tablet for touring

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

tablet for touring

Post by robing »

Can anyone recommend a good tablet to take touring? Not too heavy or expensive, can handle a few knocks. I looked at the Hudl but it's quite heavy and bulky.
User avatar
al_yrpal
Posts: 11537
Joined: 25 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
Location: Think Cheddar and Cider
Contact:

Re: tablet for touring

Post by al_yrpal »

Buy a Moto G 2nd generation smartphone. Does everthing a tablet does on a 5 inch screen. Only £155. Who needs a tablet?

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
1982john
Posts: 625
Joined: 3 Nov 2012, 9:29pm
Contact:

Re: tablet for touring

Post by 1982john »

maybe a nexus? they are getting quite cheap now. in terms of weight though there not usually more than 50 grams in it.
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: tablet for touring

Post by stewartpratt »

Depends what you actually want to do with the tablet — Check maps? Read books? Look at photos? Process photos? Use it outdoors in all weathers? — and what your reason for wanting one over a phone is — Dodgy eyes? Ease of typing? Screen size for maps?
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: tablet for touring

Post by simonhill »

I've got a Nexus 7 2013 model 16 GB storage. It is light and thin, with excellent screen quality. I keep it in a padded neoprene case. Stuff it down the back side of my pannier.

I love it !!

Taken it on 2 long haul so far (SEAsia). It needs WiFi but works well for all internet stuff and apps. Internet cafes are becoming rarer and WiFi almost everywhere. I can do everything on it I used to do in the cafes.

Google maps are excellent, but you need to have opened the area in WiFi to allow you to see it in detail off line. GPS tells you exactly where you are. I wouldn't use it for full time navigating, but is useful if you are lost ; finding smaller roads than on paper map; or in big towns. If you wanted you could navigate but battery may be an issue if you can't charge each night.

Easier to see and type than smart phone. I don't use a phone when away so leave mine at home. My phone is too small (for me) for regular use, but I now find that I'm often using my tablet in preference to my PC.

Other cheaper tablets are available but I reckon the Nexus is worth the extra as it is so much better.
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: tablet for touring

Post by Bonefishblues »

If you happen to need a long battery life, the Lenovo Yoga 8 is particularly good. Whatever you decide, a neoprene sleeve is a good investment.
iandriver
Posts: 2521
Joined: 10 Jun 2009, 2:09pm
Location: Cambridge.

Re: tablet for touring

Post by iandriver »

+1 for the nexus 7.

The big advantage when touring is it has a built in GPS chip, so things like OSMAnd run fine without any internet connection. Dead handy for spot fixing when in a town and your map isn't quite detailed enough or if you're throwing your plans out the window and off exploring.
Mine is in a neoprene case also and is two years old now. Has been in my panniers commuting every work day and been away with me. No problems.
If I want internet on it, I can use my mobiles internet share facility if needed when wifi is not around.
Supporter of the A10 corridor cycling campaign serving Royston to Cambridge http://a10corridorcycle.com. Never knew gardening secateurs were an essential part of the on bike tool kit until I took up campaigning.....
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: tablet for touring

Post by robing »

al_yrpal wrote:Buy a Moto G 2nd generation smartphone. Does everthing a tablet does on a 5 inch screen. Only £155. Who needs a tablet?

Al


I think it's actually 4.5". I've just got the S5 mini which is same size as Moto G, better spec.
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: tablet for touring

Post by robing »

stewartpratt wrote:Depends what you actually want to do with the tablet — Check maps? Read books? Look at photos? Process photos? Use it outdoors in all weathers? — and what your reason for wanting one over a phone is — Dodgy eyes? Ease of typing? Screen size for maps?


Mainly for use in the evenings in campsite or hotels. Mainly for easier web browsing on a bigger screen, FB etc. Also for emails, blog etc. Also I have a cheap keyboard and case for a 7" tablet that works really well, plugs in to the micro USB. Find it easier for typing.

I have a Kindle as well which I prefer to read books on.
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: tablet for touring

Post by stewartpratt »

In which case the Nexus is a good choice - both the original and the newer one. Having vanilla Android and getting new versions as soon as they're out are both key features in my book.
User avatar
al_yrpal
Posts: 11537
Joined: 25 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
Location: Think Cheddar and Cider
Contact:

Re: tablet for touring

Post by al_yrpal »

robing wrote:
al_yrpal wrote:Buy a Moto G 2nd generation smartphone. Does everthing a tablet does on a 5 inch screen. Only £155. Who needs a tablet?

Al


I think it's actually 4.5". I've just got the S5 mini which is same size as Moto G, better spec.


The second generation Moto G was released this week. It has a 5 inch screen and will soon be upgraded to Android L Googles latest operating system because Google presently owns Motorola. It costs £155 whereas the Samsung S5 Mini costs £579 with a smaller screen. I run my smartphone on 3s 321 PAYG tarrif which is really cheap for European US and Oz touring calls with a £10 add on. Thus I am not paying out an excruciating £25 + for a phone contract that i wont use fully for two years. Here's a review with several mentions of the S5 mini http://www.trustedreviews.com/moto-g-2- ... nes_review

I have a Nexus 7 second generation too, its a great tablet. For touring I personally prefer my Android phone, its smaller and lighter and does everything the tablet does and I recharge it with a Teknet battery many times when I'm camping. It depends if you have good eyesight and can cope with the phones smaller screen.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
User avatar
MrsHJ
Posts: 1823
Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 1:03pm
Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: tablet for touring

Post by MrsHJ »

This year we took two iPhones, my iPad Air, a kindle fire and a power monkey to help charge stuff. For a lightish tablet the iPad Air and case took up a fair amount of space and wasn't light, particularly with the rest of the electronics out included. I would definitely do it differently next time, even with the kids.

If I was travelling without the kids I'd take an ordinary kindle ( less weight than books and long battery life) just for reading and the iPhone for internet access and get a hub charger.
User avatar
al_yrpal
Posts: 11537
Joined: 25 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
Location: Think Cheddar and Cider
Contact:

Re: tablet for touring

Post by al_yrpal »

I quite like using the Kindle on my phone. Its quite useable, but, I don't suppose its available on an iphone?

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: tablet for touring

Post by robing »

I thought you meant the Moto 4g:http://www.trustedreviews.com/motorola-moto-g_Mobile-Phone_review
I didn't know they'd brought out another new one. It does seem odd that they've dropped 4g on the new one.

The s5 mini is £350 - it's the s5 that is £580. The mini keeps a lot of the features of the s5 eg fingerprint recognition, nfc, heart monitor. And in one respect it's better than the s5. It is water and dust resistant ip67 rated without the need for covers for the usb port.

The new Motorola phones are extremely good value for money. I upgraded my contract for the s5 mini and am paying an extra 290 over 2 years with no up front cost. My only gripe at the moment is I don't actually seem to get 4g anywhere yet, though hopefully this situation will improve!
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8443
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: tablet for touring

Post by Sweep »

On the tablet (not phone) front, the Hudl2 should be due soon.

(The first one was discussed as some length - and with a surprising grumpiness at times for a discussion about electronics - around about last Christmas).

The new one is rumoured to be be bigger more upmarket though.

I hope it isn't too much bigger - I rather liked its small tough-as-a-brick look for touring and was mainly looking forward to it sorting various glitches/the weak GPS etc.
Sweep
Post Reply