Samsung A7 / A7 lite as chart plotter

[tabbibus]

Anyone using one of the budget tablets as a chart plotter on their boat? Would love to hear feedback regarding responsiveness and brightness.

 

[2kwik4u]

Anyone using one of the budget tablets as a chart plotter on their boat? Would love to hear feedback regarding responsiveness and brightness.

I use my phone as one. Pixel 5, and before that a Pixel 2XL. Both were adequately bright, and easily readable. used the P2XL in the gulf earlier this summer. Screen was too small for reading it AND dealing with heavy seas. Also, it didn't like being in direct sunlight the whole time, ended up covering it with a micro-fiber when at anchor to keep it from overheating.

Navionics app works really well and is easily worth the $25/yr they charge for it. It's updated 3 times since I downloaded and started using it in June. You'll want a bigger screen though if you can swing it. Smartphone (5.5"-ish) is too small, and wrong orientation.

I only have a few complaints. First is that I don't get realtime depth, only chart depth. So I only "think" I know what's under me, I don't ACTUALLY know, if the boat had a depth finder otherwise, this would be a non-issue. Would love water temp info as well, again your boat might already have that. I also don't like the "mounted" look. It works, and I get a flush mount setup is WAY harder to make happen, but the giant slab on a stick just always looks like an afterthought. I've seen a few installs where people made a new dash layout and it ALWAYS looks way nicer. Going to have a hard time with that if you use a tablet.

Before you spring cash on a new device; check out this device. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2SG2NL/ It's $600, but it has an absurdly bright screen, is waterproof, and has a large battery. Found this from the guys that use a tablet in direct sun to fly a drone and needed a bright screen. I would consider one of these as a chartplotter before I would spend that kind of money on a more "consumer" grade tablet if the main use is the boat.

 

[tabbibus]

I use my phone as one. Pixel 5, and before that a Pixel 2XL. Both were adequately bright, and easily readable. used the P2XL in the gulf earlier this summer. Screen was too small for reading it AND dealing with heavy seas. Also, it didn't like being in direct sunlight the whole time, ended up covering it with a micro-fiber when at anchor to keep it from overheating.

Navionics app works really well and is easily worth the $25/yr they charge for it. It's updated 3 times since I downloaded and started using it in June. You'll want a bigger screen though if you can swing it. Smartphone (5.5"-ish) is too small, and wrong orientation.

I only have a few complaints. First is that I don't get realtime depth, only chart depth. So I only "think" I know what's under me, I don't ACTUALLY know, if the boat had a depth finder otherwise, this would be a non-issue. Would love water temp info as well, again your boat might already have that. I also don't like the "mounted" look. It works, and I get a flush mount setup is WAY harder to make happen, but the giant slab on a stick just always looks like an afterthought. I've seen a few installs where people made a new dash layout and it ALWAYS looks way nicer. Going to have a hard time with that if you use a tablet.

Before you spring cash on a new device; check out this device. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2SG2NL/ It's $600, but it has an absurdly bright screen, is waterproof, and has a large battery. Found this from the guys that use a tablet in direct sun to fly a drone and needed a bright screen. I would consider one of these as a chartplotter before I would spend that kind of money on a more "consumer" grade tablet if the main use is the boat.

Thanks for the link. Wonder if at that price I I shouldn't just spring for the dedicated chartplotter.

My 242 already has depth and water temp so that's not a big deal for me. I also already use my phone with Navionics and I love it. Except that I wish my phone wasn't tied up with the map, and I wish the screen was bigger. Hence a A7. I think it is about a 8 inch screen.

Just ordered the A7 lite for 129 bucks, I'll let y'all know what I think.

 

[Julian]

Others have used tablets with Navionics and discovered they overheat quickly in sunlight. Your results may vary!

 

[tabbibus]

Others have used tablets with Navionics and discovered they overheat quickly in sunlight. Your results may vary!

So does my phone. Lol. I may end up getting a Garmin or Simrad at some point but maybe next year.

 

[2kwik4u]

Thanks for the link. Wonder if at that price I I shouldn't just spring for the dedicated chartplotter.

My 242 already has depth and water temp so that's not a big deal for me. I also already use my phone with Navionics and I love it. Except that I wish my phone wasn't tied up with the map, and I wish the screen was bigger. Hence a A7. I think it is about a 8 inch screen.

Just ordered the A7 lite for 129 bucks, I'll let y'all know what I think.

100% agree. I cam to the same conclusion. If I'm gonna drop $600 on a dedicated tablet, might as well get the marine grade unit with all the bells and whistles.

$127 tablet with a decent case on it is certainly worth a try at that price.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I got an old Amazon Fire tablet given to me. I am going to root it and run straight Android in it and only put the nav in it to see how it works.

 

[tabbibus]

I got an old Amazon Fire tablet given to me. I am going to root it and run straight Android in it and only put the nav in it to see how it works.

My girls have those. They are slow AF.

 

[Sidarousmg]

i have a samsung A7 that i use for navigation/Navionics and i think it works great. i had another "off brand" tablet before and the screen was not always bright enough. the samsung tab is plenty bright and i've gotten about 7 hours of use on a charge at the highest brightness level. for $129 plus a mount, it does a great job.

