Tablet / Satnav

arcon5

Wanting a tablet.

Primarily to use as a sat-nav - so built in GPS due to heavy usage and not wanting to pay £££ for sufficient data..
Secondary for web surfing ect.

Anything like this available?
Not an iPad or anything though as hey are waaay out of my budget

scotsbob

I would have thought a tablet size would be difficult to mount, or even to find a mount for one may be a challenge.

Would a smart phone not be more suitable? Mine has a screen of 9 X 5.5 cm which is about the size of a Tom Tom screen. Many free apps available for sat nav use with the GPS function and no data worries because the maps are on the sd card.

zappahey

I use a nexus 7 in my car and mount it with a Brodit pro-clip. Works a treat and I also use it for music through a Bluetooth connection.

forgotmyname

Lots of cheap chinese tablets have GPS.

If you dont have data then use nav software with built in maps like
co-pilot. Or use google maps and download the map tiles before you go.

Herzlos

You'd be much better off with a cheap satnav and a cheap tablet. The dedicated satnav will be better to use and will no doubt have a better GPS, and is designed to be used in a car.

The tablet GPS will probably be weaker and the app less useful, before you even consider how you mount the 7"+ screen, and you'll still need to have data enabled to pull down the map information, so it'll cost you more in the long run, and you run the risk of it stopping if you spend too long without a data connection or it's oversubscribed.

Wh05apk

I have used a Galaxy tab 7 in the car, lovely big screen and they are now about £80-90, can be mounted on a brodit mount, use offline maps, or something like Google if you can tether to a phone for online traffic updates.


As has been said though, if you have a smartphone they work as well, and are a lot more manageable.

slip.digby

yea use a dedicates satnav or use your phone. as you will need a tablet that can take a simcard , then you will have to pay for the tarrif/data useage. and proper satnav much better

captainhindsight_2

The best tablet on the market (better than any iPad) is the Nexus 7 and pretty affordable too. Depending on your car, it may still be a bit big though. If youve got a decent smartphone you can use that to. On both the tablet and the smartphone can download the Garming or TOMTOM (or others) app so you have the same maps and functionality as a dedicated sat nav

Iceweasel

captainhindsight wrote: »

The best tablet on the market (better than any iPad) is the Nexus 7 and pretty affordable too. Depending on your car, it may still be a bit big though. If youve got a decent smartphone you can use that to. On both the tablet and the smartphone can download the Garming or TOMTOM (or others) app so you have the same maps and functionality as a dedicated sat nav

That sounds good - but it just hasn't got the functionality -according to my nephew who tried using his tablet - very disappointing.

Live traffic info and re-routing didn't work.

Updates are not so easy either he says.

He didn't save any money at all and just has a lot of extra hassle.

captainhindsight_2

Iceweasel wrote: »

That sounds good - but it just hasn't got the functionality -according to my nephew who tried using his tablet - very disappointing.

Live traffic info and re-routing didn't work.

Updates are not so easy either he says.

He didn't save any money at all and just has a lot of extra hassle.

TBH its not a perfect solution but it is an option, I did this for a while on my smartphone with the Garmin app but then just bought a TOMTOM as a dedicated device.

Because it does work the smartphone pretty hard and it used to get quite hot and also drain the battery pretty quick if you forget to plug in the charger.

IMO it depends how important the satnav is, I use mine everyday and the smartphone/tablet wasnt up to the job where as if its just an occasional thing the smartphone/tablet might be ok

System

Wh05apk wrote: »

I have used a Galaxy tab 7 in the car, lovely big screen and they are now about £80-90, can be mounted on a brodit mount, use offline maps, or something like Google if you can tether to a phone for online traffic updates.


As has been said though, if you have a smartphone they work as well, and are a lot more manageable.

This is spot on. For Sat Nav and surfing there is no need to spend a penny more than a Galaxy TAB 7. This is a bargain for this kind of stuff plus has SD slot for music playback if car allows.