iPad mini 2, Nvidia Shield K1, or Nexus 7 2nd Gen?

[FlyingTwinkie]

Now that I know that my iPad 4th Gen isn't going to work, I'm looking for a dedicated tablet to use with my P3A. After trying to comb through the numerous threads, I've narrowed it down to these three. Which one should I get?

iPad mini 2 16GB WiFi/Cellular (Used) - $260
Nvidia Shield K1 (New) - $199
Nexus 7 from Google (7-inch, 16GB, Black) by ASUS (2013) Tablet (Used) - $115

Some people have commented that the DJIGo experience on iOS is superior, but I've not really seen any details about why this is so. Is it worth the extra $$ to get an iOS device and the iPad mini 2?

And, if not, then is the Nvidia Shield K1 worth the extra $$ for some reason? Quality of experience is important to me, as I would rather spend a little extra $$ than deal with frustrations from the tablet. Thoughts on the above? Or is there some other tablet I should consider within this price range that I've missed?

Cheers.

 

[msinger]

I own all three of those tablets and they all perform very well. None are a bad choice.

 

[Fat City]

I've been happy with the Nexus 7 2013. I did a quick check and you can get a new one for $127 from cell2get.com. I don't know them but they have a very good rating (9.05) at ResellerRatings. Not long ago the price was as low as $105.

 

[Travis726]

Im getting the shield mostly due to the hdmi out, and on board screen recording feature.

 

[Fat City]

Im getting the shield mostly due to the hdmi out, and on board screen recording feature.

All Android devices as of the Lollipop release on can record a video of their screen - there are free apps for that. The Shield's built-in HDMI out is a great feature, but I got a $7 SlimPort to HDMI adapter from ebay that works with my Nexus 7.

 

[stuartbp]

I use the Shield. No issues. I use a sun shade hood on bright days. There is also a micro SD card slot on the tablet itself which is nice. You can also optimize the apps so the GO app or whatever you are using to fly gets priority over everything else while it's running. I've never had so much as a hiccup in the video feed flying out as far as a mile so far. Smooth and probably the least delay of any device I've used...essentially none.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

DJI seems to design for iOS vs. Android devices. I am sure it is easier that way since Android devices are so fragmented. iOS devices seem to hold their resale value much better also.

 

[gkol]

I strongly recommend Shield K1.
1. You can buy it brand new in a very good price
2. It's super fast and worl very very well with go app
3. I has HDMI output
4. When you buy shield controller you can use it as game console

 

[Travis726]

All Android devices as of the Lollipop release on can record a video of their screen - there are free apps for that. The Shield's built-in HDMI out is a great feature, but I got a $7 SlimPort to HDMI adapter from ebay that works with my Nexus 7.

Im also have a couple hundred games on steam that I will be playing on it.

 

[Jtrjr]

Thoughts on the above? Or is there some other tablet I should consider within this price range that I've missed?

Twinkie,

Shield, hands down for me. Screen brightness could be better but that's it. Especially, if you want to run 3rd party apps like Litchi or UF. I use DJI Go for settings only, all of my flying is done with Litchi.

Jerry

 

[Sagebrush]

Prices on ebay for used iPad Mini 2 16gb cellular tablets are running a hundred bucks cheaper than your quote.

 

[Carloss66]

Here is my experience so far:
Nexus 7 - Ok device, light and thin. Not a really fast device but meets the current minimum requirements. You run out of memory fast if you cache video.
nVidia Shield K1 - Fantastic device, fast, HDMI out, but only 16 GB. Again you will run out of memory fast, but the Android 6.0 upgrade allows you to use a microSD card formatted as system memory. I added a 64 GB microSD and it became an 80 GB tablet. The tablet is light and has great sound since the speakers are facing the user. Unfortunately nVidia botched the Android 6.0 upgrade. They broke the compass on the device (there is a workaround) and also power management (no workaround). You will find the tablet runs out of battery overnight by doing nothing. nVidia support was not great when I reported the problems, so I returned the tablet to Amazon.
iPad Mini 2 16 GB WiFi/LTE - Not a bad device, worked well, but runs out of memory quickly. No barometer for Auto Pilot.
iPad Mini 4 64 GB WiFi/LTE - Another fantastic device. Thinner, lighter, and faster than the Mini 2. It has plenty of memory and CPU power, but it is expensive. The Mini 4 has a barometer and it is used by some features in Auto Pilot. So I settled for this device since I like Auto Pilot and now it can also run Litchi.

All the tablets can be visible in sunlight, but benefit from using a tablet hood. It looks like DJI develops for iOS first, and then for Android. The flight simulator in the DJI Go app is a good example; it came later to Android and it is useless when compared to the iOS version. Besides that, the DJI Go features are the same on both iOS and Android. Check third party apps like Auto Pilot (iOS only) and Litchi (both iOS and Android, but limited functionality on iOS) before you make your decision. I already owned the iPad Mini 2; AT&T sold it to me for $50 when I got my iPhone 6s. I sold the Mini 2 on eBay for over $200 and bought the Mini 4 when Best Buy had a $100 discount on them.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

These are the DJI officially supported devices...

• iOS: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular. This app is optimized for iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.

• Android: Samsung tabs 705c, Samsung S6, Samsung S5, Samsung NOTE4, Samsung NOTE3, Google Nexus 9, Google Nexus 7 II, Ascend Mate7, Huawei P8 Max, Nubia Z7 mini, Sony Xperia Z3, MI 3, MI PAD, Smartisan T1.

*Support for additional Android devices available as testing and development continues.

