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which tablet for travel?
Old 03-02-2014, 03:29 AM   #1
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which tablet for travel?

I have a brother in law that drives truck and he wants me to find him a tablet or some handheld device that connects to the internet at wifi hotspots like truck stops etc., that he can use to access weather, gps, and books. what would you recommend for these uses? What do you use? I thought maybe some form of kindle fire hd or of that type. thanks

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Old 03-02-2014, 04:34 AM   #2
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The ascendancy of tablets (like the ascendancy of smartphones before it) is to a great extent attributable to their affordability which itself is fostered by an expectation by tablet manufacturers that purchasers will consume content from a specific consumption space: iPad = iTunes Store; Kindle = Amazon.com; other Android = Google Play Store; Windows Phone = Microsoft Store. So the answer to your question is very much dependent on which consumption space works best for your brother-in-law. The Kindle Fire HD would be a good choice for someone who is likely to capitalize on Amazon's books, music and video offerings.

We were recently in the position of deciding between the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus. We're Amazon Prime members so it seemed, at least initially, that our choice was clear. However, we actually ended up going with the Nexus. This was mostly a matter of how much more limited the Amazon consumption space was with regard to apps, specifically (since [a] we consume Amazon.com books on our Kindle Paperwhites, and prefer that to reading books on a tablet; [b] we are already heavily invested in Zune for music; and [c] we don't enjoy watching video on small form factor devices).

Our biggest concern was availability of apps for the fundamental aspects of our day-to-day online experience: Email through Outlook.com; SkyDrive; OneNote; etc. Our earlier smartphone choices (driven by employee discounts we had at the time) have tied us very much to the Microsoft consumption space, but we definitely didn't want a Windows tablet. At the time we made our choice, Google Nexus provided a better bridge between these Microsoft environments than Kindle Fire. I don't know if that's still the case.

So how does this inform your choice for your brother-in-law? To a great extent, only from the standpoint of pointing out how "it depends" and pointing out how things change over time.

I will inject my standard warning against thinking that a tablet is the way to go for reading books. There's a reason why e-ink is preferred for e-readers. I would recommend buying a lesser tablet to save $120, and use that $120 to buy a Kindle Paperwhite for reading, rather than trying to solve the need for books with a regular tablet.

We bought a 7" Nexus (for my spouse) and a 10" Nexus (for me). The 10" is "too big" for most things that most people use a tablet for. I use it as a mini-workstation, accessing my email and taking notes, at business meetings. (I even have a portable, Bluetooth keyboard for it.) I use the tablet as my script when I'm a worship leader or worship associate at church, instead of a binder full of papers. It does those things better than a 7" could. But for reading news in a train terminal or airport; for driving directions in the car; etc., the 7" is better.

I'm not sure if the Kindle Fire's 8.9" is "just right" though. I think the handy convenience of the 7" form factor cannot be overstated. But if your brother-in-law is going to be using the tablet mostly in a truck cab (presumably stopped in a truck stop) then bigger is probably better. And if he's got any concern about the visibility of small type, then a 10" tablet is worth considering. There's no way around it: My 10" Nexus is the most readable tablet there is, as far as I'm concerned.
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Old 03-02-2014, 05:32 AM   #3
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Early last year I purchased the Nexus 10. It has performed very well on travel.

I would go with the 10" in the situation you describe, as there won't be a storage problem in the truck. If there is a need to stuff it in a large pocket, then I'd say go with 7".
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Old 03-02-2014, 09:45 AM   #4
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Here's a consideration - most gps programs will require a data connection to provide turn-by-turn instructions. If he doesn't always have a data connection available on the road, or doesn't want to pay for data, he must choose carefully.

I found OSMand for Android will do this. You download the maps to your phone, and can do everything w/o a data connection. There may be others, but I'm not aware of them. OSMand is not available for IOS (iPhone/iPad).

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Old 03-02-2014, 10:11 AM   #5
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I have an iPad, but I must admit I really enjoy reading books outdoors in the sun, and I can't do that with my iPad. A basic Kindle would solve the problem, but I have a hard time justifying buying another device just to read books outdoors.

