android. Android has been ported to thid device but I tested it and it's way too slow.
hi!,I love your writing so much! share we communicate more about your post on AOL? I require an expert in this space to unravel my problem. Maybe that is you! Having a look forward to peer you.
Have u found something yet?? This seems so basic and a no brainer. I have to manually pull out my focal every week and transfer it with color coded dry erase markers on my big kitchen calendar. This should be avail for under $100 at like sharper image or brookstone!!
See http://www.sweetpeatoyco.com/index.php?route=information/bigboss …. The Big Boss Family Manager is a tablet computer dedicated to keeping your family scheduled and informed. It mounts to your fridge for everyone to access and is always available for when you need it.