Which tablet to buy

[Tomaret]

I love my iPad. I use it for everything navigation, movies and answering posts on forums
it links to my appleTV, phone and watch when I buy one. Yes, I am that bloke….

We are an Apple household - phones, laptop, Macs and iPads - and our Android favouring sons tell us that we’ve fallen victim to clever marketing.

 

[requiem]

We are an Apple household - phones, laptop, Macs and iPads - and our Android favouring sons tell us that we’ve fallen victim to clever marketing.

Reminds me of many long years ago, being a linux user in a Windows world.

At some point my time no longer had space to allow for tracking down versioning issues, compiling random libraries from source, and all the related tweaking. Of course, for security-related reasons I had little interest in running Windows server-side.

It's the natural progression from "look, we built this very nifty thing out of baling wire and chewing gum" to "hey, our business has grown a bit, and it's no longer these few people who know everything like the back of their hand; perhaps we should start thinking about processes, documentation, and ensuring consistency and a decent user experience".

Oh, and the security aspect. I run Apple because short of going hyper-paranoid and running a very custom phone software, iOS gets me most of the way there. Android? I'd liken it to Windows desktops in the old days.

 

[fredrussell]

please remember that the battery life on Ipads when running NAV software is pants, even with a charger lead in it consumes more than its being charged. Androids for some reason are much better,

I have never found that. Weird. I have an ancient IPad 2 and a more modern version - both have very good battery life, especially given their age. This site puts them at the top of battery life, though I accept they could just be being trendy.

Tablets with Longest Battery Life of 2024

Must admit though, if I was in the market for a tablet for nav - I’d just get a cheap android one as mentioned above - less to worry about. The cost of iPads is astonishing really - I get my bro’s hand-me-down tech, thankfully, and he’s an Apple man to the core(!)

 

[KompetentKrew]

I have a B&G Vulcan chart plotter at the helm of my yacht running Navionics charts, and rather than buy another plotter for the nav station I am thinking of buying a tablet to mirror the plotter via wifi.

The B&G viewer software on Android is broken.

Note the green bar on the right hand side of the below screenshot, and the colour shadows on the various features, eg buoy FA6.

I have to admit that I haven't checked the latest versions of the software / firmware in the last few months but, last time I did, B&G had known about this bug for 2 years and still not fixed it. B&G support have been a pleasure to deal with and very apologetic - they told me that management were aware of it and had told them it was a priority. A year later it still wasn't fixed.

So make sure you update your chart plotter to the latest firmware and then try using a mate's tablet before buying a tablet explicitly for this. This does not guarantee that you won't have the problem, for example if your tablet is on a different version of Android - it started for me after updating my Samsung to a different major version.

This was a brilliant feature and app, which I used often. All software has occasional bugs, but B&G's failure to fix this one is a ruiner. I cannot fathom why management think this is so unimportant.

 

[Matwill]

the main issue with tablets used to replace a plotter is the brightness when used outside, there is a correlation with the brightness and battery use/recharge rate and screensize, a screen that is too big cant be charged fast enough with a sweet spot at around 8 inches/1000nits if you are using it inside then this isn't a problem so just get a big cheap android or an ipad if you have deep pockets.

 

[mrangry]

the main issue with tablets used to replace a plotter is the brightness when used outside, there is a correlation with the brightness and battery use/recharge rate and screensize, a screen that is too big cant be charged fast enough with a sweet spot at around 8 inches/1000nits if you are using it inside then this isn't a problem so just get a big cheap android or an ipad if you have deep pockets.

It is not to replace a plotter but as a slave below deck

 

[Greg2]

Some interesting views and mostly very dismissive of Apple.

I like Apple for user experience and security and whilst I am less than keen on their pricing I nonetheless shell out for their products, partly because I simply don’t like Android.

I have the Navionics app on the iPhone and iPad and find that they work well on both and are a helpful back-up for our Raymarine Axioms. The only downside is that the iPad isn’t the that has a SIM card so no GPS. When I upgrade that will be rectified
.

 

[Refueler]

Some interesting views and mostly very dismissive of Apple.

I like Apple for user experience and security and whilst I am less than keen on their pricing I nonetheless shell out for their products, partly because I simply don’t like Android.

I have the Navionics app on the iPhone and iPad and find that they work well on both and are a helpful back-up for our Raymarine Axioms. The only downside is that the iPad isn’t the that has a SIM card so no GPS. When I upgrade that will be rectified
.

I have never understood why iPad had the versions of same .... with SIM / GPS and without SIM / GPS ..... why ??

I know of quite a few people who made errors buying iPad and found they'd bought the WiFi version only ...

Near all Android today have all the bells and whistles .. usually twin SIM ... and NO bl***y stupid install / uninstall try to transfer data to another tablet rubbish that iPad have .. sorry - I should be softly softly !!

 

[dunedin]

I love my iPad. I use it for everything navigation, movies and answering posts on forums
it links to my appleTV, phone and watch when I buy one. Yes, I am that bloke….

…. And how much bigger a boat could you afford if you didn’t buy all the Apple gadgets

 

[bluerm166]

I find I can run an android 10.5 tablet at high brightness on a nav app all day long and have it finish at 100% battery after buying a 2 x 2.4 (or 1 x4.8) amp cigar lighter plug from amazon .A standard 2.1 plug didn't manage this ,might end at 60%.

 

[Greg2]

I have never understood why iPad had the versions of same .... with SIM / GPS and without SIM / GPS ..... why ??

I know of quite a few people who made errors buying iPad and found they'd bought the WiFi version only ...

Near all Android today have all the bells and whistles .. usually twin SIM ... and NO bl***y stupid install / uninstall try to transfer data to another tablet rubbish that iPad have .. sorry - I should be softly softly !!