I'm not sure if there is a better tablet that allows for general web surfing, email and running apps but has better outdoor performance in direct sunlight. It's something to consider when you use your tablet primarily for traveling.
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Old 03-02-2014, 10:19 AM   #6
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I really like my 2013 Nexus 7 for general home use and travel (don't bother with the older model Nexus 7), price is around $220. Probably not so good if one is reading a book out in the glare. Might work fine in a truck.

One can buy it at Amazon and have 30 days to return or Best Buy is 15 days.
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Old 03-02-2014, 10:22 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
Here's a consideration - most gps programs will require a data connection to provide turn-by-turn instructions. If he doesn't always have a data connection available on the road, or doesn't want to pay for data, he must choose carefully.
Good point. I wouldn't use a tablet for real time navigation. Rather, I would make use of things like Google Map's excellent real time traffic (see attached) solely to look ahead to the next leg of the trip. If you need real time navigation, then a real GPS is what's needed.

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I'm not sure if there is a better tablet that allows for general web surfing, email and running apps but has better outdoor performance in direct sunlight. It's something to consider when you use your tablet primarily for traveling.
That which makes a display better for most things you use a tablet for makes it worse for reading, and vice versa.
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Old 03-02-2014, 10:35 AM   #8
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There are offline GPS programs with turn by turn directions. They are around $50 and up.

Some may be free but they will take up about 1-2 GB of space with all the maps.

Some have free map updates, others make you pay. And you can subscribe to traffic data. They're made by Garmin, Tomtom and other GPS makers.

But you do need a tablet with a data radio and a mobile data plan. One thing nice is that you don't have to sign a contract (though the mobile carriers do offer contracts and $100 off any tablet if you sign a contract).

You can subscribe one month at a time, drop it and then resubscribe if needed. That is if you buy the tablet free and clear.
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Old 03-02-2014, 10:51 AM   #9
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I have an iPad, but I must admit I really enjoy reading books outdoors in the sun, and I can't do that with my iPad. A basic Kindle would solve the problem, but I have a hard time justifying buying another device just to read books outdoors.
Have you thought about going to Craigslist for the Kindle Touch? I see them as low as $35. Also, when I buy a book on Amazon, I then download the book to four devices. So it doesn't matter that my account is with Amazon, I have the app on my Note 3, iPad and two Kindle devices. Plus whatever book I choose to read I'm offered the choice of syncing with the last device I read.
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Old 03-02-2014, 10:58 AM   #10
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I personally use a full-size iPad. I had a regular early generation Kindle (well, I still have it but haven't used it in a very long time). DH has an iPad mini which replaced his Kindle Fire.

I do a lot of book reading which I mostly do on my iPad using Kindle books bought at Amazon.

I like the iPad better than other tablets because some apps that I use are iOS only or have more features on iOS.
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Old 03-02-2014, 11:01 AM   #11
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I have an iPad. I have traveled with it , and it's really handy.

However, I got an iPad mini (retina) for traveling overseas. When I was in Europe I decided I'd like something a little smaller so I could carry it with me all the time walking, etc. it's just a bit smaller, but fits more easily in a purse.
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Old 03-02-2014, 11:06 AM   #12
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I have an iPad but it rarely leaves the house, unless I travel for an extended period of time (a trip to Europe or the East Coast for example). Otherwise my iPhone is my primary "on-the-go" device. Unless you need the big screen, a iPod Touch could serve the same purpose if wifi connectivity is all you require.
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Old 03-02-2014, 11:18 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
Here's a consideration - most gps programs will require a data connection to provide turn-by-turn instructions. If he doesn't always have a data connection available on the road, or doesn't want to pay for data, he must choose carefully.

I found OSMand for Android will do this. You download the maps to your phone, and can do everything w/o a data connection. There may be others, but I'm not aware of them. OSMand is not available for IOS (iPhone/iPad).

Welcome To OsmAnd

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Using google maps, zoom in to the are you want then type 'ok maps'. It will save the map onto your device
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Old 03-02-2014, 12:05 PM   #14
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DW has Ipad, and Nook, I have Ipad Mini, Kindle Paperwhite.

I am not sure there is a really good answer to your question.

