Improve Your Tablet-Based Information Kiosk With a LAVA Adapter

An information kiosk is a great way to keep patrons informed. It can be placed in a mall concourse, providing a list of stores and a map with their locations. In the lobby of an office building, it can feature a directory of companies and people inside.

Many information kiosks are turnkey systems. However, a more dynamic and cheaper setup can be achieved with an Android tablet and a LAVA SimulCharge adapter.

Turning your tablet into an information kiosk

A tablet is a good choice for an information kiosk. It has a built-in touchscreen, making it easy to navigate through menus and directories. They tend to vary in size between seven and 15 inches. However, eight to 10 inches is a good size display for most situations.

Adding a LAVA SimulCharge adapter, which provides simultaneous charging and access to data, can enhance the functionality of the setup.

Provide a wired network connection

The eSynC-E, for USB-C devices as an example, comes with a 10/100-capable Fast Ethernet port. So you don’t have to rely on the tablet’s Wi-Fi connection to update the kiosk’s content.

In general, Wi-Fi is less reliable than a wired network connection. In fact, it may not work at all, depending on where the tablet is placed in the building. Most commercial buildings already have the infrastructure for Ethernet, keeping the cost of installation lower.

Add peripherals to give your information kiosk for more functionality

For more functionality, you could purchase an eSynC-2UE. In addition to an Ethernet port, this adapter features two USB-A ports. This means you can connect a keyboard for better interactivity. Or you can add speakers or wired headphones if the kiosk is also being used to display video or audio information.

Make your information kiosk’s Ethernet connection more reliable

eSynC adapters are LAVA’s flagship Enterprise adapter line for compatible USB-C devices. In addition to SimulCharge, it features LAVA’s Network Recovery & Battery Modulation (RBM) technology, which makes your tablet even more reliable.

Network Recovery allows our eSynC Ethernet adapters to recover a wired network connection if it unexpectedly drops out. If the connection is lost for more than a few minutes, the adapter will restart the network connection. It’s the equivalent of unplugging the Ethernet cable and plugging it back in. The amount of time it waits before attempting to reconnect can be configured in the LAVA Tablet Manager (LTM) app.

Protect your tablet’s battery from overcharging and swelling

Battery Modulation is an overcharge protection measure. Overcharging degrades the mobile device’s battery and in extreme cases, it could even suffer battery swelling (or bloating).  With swelling, the battery literally expands from the excess charge and heat of overcharging.

This technology protects the battery by ensuring it never exceeds a 100% charge, even if it connected to power 24 hours a day. In LTM, you can set upper and lower charging boundaries for the device. When the device charges to the upper boundary, the adapter turns off charging (but keeps the data connection intact). This allows the tablet to discharge until it hits the lower boundary and a new charging cycle commences. Battery Modulation prolongs the lifespan of the tablet’s battery, giving you two to three years of additional use out of the tablet.

Adjust your kiosk’s brightness to protect against overheating

Since most businesses and malls aren’t open 24/7, there will likely be hours where the kiosks won’t be in use. Another RBM feature, Screen Brightness Management lets you schedule daytime and night-time brightness levels through the LTM app. This means you can dim the display off-hours to reduce the heat it generates. Heat from the display can also damage to the tablet over time.

A quality tablet-based information kiosk

A LAVA SimulCharge adapter combined with a compatible Android tablet is an excellent solution for an information kiosk setup. An eSynC-E adapter could provide the USB-C device with a reliable wired network connection for updating content as needed. Meanwhile,  the eSynC-2UE adds in two USB-A ports for additional functionality.

The eSynC series also features RBM technology. It provides additional reliability to the network connection, overcharge protection and screen brightness controls to reduce heat. The eSynC series is not compatible with all USB-C mobile devices. Please see our compatibility list for more information.