Introducing Crystalsky, the new DJI tablet and best friend for your Phantom

[Curt]

What a load of nonsense! How does the presence of invisible, not-running apps on your fully capable tablet "interfere" with drone operations?

The Chrystal Sky is not a tablet this is a monitor that is dedicated to the operation of a "DJI drone" !

 

[OOO]

What a load of nonsense! How does the presence of invisible, not-running apps on your fully capable tablet "interfere" with drone operations?

I have P4P+ and still need sun hood. iPad mini 4 + sun hood is the best solution for me.

 

[David Rodwell]

It surprises me that no one offers a super bright daylight friendly tablet. Most are useless outside or even in a vehicle during the day.

Surely there is some demand. As far as my flying is concerned, it would be the single greatest improvement possible.

There must be some battery life, screen pixel or other $$$ limitation going on here.

 

[OOO]

It surprises me that no one offers a super bright daylight friendly tablet. Most are useless outside or even in a vehicle during the day.

Surely there is some demand. As far as my flying is concerned, it would be the single greatest improvement possible.

There must be some battery life, screen pixel or other $$$ limitation going on here.

Nothing is brighter than the Sun. Most of the time it is still necessary to use a sun hood even with brightest screen on the market (P4P+ screen). Thus, brightness is not the only parameter and a working tablet + a good sun hood are currently the best option for me.

 

[Chesapeake]

Of course it was showcased at CES2017 in Las Vegas. We had not heard about it since. Some of us may of forgotten about it. However, the FCC is another story. Fortunately, a release date is right around the corner.

I haven't forgotten. I've been waiting for for something a lot more user friendly. I don't like buying someone elses mistakes

 

[David Rodwell]

Nothing is brighter than the Sun. Most of the time it is still necessary to use a sun hood even with brightest screen on the market (P4P+ screen). Thus, brightness is not the only parameter and a working tablet + a good sun hood are currently the best option for me.

As a Commercial Pilot, we use them in the airplane cockpit panel all the time...and they have to be bright enough to bee clearly seen even in direct sunlight. Garmin makes most of the ones I fly. And we are even closer to the sun than most drone pilots!

 

[David Rodwell]

How about the goggles??

 

[CCrew]

No more clutter of none dji apps to corrupt and interfere with the peaceful coexistence of drone and monitor.

Or you could do what I do and take a dedicated iPad Mini 4 and uninstall everything and just install the software you want. But I can run Litchi and other third party apps - if I want. You're still stuck with DJI.

 

[GadgetGuy]

If you buy the CrystalSky monitor, you are stuck with Android. DJI has proven that they cannot even create a reliable, dedicated Android app for their own hardware on the P4P+. End of any interest for me. DJI's iOS version has always been better and more reliable from Day 1. Nothing has changed. Buy a larger iPad Pro 9.7" instead!

 

[BigAl07]

Come on now gang. Some of the remarks in here are getting out of hand and borderline personal. Let's play nice or move along to somewhere else.

 

[BigAl07]

Or you could do what I do and take a dedicated iPad Mini 4 and uninstall everything and just install the software you want. But I can run Litchi and other third party apps - if I want. You're still stuck with DJI.

That's exactly what I've done as well only on an old Mini-2 iPad. It works flawlessly but could use a much brighter screen. It's probably time to upgrade to a new iPad.

 

[JB63]

Not sure I follow. I have several 'generations' of iPads ... and have not noticed any improvement in brightness.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Not sure I follow. I have several 'generations' of iPads ... and have not noticed any improvement in brightness.

The Mini 4 and iPadPro are brighter than their predecessors, approaching 500 nits, which is more than adequate, especially if flying from any shaded area, or under an umbrella. You can always throw black cloth over your head for perfect shading. Worked for all the photographers last century behind large format cameras!

 

[Roadking]

I use a dedicated iPad Pro 9". As bright as it gets.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I use a dedicated iPad Pro 9". As bright as it gets.

Yup, that's my dedicated DJI tablet, too! It's actually 9.7". Even works with the Mavic Pro with one of the aftermarket tablet holders, and you can view the FPV full screen on the 9.7" iPad Pro by swiping up, while keeping all the telemetry exclusively on the Mavic remote, where it is even visible in direct sunlight.

 

[gwilson001]

People wake up and smell the roses. The Chrystal Sky monitor is just what it is, it's a monitor for use with your DJI drone. This monitor is not packed with other apps and their is no way to input other apps to my knowledge. I can't wait to be on the list to buy one for my inspire 2. This monitor is going to make my life with my drone so much easier. No more clutter of none dji apps to corrupt and interfere with the peaceful coexistence of drone and monitor. There is no doubt in my mind that some will try to hack this equipment and we'll hear the horror stories of their endeavors. I guess that what this forum is all about.
Can't wait and happy flying.

I completely agree that a dedicated monitor is the best way to go. I have tablets to run all the other apps I want but those tablets sometimes have or create conflicts with DJI GO. I've been thinking of buying a tablet just to use with my P3P, strip out all but the most essential software and use it only for the drone. But this solution is exactly what is needed. I'm particularly excited about a brighter screen as it's so hard to see the screen of a typical iPad or Android device in anything but a very shady area - a little sun and it's pretty much game over with those devices. I can't wait for this to become available. Hopefully they won't think that it should sell at iPad prices!

 

[gwilson001]

What a load of nonsense! How does the presence of invisible, not-running apps on your fully capable tablet "interfere" with drone operations?

A lot of apps have processes that run in the background. The only way to really be sure they are not running (on Android) is to do into the settings and force shutdown. Otherwise there will be processes running that start with the tablet startup. Apps are really never truly shut down unless you do a forced shutdown. Maybe not all apps but a significant number of them work this way. It is done so that the app can startup faster when you tap the icon.

It's the system resources that are consumed by these background processes that are the issue.

 

[gwilson001]

What does this offer that the (almost) ubiquitous iPad doesn't have? Can it run myriad other apps?

Again, it's not a tablet - it's not intended to run your other apps. It is not meant to be a replacement for your tablet - just a replacement for your tablet when using it with your drone. I see nothing but upside in this.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Everyone is forgetting that in order to use this CrytalSky tablet, you must use a dedicated version of Android DJI GO 4 created for the CrystalSky monitor. DJI has proven that their Android programmers are not up to the task, with the P4P+. It has been a disaster since Day 1. Even now, the finally updated P4P+ version of the app still crashes, while I have never had a crash on the P4P on iOS. Think twice before you leap into this Android pit, just for a slightly brighter screen that will never be as large as a 9.7" iPadPro. Largest size is still 7.85". Extra weight from an internal battery, and a thick screen to support the HDMI port, and no ability to run any third party SDK! Beware!

 

[skellyrocker]

What are people using iPad pros mounting them on for viewing while flying?