Tablet Recommendation

[Arcsurf]

I have used an IPad Pro at my helm for 2 years, however, the inability to upload Open CPN while in Fiji forced me to run back and forth to the nav station. I am looking for recommendations on best tablets for marine use and Open CON application.

I am interested in the Orca system, tablet and Core, as it has an instrument interface that adds to its usability, but am looking for experience and thoughts.

Thanks

[grantmc]

Belgium firm Sailproof make great marine tablets.

[barcoMeCasa]

yet to run in full on anger but just got one of these >
https://www.gsmarena.com/doogee_r08-13423.php
Seems good so far, big battery waterproof.

all wind/gps/ais etc data comes over wifi from a raspberry pi running openplotter which is much easier to set up than the online doom and gloomers would have you believe...

[yalla]

Originally Posted by grantmc

Belgium firm Sailproof make great marine tablets.

they don't make them, they get them from China and quadruple the price. there is no value add whatsoever.

[Tupaia]

Why settle for a tablet when you can have a complete backup PC. my old one is bullet proof.

https://eu.connect.panasonic.com/es/en/toughbook

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

Why settle for a tablet when you can have a complete backup PC. my old one is bullet proof.

https://eu.connect.panasonic.com/es/en/toughbook

You're allowed both...

[MikeKolling]

HOW MUCH!!! No way

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by grantmc

Belgium firm Sailproof make great marine tablets.

Originally Posted by yalla

they don't make them, they get them from China and quadruple the price. there is no value add whatsoever.

I'm not sure sure which statement I should be more alarmed about and why, is it
1. that they're manufactured in China? or
2. that the firm are making profit?

It strikes me too that employing a team of people to both promote and support products/users does add value. Am I wrong?

Would be nice to see these points substantiated Yalla. Your posts are usually well written and I've enjoyed reading many over the years..

Irrespective I've sent them the following email, will be interesting to read their response.

To Sailproof at contact@sailproof.shop
Hi,

The following statement has been posted on a very popular sailing forum:
"they don't make them, they get them from China and quadruple the price. there is no value add whatsoever."

The forum has 225,000 members from all over the world (the majority keel boat owners).

Here is a link to the claim:
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3961969
the statement above is post #4.

You may wish to respond, and if so you can do that directly yourselves or send me through a response and I would be pleased to post on your behalf.

Yours sincerely etc

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Arcsurf

I have used an IPad Pro at my helm for 2 years, however, the inability to upload Open CPN while in Fiji forced me to run back and forth to the nav station. I am looking for recommendations on best tablets for marine use and Open CON application.

I am interested in the Orca system, tablet and Core, as it has an instrument interface that adds to its usability, but am looking for experience and thoughts.

Thanks

I am using one of THESE for the last year and a half. So far, excellent!

Huge battery and fantastic specs, check them out then check the price. I have 2, one is a spare

It's water and shockproof and 2 specs not listed: It has a "glove" mode, and it has 500 nits, which is perfectly readable even with the sun behind you.

Android 12 or 13, and it is heavy, but it is always on a holder anyway.

[BuenaOnda]

Originally Posted by yalla

they don't make them, they get them from China and quadruple the price. there is no value add whatsoever.

haha, this is funny! I'm the developer of the SailProof tablet. Yes, for sure, we don't manufacture the tablets by ourselves in Belgium. So as every tablet brand. Do you really think that Apple manufactures iPads in California. No, these are made by a Taiwanese company named Foxconn in a factory less than 10 kms from the one we work with. So, if it's not a problem for Apple, why would it be for us??

The only difference is that, as we are a small company, we don't design everything by ourselves. For example, the casing of our tablets is shared with other clients of our factory. Why? Simply because it feeds what we need. And if we wanted to have our own casing, we'll have to increase the price of our tablets by 15 to 20%. We think that it's not worth it. But, for example, our 1000 NITS screens, wet and glove touch compatible, usable with polarized sunglasses, are made exclusively for us.

Regarding the costs, that's nice but I would be very pleased if we could only sell it twice the cost... However, yes, we earn some money on it, I'm sorry to open your eyes on that reality... That's why, for example, we are able to offer a 2 years warranty all other the world (remind me how long is the iPad warranty in the US?). That's why we have a support team made of sailors that are able to answer your questions in 24 hours and in 6 languages. And I could point out many other arguments...

Finally, the quality of the devices and the support we offer is also why we have so nice clients who warn us in less than 24 hours when this kind of post appears. Because them, unlike you, use our tablets every day and understand what they paid for. So as some skippers of the Vendée Globe 2024, so as the America's Cup organizers (yes, our tablets were installed in every AC75 during this year's competition), so as the navigator of Celestial, who won the Sidney-Hobart last week...

Thanks again @grantmc and all our clients here and elsewhere. We are so proud to have you as clients and to accompany you in your cruises all over the world!

Jean-Michel,
SailProof

[barnakiel]

I use now Alldocubes. USD 60 each. Not waterproof per se but a sleeve is just USD 15.


www.alldocube


Good screen, fast graphics, no problems this far.



b.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by BuenaOnda

haha, this is funny! I'm the developer of the SailProof tablet. Yes, for sure, we don't manufacture the tablets by ourselves in Belgium. So as every tablet brand. Do you really think that Apple manufactures iPads in California. No, these are made by a Taiwanese company named Foxconn in a factory less than 10 kms from the one we work with. So, if it's not a problem for Apple, why would it be for us??

The only difference is that, as we are a small company, we don't design everything by ourselves. For example, the casing of our tablets is shared with other clients of our factory. Why? Simply because it feeds what we need. And if we wanted to have our own casing, we'll have to increase the price of our tablets by 15 to 20%. We think that it's not worth it. But, for example, our 1000 NITS screens, wet and glove touch compatible, usable with polarized sunglasses, are made exclusively for us.

