Budget/NoName Android tablet for Navionics ?

[jdl96]

Does anyone have experience using one of the budget/no-name Android tablets you can get on Amazon for ~$100 with Navionics (or other nav app)? I am going to be using Navionics for an upcoming trip from Miami to TX that will largely follow the coast rather than cross the Gulf. Based on other threads, my default choice for primary navigation is an iPad + Bluetooth GPS.

However, I can buy 3 Budget/NoName Android tablets on Amazon for the price of one low end iPad and they have built-in GPS. Hoping someone has experience with these devices. The allure to me is the redundancy for same cost as iPad.

Thanks!

[Reefmagnet]

My advice would to buy used tablets instead. The cheapies typically have poor comparable performance and, most applicably, screens that aren't that great in direct light.


You can pick up "as new" tablets for around 1/3 the price they originally sold for. The best source of supply are companies that trade in ex phone plan devices.The good ones grade the returns and going for the top grade will usually net you a tablet that has barely been used. Batteries also tend to hold excellent charge on these units.

[AndrewA2]

Get a FireHD10 and a Bluetooth GPS !
Im running Navionics on a FireHD8 i picked up for $20 with no problem

[rdempsey]

I use an Amazon Fire 8 that i got on sale for $50. If it goes overboard I wont feel as bad if a $600 ipad went over. Quality is good and works well with Opencpn.

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by jdl96

Does anyone have experience using one of the budget/no-name Android tablets you can get on Amazon for ~$100 with Navionics (or other nav app)? I am going to be using Navionics for an upcoming trip from Miami to TX that will largely follow the coast rather than cross the Gulf. Based on other threads, my default choice for primary navigation is an iPad + Bluetooth GPS.

However, I can buy 3 Budget/NoName Android tablets on Amazon for the price of one low end iPad and they have built-in GPS. Hoping someone has experience with these devices. The allure to me is the redundancy for same cost as iPad.

Thanks!

Yes, I bought one on AliExpress for about Aud$87 ie dirt cheap. It runs (at a fast walking pace perhaps) the Navionics app but the GPS is bad. Your SOG will be all over the place. It will give you a good clue where you are so it is worth having one as a back up. It costs me no more to load Navionics on the extra Android tablet as I already have it on my ipad. I have mine setup at a different zoom level than the ipad so I can see where I’m going whilst keeping an eye on the ipad for hard lumps etc. The Android tablet has heaps of storage for music, photos, videos etc.

[Paulmarine2]

I use Samsung Tab 4 SM T230 8GB 7" ... has proper GPS and works really well with Navionics. I've used these tablets for thousands of miles around Europe and Azores on Navionics without a hitch...In the UK we can pick them up, like new, for £50 not sure about the US of course. Well worth the money, I have 3,all with maps for Europe,Africa S.America and Caribbean. Good luck finding the right one for you.

[skipgundlach]

My apologies. This is merely a placeholder so I get notifications.

[nortonscove]

They seem to work fine. A buddy bought one for planning passages aboard his 47 Crowther. Got it at the local pharmacy for 79 bucks and it's worked great for the past five years on his round the world trip. At that price buy a couple that allow for chip transfer.

[RobinHood]

I run Navionics on cheap Teclast tablets. They work perfect. Good gps and good screen

[CarinaPDX]

Often the cheapie tablets come with out-of-date Android OS, and no support for updates - including security updates. Also, they often lack some of the desired internal sensors (GPS, magnetic heading, gyros, accelerometer). Plus other components tend to be low quality (e.g. screen) and replacement batteries can be hard to find. But at some level they are a "cheap and cheerful" solution.

I recommend buying a new Samsung T510 for less than $300. The hardware is first rate. The stock ROM is fine as is but I recommend unlocking the bootloader, installing the Nexus (based on LegacyOS) or LegacyOS ROM (at XDA-developers.com), and root. This will allow for security updates through the AOSP to LegacyOS channel. The tablet ships with Android 9; I have installed Android 10 Nexus ROM on a neighbor's T510, which seems faster than the stock (bloated) ROM, and I will be updating with the latest security patch soon. Support for ROMs usually last longer than the brief Samsung efforts. No-name tablets tend to still be on 7 or 8.

Greg

[MJH]

Originally Posted by jdl96

Does anyone have experience using one of the budget/no-name Android tablets you can get on Amazon for ~$100 with Navionics (or other nav app)? I am going to be using Navionics for an upcoming trip from Miami to TX that will largely follow the coast rather than cross the Gulf. Based on other threads, my default choice for primary navigation is an iPad + Bluetooth GPS.

However, I can buy 3 Budget/NoName Android tablets on Amazon for the price of one low end iPad and they have built-in GPS. Hoping someone has experience with these devices. The allure to me is the redundancy for same cost as iPad.

Thanks!

I departed Key West for Panama solo and after about ten hours realized the NEW-TO-ME boat was not ready to enter the Pacific for voyage to Seattle. I aborted and changed direction direct to Galveston, Texas with a plan to ship the boat by truck. Two days later the boat had a complete power failure. With only a Garmin portable, stack of AA batteries, and newly installed windvane I made it to Galveston five days later...but that is another story.

One reliable professional marine navigation source is better than a multitude of secondary sources; the expense is not negotiable.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[AndrewA2]

So long story short - cheap tablets work.
Samsung (used), Amazon Fire, are good choices with Navionics

One of my spare Fire HD 8's running Navionics. Pepsi for scale ;p

[Dooglas]

I buy from Dell. Good customer support and warranty. The least expensive oneI see right now is an 8" Samsung for $149. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/acce...s/apd/aa819343

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

I buy from Dell. Good customer support and warranty. The least expensive oneI see right now is an 8" Samsung for $149. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/acce...s/apd/aa819343

It does not have an internal magnetic heading sensor, according to Samsung's product page. (https://www.samsung.com/ca/tablets/g...M-T290NZSAXAC/) . The 2GB RAM is very small these days, and internal storage is 32GB, 21.3GB user accessible, so add the cost of a microSDcard. It is also not being supported for open source ROMs and will probably remain on Android 9. For the money it is a nice tablet, I just think the investment for the T510 upgrade is well worth it.

Greg

[djousset]

I use a Samsung Tab A, 32GB 10". Cost about $240, works great.