Android or Apple tablet?

[dkenny64]

Thanks to the other person about opencpn.

yes the charts can be on the SD card but it takes manual editing of the config
file.

-dkenny64

details here:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rd-185775.html

[FionaJC]

I have a Garmin Radar/GPS, sonar with AIS, Repeater screen in the cockpit and remote control.

My company sells, supports and repairs Windows PC's, Apple Computers and Linux servers and I'm pleased to see that this post has avoided the usual Apple vs PC war which I'm not going to add to.

We also have on-board Windows PC for logging everything and passage planning using Neptune... BUT I also have two Samsung Android (10.1" & 8") Tablets running Navionics and OpenCPN. Its easier to zoom in and out at the helm with a tablet vs the Garmin / remote. They both have their advantages and niggles.

I chose Android due to cost. If I break them I wont care, If its an iPad, I will weep. I also love Open Source software.

The only thing I would add is that a broken Android tablet is chucked immediately as they are cheap but an Apple is usually attempted to repair then slung as they aren't designed to be repaired even though they cost more.

We do have an onboard computer system we designed handling all the speed, temp, fuel, oil, alarms that logs to the windows PC and that was a toss up between linux and Windows.

Both Tablets are Unix/Posix/Linux/BSD derived and its down to which software you like best and which one you can afford to buy and loose on a wet windy craft. Don't forget to get a backup systems - charts, plotter and pencil.

If I started from scratch I would get a Samsung Android and a cheaper one as a spare running Navionics, but add a stereo Bluetooth speaker for in port (the Apple sound is however better).

I also agree with StuM about the Apple / US influence, all my colleagues use android /PC in the UK but my stateside friends use Apple / Apple but they are also the most evangelical about their choice, probably because they have paid 2x as much for the same thing but with designer style. I'm a non-brand-jeans-and-slogan-T-shirt sort of girl.

[buzzstar]

Yep, we are on the way. As good as any question about guns, or usefulness of sailing terms, and certainly as many or more opinions, along with details of the reason, not to mention rebuttals and semi related assertions of a wide variety.

[dkenny64]

this might more off topic..
what about using a raspberry PI?..small cheap.. USB powered..
fast enough to log all sorts of data.

backup systems are always good..2-3 or more..

-dkenny64

[FionaJC]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

One thing I'm considering in the process of moving to a boat is having a VM host system on board. Then I could have the best OS for whatever software is needed to communicate with the esoteric hardware I might have on board. It would make it easy to have some flavor of Unix, or even something like XP, on hand to access a battery monitor or chart plotter or radio system, to collect data or make settings changes. Maybe that's all over thinking it, but it's proper geeky and that makes me happy.

Yes it is geeky but so much fun, we have a real mix of systems and after an engine change we went all digital, I should have blogged about it but it does get really interesting. I started with Arduino and the project just grew and grew, a Pi wasn't fast enough, got involved with data protocols, RTC, WiFi hubs GSM etc. I am designing a satellite dish controller as a break.

[TomNH]

I think there are a few key factors that drive your use of tablets:

- do you/will you have a wifi network on board which provides access to the boat's data sources (GPS, AIS, wind, depth, radar etc)? (the alternative being that you want the tablet to also be a position fixer).
- do you anticipate using the tablet on deck?

For me the answer to both is yes, and I thus use WiFi only iPads in Lifeproof Nuud cases: this gives me a physically robust/waterproof device with the best daylight viewing possible for the tablet (newer iPads have much brighter displays), as the Nuud cases don't have a film her the screen. And I depend on the boat's data systems to provide position information: I've various back up GPS devices on board to address the resilience issue.

I don't like plotters at the wheel. For me, and I sail short handed, I'd rather not try and do two things at once, and I've got a perfectly good autopilot for those moments when it's safe to be playing with a plotter, and then I can sit comfortably in the cockpit with an iPad. Not being behind the wheel reminds me I need to keep an eye open. What I don't have, and do want, is a radar system that will relay it's data to an app - at the moment that display is down below.

The other side to the question is what do you want to do with the tablet: the apps I use are:
- iSailor: for its clear charting and support of NMEA over WiFi. Used cruising and for pilotage.
- Tides planner - a good, accurate tide (and tidal stream) app, that uses UKHO data.
- MS Remote Desktop. Allows me to take control of my nav station PC (either real windows one, or running on VMWare on a Mac) to access Expedition, which is where real passage planning, routing, etc takes place .
- NMEARemote - esp when racing - allows me to get up Expedition calculated variables that I might not (as Navigator) want to put on deck or mast displays - such as time/distance to layline, or next leg awa/aws.

Expedition is windows only, so I run windows to support it. Expedition is expensive, but, when connected using B&Gs proprietary interface into my instruments it offers features nothing else does, and the support from the developer is second to none. I know this is a cruising forum, but although it is shamelessly race orientated it offers all the routing features you need to cruise too.

I'm an old technologist too - but favour the apple ecosystem because I like the consequences of their hard rules about user experience - it results in a consistency of user interface from app to app (as an aside there's a case to be made for old unix folk, like me, using OS X on macs rather than windows - the underlying platform is a bull blooded unix implementation, BSD.)

