Google Nexus 7 tablet

troyboy162

Adventurer
I loaded BCN on my friends nexus 7 and its great! The higher screen resolution means it shows more map then a phones screen at a given view level. The only thing I have seen with it is the nexus screen is not that bright compared to most phones. The nexus looks ideal for off-road nav, but the screen brightness is a concern for me. A little research shows its as good or better in raw brightness then any other 7" tablet. To get a bright screen you have to move up to the 10.1" (too big) tablets and to much higher price ranges.

My phones screen is roughly twice the brightness of the nexus 7...bums me out but I dont want a giant 10.1 cluttering up the truck.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
I loaded BCN on my friends nexus 7 and its great! The higher screen resolution means it shows more map then a phones screen at a given view level. The only thing I have seen with it is the nexus screen is not that bright compared to most phones. The nexus looks ideal for off-road nav, but the screen brightness is a concern for me. A little research shows its as good or better in raw brightness then any other 7" tablet. To get a bright screen you have to move up to the 10.1" (too big) tablets and to much higher price ranges.

My phones screen is roughly twice the brightness of the nexus 7...bums me out but I dont want a giant 10.1 cluttering up the truck.

I had a similar problem with my Toshiba Thrive 10". Just too dark. Try downloading a brightness widget and set it to full blast. Seemed to cure my issues I had.
 

AsltPnr54

New member
This looks like the solution for me also, the Nexus is the right size and price point. I was just concerned the Topo support would not be good. Google Earth seems to now have a "navigate off-line" feature for the mobile apps which could work well to augment the topos with imagery but I am not sure what it eats up for storage to do so. The Nexus has no slot for a 32GB micro SD right?
 

Sawyer

Adventurer
If storage space is a concern (as it is with some ipad users as well)... you could look into one of the wireless hard drive systems available. Throw it in your glove box and have the Nexus connect via a wireless network and you are set! This is what I am planning to do...
 

zeroland

Adventurer
Any recommendations for a vehicle 12v car charger?
I have tried 2 different 2.1A rated USB charges. Both fail to charge and only manage to sustain the battery. I attempted charging when powered off but could not verify after 2 hours if it worked.

I will test sleep mode (screen off) but ideally want one that works without using an inverter.

My GPS App testing continues. Currently my favorite two apps are Maverick and OruxMaps. Read http://overland-live.blogspot.com

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 

kbeefy

Adventurer
I got this one and measured it at 1800mAh in a non running car, might charge higher with alternator voltage. Should be enough to run the gps, screen and leave some charge current.

My phone charger only measured at about 500 mAh.


Shoot... lost my link??
 
Last edited:

Seeker

Adventurer
That appears accurate - from Table 5-2 inside Battery Charging Spec v1.2 at this link - http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs - the maximum current when connected to a standard downstream port is 500mA. That will be the same for any and all USB-compliant charging devices. If the charger is connected to a "dedicated charging port" then the current may be as high as 5A, but on a tablet or phone, you're connecting to a standard downstream port.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
October certainly is the month for new product announcements. First Apple on the 23rd, then Microsoft on the 26th, and now Google on the 29th.

Rumor has it that Google will announce memory increases for the Nexus 7 tablet. Today, the $199 base model has 8 GB of flash memory. That will likely increase to 16 GB. The $249 Model will jump from 16 to 32 GB. Other rumors say Google will announce Nexus models with cellular modems on board.

In this scenario, it's unclear what happens to the 8GB Nexus 7. Google might keep it in the lineup at a lower price, say $149. That would be a good deal for a tablet with GPS capability.

The other item for the Oct 29 meeting will be the announcement of a new Nexus phone. It's a model from LG with a 4.7 inch screen and LTE service.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
I think the smaller iPad will follow the path of the original iPad, and have GPS only in the models that have a 3G/4G cellular modem on board. 9to5Mac.com is predicting the 16 GB small iPad with WiFi only will cost $329, just a little more expensive than the new iPod Touch with 32 GB.

A smaller tablet will be carried outside, away from WiFi, more often than the current iPad. So having GPS to help guide the way (even if it's by Apple's much maligned Maps program) would be a plus.

All will be revealed next Tuesday.

Competitor tablets Google Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 both have GPS in all models. Amazon has lowered the price of the 8GB Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 from $249 to $199.
 

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