IMO, Ipad Mini is best, however, if you input cost, then no Ipad would be in there. The mini is just the right size. It's big enough to read on, small and light. I prefer the mini to the full size pad.

If your are going to read books, hands down the back-lit Nook or Kindle. Here again, the Ipad mini is the same size of a reader.

I do not believe the mini has gps, with wifi only.
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Old 03-02-2014, 12:10 PM   #15
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I have a dinasaur android tablet - the Xoom (motorola). Mine is wifi only. I have used it for GPS and as long as I take certain steps ahead of time- it does fine, despite the lack of 3g/4g radio. I load the map in when I have GPS, and do the route.. I zoom in on the key transitions - and if I don't have to many - I save the map for offline use. The Xoom has a true GPS receiver... not all tablets have this.

That said - if you go off your saved maps - you can see the dot, but no context of a map. If you're doing mytracks - it saves where you were, but doesn't show you on the map, until you're at wifi and can download the map. Kind of stinks if you're lost.
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Old 03-02-2014, 12:19 PM   #16
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Using google maps, zoom in to the are you want then type 'ok maps'. It will save the map onto your device
Cool, but saving the map is only one part of solution to using gps off-line.

I found there were quite a few navigation/mapping programs that allowed you to save the map and use it off-line. And the gps would show you where you were on the map when you are off-line. So far, so good.

But only a few programs would provide turn-by-turn navigation while you are offline. IIRC, Co-Pilot was one paid version that does it. I loaded OSMand (free, open source) on an android phone, and it seems to work pretty well. We don't use it much, so I can't give a detailed report.

I signed up to Open Street Maps, and I can edit the map for any deficiencies I find in my area. The biggest issue is they don't yet have a lot of house numbers entered outside of big cities. But the maps and the programs are getting updated routinely, so hopefully this improves, and like I did, you can enter your known destinations to the map easily.

I also found a site that lets you plan a trip on-line on the computer, and then download the route to the device as a file. I found it much easier to do the planning on the computer than that tiny phone screen.

So now I'm a 'bad-to-the-bone' kinda guy, I'm registered at the Harley site!

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Old 03-02-2014, 02:17 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by frank View Post
I have a brother in law that drives truck and he wants me to find him a tablet or some handheld device that connects to the internet at wifi hotspots like truck stops etc., that he can use to access weather, gps, and books. what would you recommend for these uses? What do you use? I thought maybe some form of kindle fire hd or of that type. thanks

frank
If your BIL ends up with an iPad, consider getting the Wi-Fi+Cellular model. It costs a bit more, but if you select T-Mobile as the network carrier, they will give you 200 MB of data per month for free. If you use more, you can pay for it a la carte.

When my DW got her r-iPad mini, she got this configuration. While Wi-Fi is widely available, being able to use the iPad even when there is no Wi-Fo available proved quite handy on the road.
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Old 03-02-2014, 04:51 PM   #18
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I have an iPad retina screen. WiFi & 4G data. Its great for my travels and surfing from the couch. I use it a little for navigation - just the apple map app, so I don't have turn by turn navigation. Great to check weather forecasts, find hotels/restaurants while on long road trips. I also read books on it. It doesn't handle sunny conditions very well - tough to see because of glare.
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Old 03-02-2014, 04:53 PM   #19
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Cool, but saving the map is only one part of solution to using gps off-line.

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Agreed. And it still does not solve the no GPS problem on wifi only iPads. But, it's better than a kick in the teeth.
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Old 03-02-2014, 07:35 PM   #20
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I have an iPad retina screen. WiFi & 4G data. Its great for my travels and surfing from the couch. I use it a little for navigation - just the apple map app, so I don't have turn by turn navigation. Great to check weather forecasts, find hotels/restaurants while on long road trips. I also read books on it. It doesn't handle sunny conditions very well - tough to see because of glare.
It should have turn by turn. You can ask Siri for directions somewhere and it should come up. You can also type in the address or destination and it will plot the directions.

Also, you can get Google Maps, which also has turn by turn directions.

You need data connection for both though.

And the full size iPad is probably too big to mount on a dash, in fact may be illegal in some states to obscure so much of the windshield.
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