 

[Sidarousmg]

I got an old Amazon Fire tablet given to me. I am going to root it and run straight Android in it and only put the nav in it to see how it works.

the fire tablets unfortunately do not have GPS independent of wifi. you will need a tablet with a GPS signal to chart your location out on the water

 

[tabbibus]

i have a samsung A7 that i use for navigation/Navionics and i think it works great. i had another "off brand" tablet before and the screen was not always bright enough. the samsung tab is plenty bright and i've gotten about 7 hours of use on a charge at the highest brightness level. for $129 plus a mount, it does a great job.

how did you mount it

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

My girls have those. They are slow AF.

Agreed - I am going to see how it runs with pure android and all the BS bloatware removed.

I also have an old iPad mini that fits the bill. I set it years ago as in wall controls for the home, but voice has really taken that over.

 

[Sidarousmg]

how did you mount it

An articulating mount with a strong magnet. Added magnet on the back of the tablet case. Super easy to take off and put on since I don't always need it for navigation. Stays in place in chop. I also have a shorter non-articulating mount that can be easily swapped out. Both mounts use suction cups and have been on the boat since last year. They don't skip of unless I decide to remove them.

 

[tabbibus]

An articulating mount with a strong magnet. Added magnet on the back of the tablet case. Super easy to take off and put on since I don't always need it for navigation. Stays in place in chop. I also have a shorter non-articulating mount that can be easily swapped out. Both mounts use suction cups and have been on the boat since last year. They don't skip of unless I decide to remove them.

Funny. I think that is the exact case I just ordered. Do you happen to have links for the magnets and the mount?

 

[Sidarousmg]

Funny. I think that is the exact case I just ordered. Do you happen to have links for the magnets and the mount?

I can't find the link to the small mount, but this is the articulating mount that I use 90% if the time.
Magnetic Phone Car Mount, Panvox... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XD2HZQ5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[F.M.]

I used a Samsung Tab A with navionics before selling my boat. I deleted/disabled every so on it, so it wasn't slow and it was plenty bright enough. I still have it in a drawer in my desk to use on the next boat.

 

[212s]

Anyone using one of the budget tablets as a chart plotter on their boat? Would love to hear feedback regarding responsiveness and brightness.

Not a tablet but my S10+ didn't cut it and S8 before that was worse. Both were almost bright enough but glare was an issue, the screen size was too small and running the screen and GPS constantly really heats up the phone which throttles the CPU and frame rates drop off making it sluggish to use. It also sucks the battery so you would want a charging cable to run it. Most tablets are not as bright so I doubt it would be any better - tried my wife's A8 tablet and while it was fine just sitting under the bimini, it sucked when in the sun.

My boat has Maps built into the Connext and after updating it with Navionics data, it works well enough and is quite accurate compared to the app. But it means I lose the other screens for info, it's rather sluggish to respond, and with no "heads-up" rotation it's annoying to keep track of where we are on the map and heading.

So after playing with some chartplotters in the store, I ended up buying an Axiom 7 to put in the dash like several others here and it's MUCH better than any phone or tablet. Speed and accuracy is great, brightness is perfect in direct full sun (matte screen coating), it doesn't get too hot, it runs on the boat's electrical so no battery issues, and it means I can use my phone for other tasks like calls, texts, and music without losing charting info. It wasn't too difficult to install with a Dremel and it looks great almost matching the Connext screen (several people thought it was a factory option with the full digital dash):



If your boat has the 12" screen this may not be an option, but perhaps a Go5 might work - I think someone here used a Go5 in a 242. I wish I had bought the chartplotter sooner as it's a great addition to the dash and makes navigating in unknown waters much less stressful and it just looks like it belongs there.
?

 

[tabbibus]

Not a tablet but my S10+ didn't cut it and S8 before that was worse. Both were almost bright enough but glare was an issue, the screen size was too small and running the screen and GPS constantly really heats up the phone which throttles the CPU and frame rates drop off making it sluggish to use. It also sucks the battery so you would want a charging cable to run it. Most tablets are not as bright so I doubt it would be any better - tried my wife's A8 tablet and while it was fine just sitting under the bimini, it sucked when in the sun.

My boat has Maps built into the Connext and after updating it with Navionics data, it works well enough and is quite accurate compared to the app. But it means I lose the other screens for info, it's rather sluggish to respond, and with no "heads-up" rotation it's annoying to keep track of where we are on the map and heading.

So after playing with some chartplotters in the store, I ended up buying an Axiom 7 to put in the dash like several others here and it's MUCH better than any phone or tablet. Speed and accuracy is great, brightness is perfect in direct full sun (matte screen coating), it doesn't get too hot, it runs on the boat's electrical so no battery issues, and it means I can use my phone for other tasks like calls, texts, and music without losing charting info. It wasn't too difficult to install with a Dremel and it looks great almost matching the Connext screen (several people thought it was a factory option with the full digital dash):

View attachment 164050

If your boat has the 12" screen this may not be an option, but perhaps a Go5 might work - I think someone here used a Go5 in a 242. I wish I had bought the chartplotter sooner as it's a great addition to the dash and makes navigating in unknown waters much less stressful and it just looks like it belongs there.
?

Yes, I have the 12". I've considered the Go5 but I think it is too small. No doubt the best solution is a dedicated unit rather than a tablet, but also more $$$. I think eventually I'll migrate to a 7" unit on a mount.

 

[tabbibus]

This seems promising

 

[Sidarousmg]

This seems promising

View attachment 164111

you even got the same color case...