GPS Tablet

I have been using an old 7" Samsung tablet as GPS for a long time. Then I was looking at the Zumo 660. I wasn't impressed, as once I go tablet I can't go back So I got another brand new 7" Samsung Tab 4, for US$130 shipped. Here is a pic of how it looks like on the FJR and next to it is my really old Garmin C550 for comparison. They are showing the same area and you can see how much more the tablet showed.

For me:

- The resolution of the tablet is 1280x800, which is 780 % more pixels than a Zumo 660's 480x272 (which is Palm pilot era resolution .

- I'm using CoPilot and also Mapfactor's Navigator (which is 100% free if you use Open Street Maps).

Navigator lets me change any color of every single line or area in the map and that makes it extremely flexible in term of visibility. If I don't like the graphics of any of them, there are another couple of dozens GPS map to choose from CoPilot and Navigator store complete offline maps on the tablet and they don't need any data network.

- On my daily commute and passing urban areas, my tablet connects to my smartphone in my pocket, using it as a Wifi hot spot to get on the net and runs Waze to warn me traffic and road accidents.

- With a quad-processor, lock on to GPS is almost instantaneous, even indoor. THe graphics was fast and smooth.

- I could plan complex routes on google maps then export them all to coPilot.

- Navigator has street maps for most countries in the world for free.

- The new samsung tablet works ok with my gloves now.

- I don't ride in the rain so I don't need waterproof. Beside, my old Samsung tablet did get rain on it a few times and as long as it was off. Everything was fine. At least mine was.

- I don't need "fuel spill proof". My old tablet sitting on top of my tank and fuel never made it into a blob of plastic. It has a real glass screen and at onlyi $130 a pop, it's kind of disposable even if it turned into a blob of plastic.

Just want to share my own experience with something that worked for me.

I'll need to digest this a bit, but it seems like a re-hash on the tablet-based cockpit concept discussed a year ago ....

It's interesting to me because I am not confident in Garmin's route selection algorithms. As an example, during a 800-mile weekend last month, the Garmin TWICE directed me to exit the freeway, then go straight across and get back on. WTF??? Under what selection criteria would that be a better route?

Another reason to jettison my Garmin is the ease of using Google Maps to prepare routes vs BaseCamp. To be fair, I've not really put in the effort to master BaseCamp, but Google is intuitive and I've gotten rather adept at using it.

Of course, the limitation of Google is cellular reception, while the Garmin uses GPS satellites which are available anywhere you have a clear view of the sky.

Whenever I hear comments like Uncle Hud's re Garmin GPS

I can't help but think if a little time was spent with the operator's

manual setting up rider preferences that incidents like his would

be greatly reduced. Garmin's algorithm is adaptive and can be

"tweaked" to rider preferences by selecting custom settings

instead of relying on defaults.

His example of exit and re-enter occurred because it defaulted

to "shortest distance" without any other considerations.

I've setup mine to favor tertiary roads and avoid highways most

of the time. Like any device, it's only as good as the operator.

Like my wallet, phone and sunglasses I never leave home

without my GPS, but I don't blame it for my errors.

Thanks, SLK50, but I tweak all my settings (constantly shift yes/no with Settings - Navigation - Avoidance - Highways) and have always used "shortest time". Unfortunately, I can't tell Garmin that I ride 10-over on freeways, which would really customize the route selection for me and make "shortest time" more accurate.

Under no circumstances can I see the freeway exit/enter dance as a preferred route.

It is never the shortest distance route, since it involves diverging and converging ramps -- two legs of a triangle with "staying on the freeway" as the third leg. And, as I learned in 7th grade geometry, any two legs of a triangle will always be longer than the third leg.

It is never the shortest time route. In every case it will involve slowing down, to a stop sign or traffic signal, and if the signal is red, you just bought more stopped time. (One exception: freeway operating at zero mph due to crash or construction snafu.)

No, any error on my part is blind faith in my Garmin. While she always gets me there, it's often in a convoluted manner.

Try it yourself: set a Google route to minimize time/distance, run the route with Spotwalla tracking, and compare the Google route vs the Garmin route (as recorded by Spotwalla). There are differences that make me wonder.

The Garmin aftermarket units are a LOT better than the OEM units in Toyotas. Those are horrid.

When I bought my Zumo 550 in 2007, I used it to find the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. I gave it the coordinates of the Hall of Fame, and it took me on the interstate. As I drove by the Hall of fame, it instructed me to "turn right" when I came in line with it. Of course there was no road, no exit, and no way to do this without jumping the guard rail.

The greatest use for GPS is to see what route it recommends for you and then choose a different route. You know that the GPS is going to put you on the same path as all the other folks who are using one. Better to know which routes to avoid.

I use my cell phone in the same manner,

But I like your set-up better, because of the bigger screen!

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Uncle Hud" data-cid="1296662" data-time="1458505091"><p>

Of course, the limitation of Google is cellular reception, while the Garmin uses GPS satellites which are available anywhere you have a clear view of the sky.</p></blockquote>

H

You should be able to download an area or areas with Google Maps thereby allowing use without cellular data.