Can’t argue with the version thing - all about generating increased revenue

On the data transfer thing I am not sure what you refer to - never had any issues using iCloud and moving from one device to another or any install / uninstall issues.

As for softly softly that’s up to you and I am not offended/concerned and all I will say is each to their own
.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Yes, don't waste your money on an expensive iPad for the boat. Buy a much more sensibly priced Android tablet. An 11" iPad Pro is nearly £900, a 10.4" Android is £150 or less. How about rugged one : DOOGEE R10 10.4" Dual 4G Rugged Tablet 15GB+128GB Android 13 Tablets 10800mAh | eBay

At least be honest in your price comparisons. An iPad 9th generation (10.2” screen and still available from Apple and a model considered by many to be one of the best iPads available) is £369.

I’m certainly not suggesting it’s the best deal for the OP but the Apple haters have waded in and disinformation is not helpful.

 

[Tomaret]

…. And how much bigger a boat could you afford if you didn’t buy all the Apple gadgets

Apple products may be expensive, but they’d only buy another 25-50mm so in length if I switch to Android and wno would ever get excited by an extra couple of inches?

 

[PaulRainbow]

At least be honest in your price comparisons. An iPad 9th generation (10.2” screen and still available from Apple and a model considered by many to be one of the best iPads available) is £369.

I’m certainly not suggesting it’s the best deal for the OP but the Apple haters have waded in and disinformation is not helpful.

I did not make a comparison, i offered an alternative.

The OP said "However, after browsing all the different ones on offer my daughter showed me her iPad pro which to be honest was big, which is a bonus now my eyesight isn't what it was."

I suggested an alternative to the iPad pro.

Besides, your suggestion is for a model that's already 3 years old, that's 3 years less time before Apple cease to support updates to the OS and your app's won't update. Not to mention it's almost twice as much money as the rugged suggestion i made.

How honest are you being, comparing a 3 year old model of iPad to a current model Android ?

 

[john_morris_uk]

I did not make a comparison, i offered an alternative.

The OP said "However, after browsing all the different ones on offer my daughter showed me her iPad pro which to be honest was big, which is a bonus now my eyesight isn't what it was."

I suggested an alternative to the iPad pro.

Besides, your suggestion is for a model that's already 3 years old, that's 3 years less time before Apple cease to support updates to the OS and your app's won't update. Not to mention it's almost twice as much money as the rugged suggestion i made.

How honest are you being, comparing a 3 year old model of iPad to a current model Android ?

If it’s still available from Apple it’ll be supported for many years yet. Besides which, for the use the OP intends it won’t matter whether it’s supported or not.

The OP admired the screen size of his daughters iPad Pro. The much cheaper model I quoted has the same screen size. Perhaps a more honest approach from you would have been to do a moments research rather than grab at what you saw was an easy hit on what appears to be a brand you dislike.

I’m sure a cheap and cheerful Android will suit his purposes very well. However I find the Apple hatred from some people (not necessarily you) silly and often misinformed.

 

[Nauti Fox]

Have a look at the Oukitel RT1 over on Amazon, I know several people on here use one and I have for about a year now. It has really good battery life and the screen is as good as most, also it's IP68

 

[dgadee]

Daylight viewing was always a problem. Are prices falling yet for cockpit usable screens? Yhst would be the final element of the OpenCPN system I use.

 

[oldgit]

I have never found that. Weird. I have an ancient IPad 2 and a more modern version - both have very good battery life, especially given their age. This site puts them at the top of battery life, though I accept they could just be being trendy.

Tablets with Longest Battery Life of 2024

Must admit though, if I was in the market for a tablet for nav - I’d just get a cheap android one as mentioned above - less to worry about. The cost of iPads is astonishing really - I get my bro’s hand-me-down tech, thankfully, and he’s an Apple man to the core(!)

My old Ipad and (two screen repairs ) with Navionics would conk out half way through any longish trip even with a 12v charger .
Unless it was a hot day when it would shut down even sooner.
Then one day Navionics decided my Gen 6 was to ancient to handle latest charts.
Purchased a Android tough tablet with a 1000ma battery for 1/3 the price of a new Ipad.
The screen is still intact to date and it remains on after a longs days trip wether its boiling hot or freezing cold.

 

[PaulRainbow]

If it’s still available from Apple it’ll be supported for many years yet. Besides which, for the use the OP intends it won’t matter whether it’s supported or not.

There comes a point when the app's won't run on an older OS and there is also a point when the OS does not get updated, hence the tablet is no longer usable for any apps that need updating.

The OP admired the screen size of his daughters iPad Pro. The much cheaper model I quoted has the same screen size.

You don't know the size of his daughters iPad Pro, because he didn't say. You quoted a 10.2" screen, there isn't a Pro in that size.

Perhaps a more honest approach from you would have been to do a moments research rather than grab at what you saw was an easy hit on what appears to be a brand you dislike.

I didn't need to do any research, i recently updated two tablets, i did my research then. If you did your research you would see that the model you quoted has a different screen size to any pro.

I’m sure a cheap and cheerful Android will suit his purposes very well. However I find the Apple hatred from some people (not necessarily you) silly and often misinformed.

He says "I have looked at the reviews and specs of the one Paul posted and it looks ideal for the purpose"

So i don't understand your issue with my suggestion, but i suppose i shouldn't be surprised, it's typical of todays PBO. Bit poor coming from one of the sites moderators.



"

 

[Refueler]

The matter of updates in fact affects ALL whether IOS ... Android ... Windows etc.

I have a bunch of Android Tab's that cannot update as the Android OS version is too old. It is possible to force them to install a later version - but then the processor may not be suitable.