Windows, Tablet, in the cockpit

[Leolotowycz]

I run a laptop below deck for navigation with opencpn and love it. I want to get a 12" tablet for my cockpit. You can get them with windows or android OS. Has any tried windows without a key board above deck ? Advantages/ disadvantages .
Advice needed.
Thanks for reading my thread.
Leo

[sailingjazz]

Leo

I'm using a Windows 10 tablet in my cockpit. It has worked very well for me. I made sure before I bought it that it had the brightest screen in a tablet I could find. I also checked it with my sunglasses (polarized glasses can cause problems viewing some screens). The biggest problem in my opinion is the brightness of the screen in the sun. I use my tablet under a Bimini and that works for me. The touch screen took some time getting used to but in the end works very well. I used a zip lock bag when rain threatened but recently bought a plastic cover on sale at West Marine that works a bit better. My tablet was very cheap on sale at Best Buy for around $150 but of all the tablets I looked at, it had the brightest screen and was compatible with my sunglasses. I've been using a table in the cockpit as my primary navigation device for around 7 years. I used a iPad in the past with iNavex software and it worked well but I like the Windows tablet with OCPN better over all. My tablet is connected to my boat NMEA network via a Brookhouse iMux wireless wifi.

Hope this helps.
Kevin

[Leolotowycz]

Kevin Hello
Thank you for your response to my thread it was very helpful.
My main concern would I loose functionality with windows with out a keyboard and mouse. I will have s blue tooth touchscreen and blue tooth stylus.
I love opencpn on windows with a laptop. I am not bad with the android version. Just having a hard time making a decision.
Thanks again
Leo, Venice Fl.