iPad vs. Nexus 7

wickedsprint said:
IPADs with cellular option have GPS.
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LDJones said:
Yep...for a $130 premium, or $459 for the 16G mini vs. $199 for the 16G Nexus with GPS standard...and a higher resolution screen.

As cheap as GPS chips are it amazes me that Apple does include them in all devices.
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Grant (at least I think it was Grant) said a while back that the WiFi-only iPad Minis *do* have the GPS.
 
I have both...I think the Ipad is better suited for aviation usage however all my WX favorites are bookmarked on the Nexus, to include fltplan.com, and it is much easier to peruse while at breakfast or at Starbucks before the trip.
 
LDJones said:
Yep...for a $130 premium, or $459 for the 16G mini vs. $199 for the 16G Nexus with GPS standard...and a higher resolution screen.

As cheap as GPS chips are it amazes me that Apple does include them in all devices.
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Exactly, it's no comparison. Even if I were to get the 32GB w/3G (UNLOCKED by the way) the Nexus is still only $299. I love Apple products, but not including GPS seems like a very short-sighted move.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Grant (at least I think it was Grant) said a while back that the WiFi-only iPad Minis *do* have the GPS.
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They have "assisted" GPS that uses WiFi. It gives you a rough approximation of the device's location based on nearby WiFi base stations. Which is pretty much useless for aviation.
If the iPad Mini had GPS I would likely go that route.
 
tangopapa said:
They have "assisted" GPS that uses WiFi. It gives you a rough approximation of the device's location based on nearby WiFi base stations. Which is pretty much useless for aviation.
If the iPad Mini had GPS I would likely go that route.
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Actually, assisted GPS is real GPS that is *augmented* by the cellular and WiFi networks to get a faster position lock. It's what all iPads, iPhones, and Android devices with GPS use. So, if you see it on a spec sheet somewhere, that is real GPS.

The iPod Touches, and full-size WiFi-only iPads that don't have GPS can still use Location Services apps as you describe using the WiFi network, but as you said it's pretty useless for aviation.

The idea that aGPS is not "real" GPS is a common misconception.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Actually, assisted GPS is real GPS that is *augmented* by the cellular and WiFi networks to get a faster position lock. It's what all iPads, iPhones, and Android devices with GPS use. So, if you see it on a spec sheet somewhere, that is real GPS.

The iPod Touches, and full-size WiFi-only iPads that don't have GPS can still use Location Services apps as you describe using the WiFi network, but as you said it's pretty useless for aviation.

The idea that aGPS is not "real" GPS is a common misconception.
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Thank you for clarifying. I think I read "assisted-GPS" in one of the many articles decrying the lack of usable GPS on the iPad Mini WiFi. Clearly the writer had the same misconception. Ya learn something new every day. :wink2:
 
Does anyone have a lead for the 16G Nexus 7? I want to replace the two that bricked but the only place I have found them is at Google Play and based on my past luck, I would rather deal with companies that have a physical store in case the unforeseen happens again. :rolleyes:

Staples, sam's etc have the 32g version but not the 16g

Cheers
 
Amazon has them, and my local Office Depot's too
 
Badger said:
Amazon has them, and my local Office Depot's too
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Amazon I avoid because of possible returns (see the following comment as well as my two bricked units) but I wll check the local Office Depot when I get near one for the 16g version

BTW, the local Staples here in Steamboat Spings had one and only one. I talked to the manager and he told me for every two he gets, he can only sell one since the other one is a replacement for a defective one. His experience is an very high and abnormal number of returns for a piece of electronics. Maybe that's why I can't find the things in a brick and mortar store. :dunno:

Glad for those who got them earlier before this apparent QC breakdown. I hope they straighten out the factory.

Cheers
 
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I saw multiple 16G version at a Wal-Mart on Saturday. Wal-Mart is where I bought my original one....only place in Twin Cities that had any. I suspect that's because they have NONE on display (then, or now!) so no one knows they have them. But you can see them sitting on the shelf behind the locked glass door.
 