Regarding the costs, that's nice but I would be very pleased if we could only sell it twice the cost... However, yes, we earn some money on it, I'm sorry to open your eyes on that reality... That's why, for example, we are able to offer a 2 years warranty all other the world (remind me how long is the iPad warranty in the US?). That's why we have a support team made of sailors that are able to answer your questions in 24 hours and in 6 languages. And I could point out many other arguments...

Finally, the quality of the devices and the support we offer is also why we have so nice clients who warn us in less than 24 hours when this kind of post appears. Because them, unlike you, use our tablets every day and understand what they paid for. So as some skippers of the Vendée Globe 2024, so as the America's Cup organizers (yes, our tablets were installed in every AC75 during this year's competition), so as the navigator of Celestial, who won the Sidney-Hobart last week...

Thanks again @grantmc and all our clients here and elsewhere. We are so proud to have you as clients and to accompany you in your cruises all over the world!

Jean-Michel,
SailProof

FYI.

Basic EU Law as to Consumer Guarantees:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/busines...s/index_en.htm

When you sell a good or a service to a consumer online or via other means of distance communication (by telephone, mail order) or outside a shop (from a door-to-door salesperson), the consumer has the right to return the item or cancel the service within 14 days. This is sometimes referred to as the cooling-off period or the withdrawal period. No reason or justification has to be given by the consumer.

EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don't look or work as advertised. In some countries national law may require you to provide longer guarantees.

After-sale responsibilities/faulty products
If the product you sold turns out to be faulty — or doesn't look or work as advertised — within the timeframe of the legal guarantee, you are responsible for this. In some countries this can also be the case if you are the manufacturer or importer.

What can your customer claim?
Your customers have the right to ask you to do any of the following without any charge (for postage, labour, material, etc.):

repair the product
replace the product
reduce the price
cancel the contract and reimburse them in full (in some countries, the sales contract cannot be cancelled if the fault is minor, e.g. scratch on a CD case)

Repair or replacement
In most countries there is a "hierarchy of remedies". This means that your customer must firstly request that you repair the product, or replace it if repair is not a viable option (e.g. too expensive). You must do this within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience for your customer.

Price reduction or full refund
Another option for your customer is that you give them a price reduction or a full refund, but only if repair or replacement:

is not possible
would be too expensive, given the nature of the product/defect
would be very inconvenient for the customer
cannot be completed by your business within a reasonable time

Additional guarantees
You can also offer the consumer an additional commercial guarantee (warranty). This can either be included in the price of the product or at an extra cost. This warranty does not replace the legal guarantee, which is always a minimum of 2 years, and you must inform the consumer that this will not affect their right to the legal guarantee.



All the best, and bon voyages.

[BuenaOnda]

Originally Posted by Montanan

FYI.

Basic EU Law as to Consumer Guarantees:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/busines...s/index_en.htm

When you sell a good or a service to a consumer online or via other means of distance communication (by telephone, mail order) or outside a shop (from a door-to-door salesperson), the consumer has the right to return the item or cancel the service within 14 days. This is sometimes referred to as the cooling-off period or the withdrawal period. No reason or justification has to be given by the consumer.

EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don't look or work as advertised. In some countries national law may require you to provide longer guarantees.

After-sale responsibilities/faulty products
If the product you sold turns out to be faulty — or doesn't look or work as advertised — within the timeframe of the legal guarantee, you are responsible for this. In some countries this can also be the case if you are the manufacturer or importer.

What can your customer claim?
Your customers have the right to ask you to do any of the following without any charge (for postage, labour, material, etc.):

repair the product
replace the product
reduce the price
cancel the contract and reimburse them in full (in some countries, the sales contract cannot be cancelled if the fault is minor, e.g. scratch on a CD case)

Repair or replacement
In most countries there is a "hierarchy of remedies". This means that your customer must firstly request that you repair the product, or replace it if repair is not a viable option (e.g. too expensive). You must do this within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience for your customer.

Price reduction or full refund
Another option for your customer is that you give them a price reduction or a full refund, but only if repair or replacement:

is not possible
would be too expensive, given the nature of the product/defect
would be very inconvenient for the customer
cannot be completed by your business within a reasonable time

Additional guarantees
You can also offer the consumer an additional commercial guarantee (warranty). This can either be included in the price of the product or at an extra cost. This warranty does not replace the legal guarantee, which is always a minimum of 2 years, and you must inform the consumer that this will not affect their right to the legal guarantee.



All the best, and bon voyages.

Yes, for sure, we follow the EU law. But we are not obliged to give the same warranty to US or Australian clients. Anyway, our devices are really robust and we have very few returns.

[Franziska]

We use a waterproof Oukitel RT1 tablet which we bought used (like new) for less then 100€.

Has built in GPS/Galileo/Glonass/Baidu reception.

Runs OpenCPN with CM93 and MBTiles fine. Charts are stored on the removable SD card.
Also SailgribWR.

Daylight readability is fairly good, we added an anti glare screen protector and a waterproof USB connector at the helm.

Works pretty good, we use it mainly when close inshore or when going to anchorage or port.

Displays also AIS and NMEA from WiFi.

On passage we use a PC Dell Latitude E7240 (and have another identical as back up). The Dell runs always and feeds also the NMEA & AIS data via OpenCPN back into the WiFi.

No need for a WiFi capable AIS this way.

WiFi is created by an older mobile phone which we use as hot-spot (even when there is no internet reception).

[Montanan]

References:

https://www.pcguide.com/tablet/guide/best-waterproof-tablet/

https://buyersguide.org/waterproof-t...&tdid=10956747

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-rugged-tablets