Honeycomb and MTP

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Giles Orr <gilesorr-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>

| somewhere along the line, Google has converted from USB mass
| storage to Media Transfer Protocol.  The aim is laudable (I understand
| that this means the Transformer can perform as a storage device to the
| PC while remaining usable as an Android tablet) but the results are
| questionable: chatter online suggests that Xoom and Transformer owners
| are having some trouble with the transition on Windows, and a lot of
| trouble with it on Linux.

Interesting.

I'm just setting up a Sansa Fuze ($29.00 at Tiger Direct for a refub
4G model).  The first thing I did was go into its settings to choose
MSC instead of MTP (actually, instead of AUTO which is supposed to
switch between MSC and MTP depending on the host, but I don't trust
it).

It seems odd that the Transformer (Android) would take away MSC
support and replace it with MTP support.  I would have expected an
option just like the Fuze has.

|  Technically, Linux has MTP support, but
| I've never used it and it's pretty clear that it's uneven, varying
| from device to device.

I had a Creative Zen (V?) and had to delve into the horrors of MTP
support.  I ended up pushing patches for 64-bit portability back up to
Gnomad2.  But that was four years ago.  I expect libmtp etc. are in better 
shape by now.

| So I'm posting this as a heads-up to tablet owners and potential
| tablet owners, and also as a plea for MTP-on-Linux information: a good
| tutorial for Debian users without GNOME/KDE would be ideal, but tips
| and tricks are more than welcome.  There's also a rsync client for
| Android ...

Google leads me to confused postings.  Some suggest the Transformer
always was MTP.  Others suggest that came with 3.1.
<http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/asus-transformer-general-discussions/742-honeycomb-seems-only-mount-mtp-not-usb-mass-storage.html>

Here's a possibly useful thread.
<http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1077572>
Got better?

Just before I read your message, I had googled to figure out playlist
stuff for the Fuze.  In the process I found references to mtpfs (MTP
File System).  Is it not useable?  At one point, libmtp etc. were
evolving quickly.  Perhaps the Debian ones you are using are old.
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