 

[PinnacleRun]

Twinkie- the 4th gen iPad won't work, why? I'm saving up for mini 4 to dedicate only to my 3a, will this one work? Don't want to drop a ton $$ to find out it doesn't work with go app


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[JerichoVirus]

Here is my experience so far:
Nexus 7 - Ok device, light and thin. Not a really fast device but meets the current minimum requirements. You run out of memory fast if you cache video.
nVidia Shield K1 - Fantastic device, fast, HDMI out, but only 16 GB. Again you will run out of memory fast, but the Android 6.0 upgrade allows you to use a microSD card formatted as system memory. I added a 64 GB microSD and it became an 80 GB tablet. The tablet is light and has great sound since the speakers are facing the user. Unfortunately nVidia botched the Android 6.0 upgrade. They broke the compass on the device (there is a workaround) and also power management (no workaround). You will find the tablet runs out of battery overnight by doing nothing. nVidia support was not great when I reported the problems, so I returned the tablet to Amazon.
iPad Mini 2 16 GB WiFi/LTE - Not a bad device, worked well, but runs out of memory quickly. No barometer for Auto Pilot.
iPad Mini 4 64 GB WiFi/LTE - Another fantastic device. Thinner, lighter, and faster than the Mini 2. It has plenty of memory and CPU power, but it is expensive. The Mini 4 has a barometer and it is used by some features in Auto Pilot. So I settled for this device since I like Auto Pilot and now it can also run Litchi.

All the tablets can be visible in sunlight, but benefit from using a tablet hood. It looks like DJI develops for iOS first, and then for Android. The flight simulator in the DJI Go app is a good example; it came later to Android and it is useless when compared to the iOS version. Besides that, the DJI Go features are the same on both iOS and Android. Check third party apps like Auto Pilot (iOS only) and Litchi (both iOS and Android, but limited functionality on iOS) before you make your decision. I already owned the iPad Mini 2; AT&T sold it to me for $50 when I got my iPhone 6s. I sold the Mini 2 on eBay for over $200 and bought the Mini 4 when Best Buy had a $100 discount on them.

Awesome-Glad I just bought the iPad mini 4 LTE from Verizon for $329. Will arrive on Friday. I have used the following and all work great but wanted something dedicated for the bird:

Note 5, works flawless and awesome bright screen. iPad Mini 2-great but had to link through Bluetooth since I did not cache the maps. Ipad Air 1 , another great device but too big. And finally, got the nexus 7-great but a bit of lag.

 

[JerichoVirus]

Twinkie- the 4th gen iPad won't work, why? I'm saving up for mini 4 to dedicate only to my 3a, will this one work? Don't want to drop a ton $$ to find out it doesn't work with go app


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

I think he is talking about the IPAD 4th gen before they switched to the ipad air and Ipad Mini.

 

[FlyingTwinkie]

Twinkie- the 4th gen iPad won't work, why? I'm saving up for mini 4 to dedicate only to my 3a, will this one work? Don't want to drop a ton $$ to find out it doesn't work with go app


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

I have an iPad 4th Generation, not an iPad mini 4. The iPad mini 4, I'm told, is still just fine.

 

[PinnacleRun]

Thanks for clarifying, that's why I make this my only forum! To s of good info, feedback and comments. The iPad mini 4 should work though??


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Thanks for clarifying, that's why I make this my only forum! To s of good info, feedback and comments. The iPad mini 4 should work though??


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Check out the post I made, #13, it list them all. There are only 'Air' models for the full size iPad so that was about late 2013 and up.

 

[FlyingTwinkie]

Here is my experience so far:
Nexus 7 - Ok device, light and thin. Not a really fast device but meets the current minimum requirements. You run out of memory fast if you cache video.
nVidia Shield K1 - Fantastic device, fast, HDMI out, but only 16 GB. Again you will run out of memory fast, but the Android 6.0 upgrade allows you to use a microSD card formatted as system memory. I added a 64 GB microSD and it became an 80 GB tablet. The tablet is light and has great sound since the speakers are facing the user. Unfortunately nVidia botched the Android 6.0 upgrade. They broke the compass on the device (there is a workaround) and also power management (no workaround). You will find the tablet runs out of battery overnight by doing nothing. nVidia support was not great when I reported the problems, so I returned the tablet to Amazon.
iPad Mini 2 16 GB WiFi/LTE - Not a bad device, worked well, but runs out of memory quickly. No barometer for Auto Pilot.
iPad Mini 4 64 GB WiFi/LTE - Another fantastic device. Thinner, lighter, and faster than the Mini 2. It has plenty of memory and CPU power, but it is expensive. The Mini 4 has a barometer and it is used by some features in Auto Pilot. So I settled for this device since I like Auto Pilot and now it can also run Litchi.

All the tablets can be visible in sunlight, but benefit from using a tablet hood. It looks like DJI develops for iOS first, and then for Android. The flight simulator in the DJI Go app is a good example; it came later to Android and it is useless when compared to the iOS version. Besides that, the DJI Go features are the same on both iOS and Android. Check third party apps like Auto Pilot (iOS only) and Litchi (both iOS and Android, but limited functionality on iOS) before you make your decision. I already owned the iPad Mini 2; AT&T sold it to me for $50 when I got my iPhone 6s. I sold the Mini 2 on eBay for over $200 and bought the Mini 4 when Best Buy had a $100 discount on them.

Do you happen to know if you can manually set the barometer, perhaps in a way similar to how you set the altimeter on an aeroplane using the current weather information from a local airport?