iPad4 or Nexus 10 for navigating

Miker

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At present I've got a Garmin GPS MAP 620 chartplotter for marine and auto navigation. I'm thinking of getting a tablet and have just realised that it may also serve as a chartplotter. I'm attracted to the Nexus because of its price but am wondering whether the iPad would offer better chartplotting facilities. One thing that puzzles me is that the iPad apparently does not have GPS. Advice welcome, please.
 
iPad4 not necessary at all. Plenty of brand new iPad3's for sale and an iPad1 will run Navionics at the same speed as an iPad4. iPad1 available for about £200. You may notice a small difference in user speed but we have a 1 and a 3 and notice very little. The retina display on the 3 is fantastic and the camera is vaguely useful, certainly for Facetime. Anyway, save a bucket load and buy a 1, 2 or 3 with GPS.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm a novice in what tablets and apps have to offer, so will have to do some research into what facilities I am likely to use. At present, all I think that I will want is wifi for browsing, a decent screen for photography and navigation aids. What G3 and G4 are, I've no idea. The Nexus 10 appeals, only because it is cheaper, and if it ever is available to purchase.
 
Me too-

I've been using Memory Map on my laptop and Windows Mobile (6.1) smartphone, both working fine.

I do not want to sell my soul to Msrs Apple or Google

I'd like a 7 or 10 inch (Android) tablet to make nav and internet more portable and low power. I'm not bothered about 3G as I'll tether my phone to the tablet via wifi or BT. I realise I need a tablet with GPS onboard and should go for a 'five pinch'(?) capacitive screen.

Anyone been down a similar path? Recommendations? How compatible is MMap with all/most Android devices esp. the generic no-names?

Will my existing W Mobile licence be allowed to talk to an Android device or will I need to buy a fresh package?

N
 
No word from Navionics yet about Nexus 7
No doubt as there are about 6 million of them projected to be sold, they will figure out Android 4.2.1. soon!
 
I do not want to sell my soul to Msrs Apple or Google

Dont you see Microshaft as the third member of the triumvirate? Is there any real difference between one yankee multinational and another in terms of their desire for world domination?

Anyway the nexus 10 is not currently available outside the land of the free and the home of the brave. :rolleyes:
 
Android

This is probably a stupid question, how do you know if an app will work on a particcular android device?
Thanks

Look at the supplier's website. They usually say what devices are "certified". Also you could look at the Android Marketplace (AM). If the device is not recognised by the AM as certified for the application, you won't be able to buy it.
 
Another question to display my ignorance. What is tethering? I assume that tablets need a wifi hotspot to connect to the internet and behave in the same manner as laptops. Is tethering a mechanism to connect the tablet to the internet via a mobile? Is it just a cable, and does the tablet behave in the same manner as if directly connected? If so, does it really matter if the tablet does not have 3G or 4G connectivity?
 
In the case of the iPad the chip that contains the cell phone facility also has the the GPS function .
So it is the component that determines the ability .
It is also possible use an external GPS chip.
 
I assume that tablets need a wifi hotspot to connect to the internet and behave in the same manner as laptops. Is tethering a mechanism to connect the tablet to the internet via a mobile? Is it just a cable, and does the tablet behave in the same manner as if directly connected? If so, does it really matter if the tablet does not have 3G or 4G connectivity?

Almost completely right :)

Slight exceptions -

  • Some tablets have a 3G chip in them and connect just like a mobile phone, so they don't need a wifi hotspot.
  • "Tethering" (horrible word, but it seems to have become the standard) can use a cable, but more usually these days uses either bluetooth or wifi. In the latter case your phone essentially generates a temporary hotspot and the tablet connects to it just as if it were a permanent one in a café or whatever.
  • In terms of functionality it therefore doesn't matter if the tablet doesn't have 3G built in, but in terms of convenience it can do. You may need to set something up on your phone every time you want to do it, and then connect your tablet - it's easier to just pull the tablet out of your bag and open a browser, with no messing about.

Pete
 
Trying to avoid an iPad v Android debate, but the simplest way to choose a tablet might be to go the same way as your existing smart phone. Another influencing factor might be if you use iTunes then an iOS device may suit you. But if say you have and like HTC or Samsung phone the an Andriod tablet may suit for data compatibility.

Ps. Any iPad 3G model works as a gps with Navionics app, but you need the 2,3 or 4 models if you want to run the new Garmin BlueChart mobile app. Contrary to popular misbelief apple gps devices work even if there is no mobile phone signal (eg 60 miles offshore).
 
I've just been thro the same exercise. I'd have prefered a Nexus 10, but Navionics hasn't yet released their App for either the Nexus 7 or 10. Not wanting to mess around i went for an Apple refurbished iPad 2 3g - only 3g iPads have GPS function.
 
Doesn't work with all Nav packages.


Selling my soul by using an iPad???? No, just using a product. Why do some folks get so excited and scratchy about what brand of electronic gear you use?

Just lazy possibly- When I talk to Applezon account holders, like my energy bills, they have no idea what they're paying for, what the own outright, how to get back media/apps that vanish on updates or won't migrate each time they upgrade devices or how to avoid big bills by 'doing something wrong'..

My stone age Win Mob brick works and is not attached to bank details or credit refs. (other than sim card)

(I know I'm swimming against the tide and will inevitably have to get up to speed....)

N
 
Well Orange have my bank details for my broadband and BT for my landline and Barclays for my mortgage, none of them have my soul. And I've had at least three iPads and 2 iPhones, each one has seamlessly transfered all my apps each time I've upgraded. It's just technology, bits of glass and silicon and stuff, happy that it just works.
 
I'm in no hurry and haven't even a smartphone yet, so I will leave the decision for two to three months and see what develops. At the moment, the Nexus 10 appeals to me, if only for the price and screen quality.
 
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