[Tillsbury]

Interesting thread, thanks for the comments. Obviously there's the usual ipad vs android thing going on here, but reading through all that and those people who love fiddling with systems for the sake of it, I'm interested in the apps that people are running.

I've got OpenCPN on my Macbook, which runs beautifully. It's extremely disappointing that it's not available for iPad. It's interesting, however, that comments on here suggest that OpenCPN on Android isn't exactly a perfect solution.

I tried iSailor, which was ridiculously slow on my (very fast) ipad. By comparison with running on the (fairly slow) Macbook it's like treacle, unusable when zooming. But it does at least use the all free maps of New Zealand.

I hear very bad things about Navionics (have to buy the maps, have to keep buying the maps), and iNavX.

Any Kiwi sailors out here with a suitable iPad solution, other than using screen sharing to link to the Macbook?

[dkenny64]

which version of the pi?
the latest are 1.4GHZ quad core...
I thinking if need be use more than one..

geeky stuff..too much other work..not enough time
for fun boat stuff.

-dkenny64

[conachair]

Originally Posted by dkenny64

Thanks to the other person about opencpn.

yes the charts can be on the SD card but it takes manual editing of the config
file.

-dkenny64

details here:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rd-185775.html

That's actually for an older version. Latest Opencpn for android has tabs for sd card/internal memory.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

...
3. I've used Navionics and OpenCPN on the Android tablets. Navionics is a good alternative to INavX. OpenCPN is just basically unusable on a 10" tablet in my opinion -- just too complex, and the UI is not designed for a small screen and touchscreen control.

4. I use a sailing instruments app on the Android tablets which is excellent -- directly display VMG to windward and other useful things, when you're trying to do a long passage upwind.

Thanks for the reply.

# 3 - Interesting - I am still fiddling with OpenCPN on my Galaxy S9 and will try it this summer. Navionics is great so far but not sure how it would work for long distance cruising as it is a subscription service...

# 4 begs another question - which app and how is it connected?

[dkenny64]

hum??
I just reinstalled it..but the version is 4.1?? and no tabs/buttons
for the SD card.. I wonder if the playstore version is old?
if so..how to update it?

-dkenny64

[conachair]

Originally Posted by dkenny64

hum??
I just reinstalled it..but the version is 4.1?? and no tabs/buttons
for the SD card.. I wonder if the playstore version is old?
if so..how to update it?

-dkenny64

That's an ancient unsupported version, to get the real supported up to date one from the developers try here, should be from Dave Register.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...pencpn.opencpn

[Voltron66]

I would not take an Apple product any where near water. It will fail and Apple will not honour their warranty if there is the slightest hint that water was involved.
They have water sensors that can be triggered by humidity but Apple will claim that it was actual water contact and void your warranty. Apple products are not worth the excessive price .As their version of Google Home and Amazon Alexa, the clumsily named HomePod clearly shows, Apple are no longer an innovator. They are simply trying to play catch up.

[Alita49DS]

Originally Posted by StuM

I have been very happy with Navionics on various android tablets and phones.

The preference for iPads appears to be primarily a US thing and I suspect it has more to do with marketing and perceptions than with superiority.

I think that you are spot on. Android as an OS has something like three times the market share of iOS. Operating System Market Share Worldwide | StatCounter Global Stats

It follows that just about any navigation program one might require is now going to be found in the Google Play Store.

Add to that the fact that Android tablets not only give greater choice but generally far superior functionality in their ability to be expanded with memory cards and connect to other devices.

It follows that if you want to start by buying an Apple device on the grounds of branding then you are not making an economic decision but one swayed by marketing.

I can say the above with some confidence as I use both operating systems. The only reason I still have an iPad is that when I started I bought the navigation programs for iOS so am now locked in. Which I resent. When I had to replace the thing I bought another one second hand,

A note of caution: if you do buy an iPad then there is another hidden economic catch in store for your wallet: unless you get the 3/4G version you will not get the inbuilt GPS. And no, a GPS dongle is not a happy alternative.

Oh, and another little Apple sting which you might want to consider: if you want to project from Android to another screen you can use Miracast which is built into most modern TV sets or can be added to an old one with a cheap adapter. Apple will only connect to its very expensive adapter as, again, you are locked in.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

. . .

# 4 begs another question - which app and how is it connected?

EDO Instruments.

It's connected like all other apps which need data from the boat network --

NMEA 0183 data stream broadcast by UDP over a wifi network.

I have Zeus plotters and the Navico WiFi1 module, which connects to one of the Zeuses by ethernet. The Zeuses do an excellent translation of almost all of the N2K network data to 0183, including AIS, and this gets broadcast over wifi.

You don't need the Navico wifi module; you can use any router capable of UDP. But the Navico wifi module is actually very nice -- it has the Navico yellow ethernet connectors so you don't need expensive adapters, and the router, together with the connectors, are all waterproof, and made to be powered by ship's power. And on top of that very compact and easy to install. And it's set up out of the box; no fiddling. In my opinion a very worthwhile piece of gear compared to a regular router.

You can also connect a PC by Ethernet to get this datastream for OpenCPN or PC apps. OpenCPN now has a plugin which allows you to control a Navico radar via this connection as well.