Do you think the QC issues are related to the 16G vs 32G? Seems really odd that Staples has so many of them returned.
 
Interesting. I went with the 32Gb version, as I already had the $250 price point in my head. Hope it lasts!
 
Matthew said:
Do you think the QC issues are related to the 16G vs 32G? Seems really odd that Staples has so many of them returned.
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I didn't ask but it is reasonable to think it might be two different design implementations or production lines. Certainly different memory.:D

Cheers
 
LDJones said:
Yep...for a $130 premium, or $459 for the 16G mini vs. $199 for the 16G Nexus with GPS standard...and a higher resolution screen.

As cheap as GPS chips are it amazes me that Apple does include them in all devices.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to sweat the price difference for what I perceive to be the more useful and better built product.

$260 is less than 1 hour of flight time in my training aircraft and spread out over the years I plan to keep the device make it negligible.
 
wickedsprint said:
I'm not going to sweat the price difference for what I perceive to be the more useful and better built product.

$260 is less than 1 hour of flight time in my training aircraft and spread out over the years I plan to keep the device make it negligible.
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Actually, the life cycle of these products actually argues in favor of the lower cost one. Less depreciation, lower replacement cost.

I'm not picking on the iPad....just spent $1,000 on the latest and greatest. But I've had two students do the math just in the last week and opted to go with the Nexus....brining the total to six in the last four months since I got mine. I demonstrate both Garmin on the Nexus and ForeFlight on the iPad and state my current preference for ForeFlight, but Garmin is making up ground quickly.
 
X3 Skier said:
Amazon I avoid because of possible returns (see the following comment as well as my two bricked units) but I wll check the local Office Depot when I get near one for the 16g version

BTW, the local Staples here in Steamboat Spings had one and only one. I talked to the manager and he told me for every two he gets, he can only sell one since the other one is a replacement for a defective one. His experience is an very high and abnormal number of returns for a piece of electronics. Maybe that's why I can't find the things in a brick and mortar store. :dunno:

Glad for those who got them earlier before this apparent QC breakdown. I hope they straighten out the factory.

Cheers
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That is so bizarre. We are four good Nexus 7s for four units in our family. One from Sam's Club, one from Walmart, and two from Amazon.

Nary a burp from any of them, purchased between July and November 2012 -- and we are all on them many hours each day.
 
I concur...between myself and all my students/friends I'm monitoring a pool of nine or ten now and no one has had a glitch. But there can be bad batches of anything, I guess.
 
Has anyone noticed a slight light flickering on the Nexus? I notice that the Nexus backlight seems to change a lot. Never saw this on the iPad. Anyone have the same observation?
 
Marauder said:
Has anyone noticed a slight light flickering on the Nexus? I notice that the Nexus backlight seems to change a lot. Never saw this on the iPad. Anyone have the same observation?
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Yep. This has been a topic of endless discussion on the Android forums. I don't think anyone has found a reason for it, but it's very minor and does not occur when brightness is set to maximum, as it is when Garmin Pilot is running.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Yep. This has been a topic of endless discussion on the Android forums. I don't think anyone has found a reason for it, but it's very minor and does not occur when brightness is set to maximum, as it is when Garmin Pilot is running.
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Good to know! Also that I'm not seeing things that aren't real!
 
Jay Honeck said:
That is so bizarre. We are four good Nexus 7s for four units in our family. One from Sam's Club, one from Walmart, and two from Amazon.

Nary a burp from any of them, purchased between July and November 2012 -- and we are all on them many hours each day.
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Since my experience seems so different than everybody here I did a quick Google search of 16G defect rates and found one from the UK quoted 47% defective in one way or another. Obliviously skewed since defects are clearly more likely to be reported but even so, at least I know I am not alone. :D

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...your-nexus-7-defective-perfect-condition.html

I am still trying to find two at a brick and mortar store.

