fz-a1b toughpad - no volume control + no proper standby mode

We know the fz-a1's have no external volume controls - I dunno if the newer Android ones do. Has anyone worked a decent app that can be used for volume control when other apps are running? It needs to be supported in the old 4.0.3 version of Android.

As for the lack of a proper standby mode, I'm finding that in my workbag were I carry the toughpad the power button is getting pushed in enough by other stuff in the back to cause the toughpad to turn on, and when I get it out to use it the battery had gone flat already or the back of the unit is really warm because it has turned on, and gone into what I call 'fritz' mode where I know it's running but it's completely un-responsive to the external buttons.

All the people I see with ipads just touch a button and bingo it's instantly on. To power-up the fz-a1 from being completely powered off takes a minute or two for android to load and boot up. If the unit had a proper standby mode (like I presume the ipads do) then the unit could remain 'on' but be 'suspended' so it uses almost no battery power, but doesn't require a full 60+ second power up before it can start being used.

Sad to say I'm not very pleased with these aspects of the unit. It's definitely rugged, but it's being seriously let down by dodgy aspects of the firmware and OS setup and almost thinking of buying a CF19 (which is a lot bulkier in comparison) to use as portable computer to take to work with me.

 

That is the big let down for me. Not sure what they were thinking....guess they weren't. The slow startup is normal I think. A lot of tablets that came out back when this one came out all took forever to startup. My BlackBerry takes 2-3 minutes to start

 

So this comes back to the question of how can you control audio volume (especially if using a bluetooth-connected speaker like a Minirig) on the toughpad without having to get out of the app being used?

Seems there isn't a way, and I'm yet to come across reliable recommendations for good Android 4.0.x supporting volume control apps that aren't spamware and/or loaded down with 'ads' and 'in-app purchases'. etc. ;-)