Can anyone recommend a sub $200 Tablet for Navigation

roving1

Well-known member
I don't think people who have A-B tested opinions on ios and Android have done it recently or against many devices.

The notion that an old ipad, or refurbed ipad, or a new one at 2-3X the cost is a better package I think is false.

Being able to download all the layers you might even remotely want for half the country and just having that all waiting on one device with good native storage or an SD card to me blows iOS out of the water alone. Most of the bad glitchiness I think is older news from 1-2 years ago. Things seem to have greatly improved. I'm running Gaia on some 2013 era old cell phones as auxiliary maps and it runs fine.

The only way iOS makes any sense to me is if you are already massively invested in the ecosystem and already have the hardware lying around.
 

mrlocksmith

Adventurer
I've been using the ultra cheap Amazon Fire HD 10. I threw a large SD card in and have a boatload of offline maps on it. If you find using your tablet is simply displaying maps and watching movies at night, a fast unit isn't critical. If you are going to make it a main PC on the road for other things, then the Fire series are a bit slow. Android OS, and it needs some tweaking to break the chains of the Fire OS. Not a fire up and go unit in that regard.

So how do you get around the fact that the Fire Tablets have no GPS built in ?
 

Teamoatmealpie

Observer
Prob with one of the many blue tooth GPS transponders available.

I am pondering the same question, to purchase tablet with GPS built in or buy a GPS transponder and non GPS tablet.

Kinda leaning towards Samsung because of the expandable memory and cheaper then IOS products.
 

outback97

Adventurer
The thread was started a year ago, and the OP presumably figured something out by now, but since people are still posting, I'll throw in my $.02 since the budget in the thread title matches what I bought.

I recently purchased a used but excellent condition iPad Mini 4 for $200. It's the cellular model with 64GB, and it runs Gaia GPS flawlessly. I had to shop around for a while, but deals like this are out there. I had tried running it on an older Android tablet and it just wasn't working well. Very happy now with the iPad.
 

Outono

Well-known member
Costco has the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 w/ 128 GB storage for $199. The nice thing about this model is that it has 3 GB RAM which is really important when multitasking (the cheaper models only have 2 GB of RAM). I just picked one up and tested it with the main mapping options and it works very well. It's not as snappy as a new iPad or a high end Galaxy S6 tablet, but its a great value and perfect for in-vehicle use. GPS works offline so you should have no problem with that.

The reason I prefer Android for navigation is because of the APRSDroid integration with Backcountry Navigator. Nothing of the sort exists on iOS and while BCN is a bit long in the tooth, the developer is releasing a brand new version called XE very shortly (you can snag the beta now). Moreover, as mentioned above, the expandable storage via micro SD on the Samsung tablets is critical for storing maps.

 
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1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
Costco has the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 w/ 128 GB storage for $199. The nice thing about this model is that it has 3 GB RAM which is really important when multitasking (the cheaper models only have 2 GB of RAM). I just picked one up and tested it with the main mapping options and it works very well. It's not as snappy as a new iPad or a high end Galaxy S6 tablet, but its a great value and perfect for in-vehicle use. GPS works offline so you should have no problem with that.

The reason I prefer Android for navigation is because of the APRSDroid integration with Backcountry Navigator. Nothing of the sort exists on iOS and while BCN is a bit long in the tooth, the developer is releasing a brand new version called XE very shortly (you can snag the beta now). Moreover, as mentioned above, the expandable storage via micro SD on the Samsung tablets is critical for storing maps.


Thanks for the heads up....I am planning a tablet setup in my new van and this really helps!
 

Outono

Well-known member
Thanks for the heads up....I am planning a tablet setup in my new van and this really helps!

If you're willing to spend up to $260, you can get the Galaxy Tab S4 from Best Buy while supplies last. This one will give you much better performance, an AMOLED screen, and 4GB of RAM. To me, it was worth moving up to that from the Galaxy Tab A.
 

ricardo

Observer
Samsung galaxy tab Pro "Note" 12.2' of ultra reliable performance, super sturdy too

Sure is older but very sturdy and Rutted you can run anything you want,,

I have a SIM card and a none sim card tedder to my phone, the two work great..
 

toyotech

Expedition Leader
If you're willing to spend up to $260, you can get the Galaxy Tab S4 from Best Buy while supplies last. This one will give you much better performance, an AMOLED screen, and 4GB of RAM. To me, it was worth moving up to that from the Galaxy Tab A.

Damn. Sold out of new


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
I'm selling my Nexus Tablet.
I'm selling my Nexus 7" tablet with RAM mount. I just don't need it anymore . It is up to date.

$85.00 with CONUS shipping.

 

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