Cheers
 
X3 Skier said:
Since my experience seems so different than everybody here I did a quick Google search of 16G defect rates and found one from the UK quoted 47% defective in one way or another. Obliviously skewed since defects are clearly more likely to be reported but even so, at least I know I am not alone. :D

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...your-nexus-7-defective-perfect-condition.html

I am still trying to find two at a brick and mortar store.

Cheers
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A quick scan of the reports didn't show any cases of complete unit death like you experienced. They were screen fitment issues, dead pixels, etc.
 
LDJones said:
Actually, the life cycle of these products actually argues in favor of the lower cost one. Less depreciation, lower replacement cost.

I'm not picking on the iPad....just spent $1,000 on the latest and greatest. But I've had two students do the math just in the last week and opted to go with the Nexus....brining the total to six in the last four months since I got mine. I demonstrate both Garmin on the Nexus and ForeFlight on the iPad and state my current preference for ForeFlight, but Garmin is making up ground quickly.
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Valid points. I actually prefer the Garmin product after initial demo periods except for the missing A/FD.
 
wickedsprint said:
Valid points. I actually prefer the Garmin product after initial demo periods except for the missing A/FD.
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On that topic -- Is there an app out there for Android that will allow you to download the complete A/FD for a region or even cache a bunch of entries along a route?
 
X3 Skier said:
Since my experience seems so different than everybody here I did a quick Google search of 16G defect rates and found one from the UK quoted 47% defective in one way or another. Obliviously skewed since defects are clearly more likely to be reported but even so, at least I know I am not alone. :D

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...your-nexus-7-defective-perfect-condition.html

I am still trying to find two at a brick and mortar store.

Cheers
Click to expand...

The thread you found on Android Central has gone on endlessly, almost since the Nexus 7 hit the market. If you read it through, you'll find some EXTREMELY unlikely posts -- like the guy who claims to have returned his 16 times before finding a "perfect" one. Some postulated that it was written by an Apple fanboi, but who knows? :p :rolleyes:

I mean, really -- who would DO that? After three, I would say "Eff this."

Not saying there haven't been QC problems like yours. I don't think anyone expected this product to take off like it did, and Asus may have ramped up production beyond their own quality control capabilities? Dunno.

All I know is that my family has been ecstatic with this tablet, and we use the HELL out of them. Other than a few annoying glitches with the last OS update (which have all been worked out), the Nexus 7 has been the most trouble-free computing device I have ever owned.
 
roddie said:
On that topic -- Is there an app out there for Android that will allow you to download the complete A/FD for a region or even cache a bunch of entries along a route?
Click to expand...

Not an app(as I'm far too lazy to write one) but you can download whole region or state PDFs from www.chartbundle.com to use with your favorite PDF reader.

www.chartbundle.com/pdf10a for the direct PDF download for the A/FD.
 
The comments about reliability are interesting. My son and I have the 16G model, and have had them for some time. No problems at all. Bought on-line directly from Google. Now, I'm running low on memory. Might be time in a few months to think about the 32G version.
 
Ghery said:
The comments about reliability are interesting. My son and I have the 16G model, and have had them for some time. No problems at all. Bought on-line directly from Google. Now, I'm running low on memory. Might be time in a few months to think about the 32G version.
Click to expand...

Always buy twice what think is the most you'll ever need!
 
X3 Skier said:
Amazon I avoid because of possible returns (see the following comment as well as my two bricked units) but I wll check the local Office Depot when I get near one for the 16g version
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For what it's worth: Amazon's return process is relatively painless. They provide the shipping label and instructions, etc.

That said, if you bought one from Amazon and had yet another brick, we might want to consider hooking up a permanent grounding strap to you :hairraise:
 
roddie said:
I like FlightIntel, but it requires a live connection to get charts, etc. I do use it at home, however. The author is pretty responsive to bug reports, too.
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good point. I use Garmin Pilot for the charts, but FlightIntel for AFD and some other resources.
 
So, at 1118 posts here, have we come to a consensus yet on which is better, Nexus 7 or iPad?

David
 
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