Tablet recommendation

Molteni

Molteni

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near Bristol
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To save taking my laptop to the boat on each trip, I'm looking for a suitable tablet.

Should at least mimic laptop spec ie. 8Gb RAM and 256 GB SSD

Must be a robust “outdoor” compatible model with a bright screen

Must have GPS Bluetooth and wifi. Connections for SIM (emergency use) and HDMI and USB

I made a few notes below for suitable requirements.

Would consider a refurb, any recommendations gratefully received

Thanks


Apps to be independent of connection to phone

OS maps

Navionics

Yacht battery systems (Bluetooth)

Samsung Smart Tag

Google maps

Anchor app


When tethered to phone should be able to access

Windy.com

Internet

Whatsapp

Youtube

emails
 
Not sure if it meets your specification but I recently changed from Samsung tablets to an ipad 8th generation and so far pleased with it. Needs to have cellular to have a GPS. Sooooo many to choose from! Good luck.
 
This will inevitably open up the Android vs Apple debate.

If you are an Apple user (IPhone and/or Mac) then the iPad is the obvious choice; as @stav says you need the cellular model to get GPS, it’s useless for navigation without it. Probably costs more than the equivalent premium Android tablet from eg Samsung.

Cheap android tablets available on eBay for 60-100 quid will likely do the job but with unknown security and updates may not be for you.

Don’t get hung on on matching laptop specs.
 
Sticky Fingers said:
Cheap android tablets available on eBay for 60-100 quid will likely do the job but with unknown security and updates may not be for you.
Click to expand...
Also beware that some brand new current version Android tablets don’t get updates to the OS due to the way the licensing is tied to the processor rather than device. I made this mistake and it’s deeply frustrating as it immediately limits various things including app availability and ability to connect to work type systems where policies are in place.
Unfortunately it takes legwork to find what’s what for a given device in terms of expected update life.

Not wanting to extend the Apple vs Android but the additional cost of an iPad does buy a very extended device life in terms of updates and upgrades so higher price isn’t the same as higher cost.
 
We use a Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, 10".

It does all the things we require. It is fully GPS capable, without any cellular connection. We have had it for three years now and has accompanied us on several major voyages. It lives in the wheelhouse and never has had a reception issue. I carry a smaller one of the same vintage as a backup, which also doubles as viewing screen for the drone.

It does practically all the things you require, though I doubt it has the quasi-laptop capabilities you want. On the upside: we didn't have to sell the boat to buy it.
 
NB. For the Apple iPad, the requirement for cellular to get the GPS capability does not require a SIM. The issue here is that the GPS capability for the iPad is contained within the same chip that provides the cellular connection, so iPad devices that do not have cellular capability do not have GPS. No cellular connection is required to make the GPS work, provided that you buy the cellular capable iPad.
 
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From post #1

"Must be a robust “outdoor” compatible model with a bright screen"
"Must have GPS Bluetooth and wifi. Connections for SIM (emergency use) and HDMI and USB"

That rules iPads out then.
 
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As you have a "laptop" (and you don't mention apple) I deduce you are likely talking about a windows machine.

Most "tablets's" will be android / chrome OS etc, so you may not be able to run exactly the same software you do now on the laptop.

If this is you then have a look at the much recommended Panasonic Toughpad's. they are in fact a rugged touch screen windows PC in a tablet format.
 
PaulRainbow said:
From post #1

"Must be a robust “outdoor” compatible model with a bright screen"
"Must have GPS Bluetooth and wifi. Connections for SIM (emergency use) and HDMI and USB"

That rules iPads out then.
Click to expand...
Not at all, iPads can do all of that stuff, they just need some accessories. Most rugged tablet use is done using cases, and HDMI is pretty rare on tablets for good reason. A usb-c to HDMI is a very cheap accessory.
A good Android may well be a better fit here but iPad can definitely meet those criteria.
 
I have a Samsung phone and tablet. They both do everything that you require (except hdmi) but the display of the tablet is not good enough to use in the cockpit, for that I use a phone and the phone I use is an Oukitel for robustness and battery life (other rugged phones available).
 
Samsung Galaxy Active Tab Pro. Great weatherproofing with bright wet touch screen - battery lasts all day. Used on board for several seasons. You can also get external Pin Charging cradle if you have deep pockets. I just charged overnight. Memory Maps, Navionics etc. all seamless.
 
lustyd said:
Windows has been able to run Android apps for many years now.
Click to expand...
Does Navionics play nicely though - the OP is looking for it to have GPS built in: a tough book might have that, but unless someone has tried it I wouldn’t be sure the android apps can see it effortlessly. He also wants cellular for emergency calls, and a seamless Bluetooth experience with his battery voltage monitor etc. Feels like an actual Android tablet is a much simpler (and likely cheaper) solution than a ruggedised PC pretending to be an android tablet.

London Chartplotters will sell him a reconditioned ruggedised Samsung tablet (check the version of Android it uses they have options) which will run Navionics and everything else he asked for. They seem to do the job fine. They are a weird little company who seem to have decided that avoiding flash marketing is a selling point, but my experience is their customer service is better than their website!
 
I have both Android and iPad on board.

I have a Fossibot DT2 (sourced from Amazon UK, ~£260 summer '24) and a 2020 iPad Pro (Cellular version, no SIM card). Rugged and waterproof. I note there is a DT3 version out now.

They both run Navionics, Orca, Memory Map (for Antares charts), UK Tides etc etc.

The iPad is in a waterproof case and is attached to the coach roof instrument panel, with 12V power source. The DT2 is handheld / hangs from a spare cleat for easy access.

The DT2 has a huge battery and can be used as a power bank for other devices. The iPad has a few years under its belt, so tends to be powered most of the time.

Only downside is I have noticed the DT2 GPS can be a bit hit / miss when vertically orientated, so I use a Bluetooth Garmin puck to feed it position data (and thus have a 2nd GPS source, in addition to my ancient GPS Map chart plotter).

m
 
Molteni said:
To save taking my laptop to the boat on each trip, I'm looking for a suitable tablet.

Should at least mimic laptop spec ie. 8Gb RAM and 256 GB SSD

Must be a robust “outdoor” compatible model with a bright screen

Must have GPS Bluetooth and wifi. Connections for SIM (emergency use) and HDMI and USB

I made a few notes below for suitable requirements.

Would consider a refurb, any recommendations gratefully received

Thanks


Apps to be independent of connection to phone

OS maps

Navionics

Yacht battery systems (Bluetooth)

Samsung Smart Tag

Google maps

Anchor app


When tethered to phone should be able to access

Windy.com

Internet

Whatsapp

Youtube

emails
Click to expand...
There are masss of great tablets that will do the jobs you want - with iPads great but a lot more expensive (typing this on an iPad) than the Android ones which are best value for what you need.

But I don’t get your bit about “Should at least mimic laptop spec ie. 8Gb RAM and 256 GB SSD”. That feels like a misunderstanding about tablets vs laptops - and certainly irrelevant for the functions you list.
Tablets running Android or IOS work in different ways from Windows laptops - and are typically used for different things and in different ways.

Don’t tend to differentiate storage types on tablets. And if using tablets and laptops most of us will use cloud storage to share things between devices.
And most tablets will only have a single USB-C connection these days - for EU approved power supply connector and other uses. Can connect other things into that, but HDMI or original USB sockets far too wide for a tablet format.
 
What about one of those Orca tablets? They seem to be catching on over the pond and from the brief bits I’ve seen on YT seem to be a nice bit of kit. Don’t know if they are able to run Navionics though?
 
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