PIREPs requested. I'm looking to upgrade my old Samsung Tab 3 Lite for something more suitable. Which 7" or 8" Android tablets are making you happy these days?

[Sam Hoskins]

 Which 7" or 8" Android tablets are making you happy these days? I'm using it with Stratux (or is that a given?)

[Jeffrey Ross]

I picked up two used Samsung SM-T380 (aka Galaxy Tab A 2017) tablets on eBay, 32GB models (16GB is sufficient) for about $80 each and have no problem with them.  I load Avare and some music on the tablet on an external MicroSD card.

There are certainly higher resolution tablets available that might display things nicer but it does the job nicely IMHO.  I also picked up a RAM mount specifically designed for the tablet which holds it securely in the airplane.

One note, Samsung has started using USB-C ports on all their devices, the SM-T380 is no exception, it'll still charge from the same USB cigarette lighter adapter but the tablet end is different.

I picked up two tablets so I could have a spare with me should one fail during a flight, it's cheap insurance and it is larger than the cell phone screen.

Jeff

On 6/28/20 10:32 AM, Sam Hoskins wrote:

 Which 7" or 8" Android tablets are making you happy these days? I'm using it with Stratux (or is that a given?)

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[Dan Wegman]

I bought a Samsung SM-T290 (aka Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019)) last holiday season for about $130. Very happy. There's 32GB of onboard memory, plus an SD card slot.  It has a microUSB charging port that some reviewers didn't like, but I preferred it since I can use my existing cables to charge it. Nice bright display, solid GPS & WiFi.  I've run both Avare & FltPlan Go with no problems.

Here's a link to more details: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/galaxy-tab-a-8-2019-wi-fi

[Chip Davis]

There are a lot of versions of "Tab A 8"s out there.  I'm still using
my SM-T350 running 7.1.1 (kernel 3/10/49) and have found no compelling
reason to spend any money to replace it.  Great display, great battery
life, and no issues whatsoever.  With a "1byone" Bluetooth keyboard
and a 10" Insignia Flexview case/stand, it subs for my laptop when I
arrive at my destination.

I highly recommend a down-angle micro-USB cable for it.  That allows
the cable to come up from beneath the tablet when it is mounted on the
yoke, relieving a lot of stress on the connector and the port.

-Chip-

[John W SBA]

+1 on the Sammy Tabs (mine is the old model). I also quite like the
Amazon HD8 (after rooting - hated it before that) I got for $50 on sale,
but still haven't used it in flight (no long x/c).

> I highly recommend a down-angle micro-USB cable for it.

The power jack is the weak point in most tablets, since they're
typically only secured by soldering to the circuit board. When that's
over-stressed, the repair can be more than tablet value. I got a cheapo
magnetic connector online. It plugs into the jack on the HD8, but I keep
forgetting to get another one for the Tab. It has a blue LED light in
the tablet-end cord tip to help me notice if it's lost power, holds on
well, yet will let go far before any damage can be done to the jack.
The cord has a reinforcing outer mesh jacket too. Wish I'd had one for
the v.1 Nexus 7 that now sports a glob of epoxy over the bent jack, to
hold a USB cord in the position that still provides power & data.

[Peter Gustafson]

> The power jack is the weak point in most tablets, since they're
> typically only secured by soldering to the circuit board.  When that's
> over-stressed, the repair can be more than tablet value.  I got a
> cheapo magnetic connector online. It plugs into the jack on the HD8,
> but I keep forgetting to get another one for the Tab.  It has a blue
> LED light in the tablet-end cord tip to help me notice if it's lost
> power, holds on well, yet will let go far before any damage can be
> done to the jack. The cord has a reinforcing outer mesh jacket too. 
> Wish I'd had one for the v.1 Nexus 7 that now sports a glob of epoxy
> over the bent jack, to hold a USB cord in the position that still
> provides power & data.

+1 for the magnetic jack as I have been happy with mine.  However,
proximity to the magnetic compass can problematic.  :(  I generally
don't plug my tablet in when in flight unless needed.  My battery
typically lasts longer than my fuel.

[Sam Hoskins]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I wound up buying a Samsung Tab A SM-T350 off of Amazon for $119. Looks like it will fit the bill and it's a step up from that five-year-old tablet that I had. I also have a screen protector / glare shield on the way. I know from my experience with the last one it was too shiny and the protector helped a lot.

I appreciate your experience.

[Sam Hoskins]

One last thing, of no consequence. I tried like the dickens to get my charts loaded onto the SD card. I went through as many old forum threads as I can find, tried renaming the path and everything, tried reformatting the SD card, all sorts of stuff and got nowhere. But really, I'm just going to use this for Avare and there seems to be plenty of storage on the tablet for the charts I typically use, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

[Jeffrey Ross]

On 7/3/20 5:51 PM, Sam Hoskins wrote:
> One last thing, of no consequence. I tried like the dickens to get my charts loaded onto the SD card. I went through as many old forum threads as I can find, tried renaming the path and everything, tried reformatting the SD card, all sorts of stuff and got nowhere. But really, I'm just going to use this for Avare and there seems to be plenty of storage on the tablet for the charts I typically use, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore.
>

Sam,  I admit the Android OS doesn't necessarily make it easy to find
the SD card, what I found works for me is using a filemanager, I've used
"Total Commander" with that you can easily identify the SD card, in my
case it tells me the SD card is /storage/35F3-392A  I'll make a
directory that I'll identify like SD-Avare and tell Avare to use that
directory.

Be careful with using the SD card, you cannot install the approach
plates for New Hampshire and Alabama as there are two airport
identifiers (CON and PRN) that conflict with two reserved filenames, you
will get an error saying "disk full null" or something similar.

Jeff