I gave this a try with a samsung galaxy tab 3 lite. It was very slow to acquire a GPS signal and the Co-Pilot did not run that well. My iphone 6s arrived shortly after and I am running waze on that. In the end my zumo 550 is the item I use the most for navigation on the bike.

Uncle Hud said:

Thanks, SLK50, but I tweak all my settings (constantly shift yes/no with Settings - Navigation - Avoidance - Highways) and have always used "shortest time". Unfortunately, I can't tell Garmin that I ride 10-over on freeways, which would really customize the route selection for me and make "shortest time" more accurate.
Under no circumstances can I see the freeway exit/enter dance as a preferred route.

It is never the shortest distance route, since it involves diverging and converging ramps -- two legs of a triangle with "staying on the freeway" as the third leg. And, as I learned in 7th grade geometry, any two legs of a triangle will always be longer than the third leg.

It is always the longest time. In every case it will involve slowing down, to a stop sign or traffic signal, and if the signal is red, you just bought more stopped time. (One exception: freeway operating at zero mph due to crash or construction snafu.)

No, any error on my part is blind faith in my Garmin. While she always gets me there, it's often in a convoluted manner.

Try it yourself: set a Google route to minimize time/distance, run the route with Spotwalla tracking, and compare the Google route vs the Garmin route (as recorded by Spotwalla). There are differences that make me wonder.

Click to expand...

Curious... The only time I've had my Garmin nuvi do this is when I selected the intersection as a via point and the "routing algorithm" decided that under the bridge was the exact point I had to be at. This is when I learned to zoom all the way in on the route and make sure the point is on the road- even slightly off and you get directed to where you don't want to go- and to never pick intersections as points.

To date, I've only used the Garmin to go to a single point: BMR bonus location, meetup spot for rbentnail's RTE&L ride, griff's Tech Day, etc. Once I get conversant with BaseCamp, I'll be the "route selection algorithm", and my Zumo 660 will just parrot back the route I've already dictated.

Uncle Hud said:

Once I get conversant with BaseCamp,

Click to expand...

Just do it!! Do the tutorial thing and with a little practice and some tips here and there you'll be an algorithm in no time!

SLK50 said:

Whenever I hear comments like Uncle Hud's re Garmin GPSI can't help but think if a little time was spent with the operator's

manual setting up rider preferences that incidents like his would

be greatly reduced. Garmin's algorithm is adaptive and can be

"tweaked" to rider preferences by selecting custom settings

instead of relying on defaults.

His example of exit and re-enter occurred because it defaulted

to "shortest distance" without any other considerations.

I've setup mine to favor tertiary roads and avoid highways most

of the time. Like any device, it's only as good as the operator.

Like my wallet, phone and sunglasses I never leave home

without my GPS, but I don't blame it for my errors.

Click to expand...

Sorry but as a Garmin customer since the 90's, using marine, aviation, car, and motorcycle units, I can tell you that it's probably NOT user error. My 665 does the same crappy routing, off and back on major highways. It's a Garmin error. I am no expert on the 665, but I sure as hell ain't no newbie after this many years and literally dozens of GPS units.

I predict that a device, dedicated to a single purpose, will go the way of the Dodo bird.

mikerider said:

....
- The new samsung tablet works ok with my gloves now.

....

Click to expand...

Can you expand on this please.

FredandJeannesRacer said:

I predict that a device, dedicated to a single purpose, will go the way of the Dodo bird.

Click to expand...

Maybe some day but not right now I hope. It's just that I'm so easily confused by being forced to multitask, I'd rather do one thing thoroughly than all things half-assed.

Mossyrocks13k said:

mikerider said:

....
- The new samsung tablet works ok with my gloves now.

....

Click to expand...

Can you expand on this please.

Click to expand...

The old tablet did not take any touch from my gloved fingers. The new Tab 4 could take button press and sliding, but not pinch zoom.

That's good enough for me.

The screen is so much brighter that I could see in sunny days with my eyeglasses on.

I'm pretty set on the following apps:

- Waze (free) for daily commute to see police/traffic/accident/road hazards ahead. Need data network.

- CoPilot ($7.99) for longer trip that I plot/export from Google map. Offline maps. No data network required.

- Mapfactor Navigator (free), because the app and all street maps in the world are 100% free. Offline maps. No data network required

- Sigic's Speed Limit ($10) to show speed limit and warning for every streets in the US. No data network required.

I was the first nutjob on this forum to do this, maybe about 4 years ago now (with Co-Pilot, pre-loaded tiles).

I was called crazy, still am!

Here was my home-made mount (stem mounted)

BTW, held up through rain. My theory was that if it didn't? It was only 200 bucks to replace (vs. the 600+ for the Garmin waterproofs)

The resolution was much better than the Garmin. I liked the setup, it never let me down.