New PDA with e-ink display, internal barometer, gps etc.

ppc...@charter.net

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May 11, 2013, 8:57:53 AM5/11/13

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A new PDA is coming to market. This one is quite different from what we've seen in the past. I would buy this in a heartbeat if I knew it would run X/C Soar. I'm interested in others opinions about the chances of this working in the cockpit.

Brian Bange

Here's the specs:
Android 4.1 • Flexible 6" E-ink screen (1024x768) • Sunlight viewable with lunar lantern mode • Glove friendly IR touchscreen • Waterproof shell • Kickstand • Solar charging • i.MX 6 DualLite 1GHz Cortex A9 • 1GB ram • 16GB memory + microSD • Wifi b/g/n • BT 4.0 • ANT+ • NFC • FRS/GMRS/MURS • GPS + GLONASS • Accelerometer • Gyroscope • Magnetometer • Temperature • Barometer • Humidity • Anemometer • AM/FM/SW/LW • IR blaster • 20+ hour battery • 20" usb lanyard • 303 grams (10.8 oz) • 183mm x 121mm x 15mm (7.2" x 4.75" x 0.6")

Here's the URL:

http://www.meetearl.com/
http://www.gizmag.com/earl-tablet-backcountry-survival/27446/

Neil McLaughlin

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May 11, 2013, 10:28:51 AM5/11/13

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Well it runs on Android so it's extremely likely to work I'd have thought.

Spec looks good, price is good, curious as to the size it's verging on a
tablet
size though!

Neil

At 12:57 11 May 2013, ppc...@charter.net wrote:
>A new PDA is coming to market. This one is quite different from what
we've

>=

>seen in the past. I would buy this in a heartbeat if I knew it would run

>X/=

>C Soar. I'm interested in others opinions about the chances of this

>working=

> in the cockpit.
>
>Brian Bange
>
>Here's the specs:

> Android 4.1 =95 Flexible 6" E-ink screen (1024x768) =95 Sunlight
>viewable=
> with lunar lantern mode =95 Glove friendly IR touchscreen =95 Waterproof
>s=
>hell =95 Kickstand =95 Solar charging =95 i.MX 6 DualLite 1GHz Cortex A9
=
>=95 1GB ram =95 16GB memory + microSD =95 Wifi b/g/n =95 BT 4.0
=95 ANT+ =
>=95 NFC =95 FRS/GMRS/MURS =95 GPS + GLONASS =95 Accelerometer
=95
>Gyroscope=
> =95 Magnetometer =95 Temperature =95 Barometer =95 Humidity =95
>Anemometer=
> =95 AM/FM/SW/LW =95 IR blaster =95 20+ hour battery =95 20" usb
lanyard =
>=95 303 grams (10.8 oz) =95 183mm x 121mm x 15mm (7.2" x 4.75" x

son_of_flubber

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May 11, 2013, 1:58:43 PM5/11/13

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On Saturday, May 11, 2013 8:57:53 AM UTC-4, ppc...@charter.net wrote:
> A new PDA is coming to market. This one is quite different from what we've seen in the past. I would buy this in a heartbeat if I knew it would run X/C Soar.

One thing that you'll want to investigate further is the e-ink display.

The folks at http://tophatsoaring.wikispaces.com/Top+Hat have a derivative of XCSoar that run on a B&N Nook which also uses an e-ink display. Not all e-ink displays are the same, but they have the potential for ghosting (an afterimage shows for anything moving across the display). I understand that the Top Hat folks have overcome this problem to some extent by rooting the Nook and installing a graphics driver that "dithers". Ghosting may not be a problem on the new tablet, or there might be something that precludes (or delays implementation of) the dithering 'solution'. You can investigate the ghosting issue on the new tablet by asking whether it supports "gaming" (ghosting is a problem for gaming).

I would post something at tophatsoaring to spark a discussion of this tablet if those same folks don't soon join in here soon.

You might also keep an eye on Tophat. They hook an external GPS source to the Nook through a cable. The advantage being the Nook is a more manageable size and you can buy a new one for $50 on Ebay. The Nook displays "greyscale" aka no color.

Darryl Ramm

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May 12, 2013, 12:45:50 AM5/12/13

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A new PDA *might* be coming to market. They are currently 28% funded of their $250,000 goal on Kickstarter with 30 days to go.

Darryl

Matt Herron Jr.

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May 12, 2013, 3:37:21 AM5/12/13

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e ink has a very slow refresh rate, so probably not suitable for moving maps, flarm alerts, thermal finders, rapidly changing numbers, etc.

Darryl Ramm

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May 12, 2013, 3:45:26 AM5/12/13

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On Sunday, May 12, 2013 12:37:21 AM UTC-7, Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
> e ink has a very slow refresh rate, so probably not suitable for moving maps, flarm alerts, thermal finders, rapidly changing numbers, etc.

The devil will depend on the details. Look at those Tophat nook videos, very impressive for an eink display.

Darryl

Kimmo Hytoenen

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May 12, 2013, 4:01:00 AM5/12/13

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If it works like this, I can fly with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ZwZppiIr8
The size is a problem for me, max. 5 inch would fit into our club
ships.
Another important thing is charging and connecting with variometer
and FLARM. We use IOIO cards for charging and data
communication. I hope the IOIO-OTG works with nook and other
similar devices.

Streak is still good enough.