Tablet vs. phone, tablet recommendations

[grizgrin]

Hello all. Soon to be new P4 owner here, gearing up for use. Two questions for y'all here.

1. Tablet vs. phone: Short of possible battery life issues with tablets, what advantages could a phone have over a tablet? I see some folks on here using phones, and with the comparatively smaller screens I would say that it sounds like it neuters the experience.

2. Tablet recommendations: I have read that the DJI equipment is designed to work best with iProducts, however are there any real issues with Android use? I Android myself. Would any problems arise down the road doing post-processing of video and stills? I am looking at other Samsung products as well. Anyone ever use a Samsung TabPro S, a View, or a Tab S? How did it work?

Thanks.,

 

[Yiannis.B]

....I have read that the DJI equipment is designed to work best with iProducts,....

Just a color match.

 

[MPPilot]

Hello all. Soon to be new P4 owner here, gearing up for use. Two questions for y'all here.

1. Tablet vs. phone: Short of possible battery life issues with tablets, what advantages could a phone have over a tablet? I see some folks on here using phones, and with the comparatively smaller screens I would say that it sounds like it neuters the experience.

2. Tablet recommendations: I have read that the DJI equipment is designed to work best with iProducts, however are there any real issues with Android use? I Android myself. Would any problems arise down the road doing post-processing of video and stills? I am looking at other Samsung products as well. Anyone ever use a Samsung TabPro S, a View, or a Tab S? How did it work?

Thanks.,

I generally use an iPad Air 2, but I have used a Samsung Galaxy Tab S (8.4" version). The second edition of the S has a lower quality screen than the first edition. I have never tried the Tab Pro S. Regardless of what you are using, if outside in the sun get a hood for the device, daylight washing everything out.

Video is kept on the SD card in the aircraft so there is no issues with editing unless you are solely using the built-in editing features. I prefer external editing.

 

[msinger]

I prefer to use a tablet since it allows for a much larger camera view, but I sometimes use my iPhone because it's more convenient to carry with me.

You can find a list of recommended and commonly used phones/tablets here. I personally like to use an iPad Mini 4 (when I need an Apple device) or an Nvidia Shield K1 or Google Nexus 7 (2013) (when I need an Android device).

 

[Meta4]

I have read that the DJI equipment is designed to work best with iProducts

I think that's a popular misconception.
DJI Go app runs perfectly on Android as well.

are there any real issues with Android use? I Android myself. Would any problems arise down the road doing post-processing of video and stills? I am looking at other Samsung products as well. Anyone ever use a Samsung TabPro S, a View, or a Tab S? How did it work?

Whether you use Android or Apple products makes no difference to the images which are recorded directly by the camera to a microSD card completely independent of the operating system on your viewing device.

 

[Reed L]

Androids work great, here's a couple android videos for comparrison -

Honestly, I love the Nvidia Shield K1, and it has wifi but the Ellipsis 10 has the big screen and 4G which really makes a big difference over any wifi only tablet. I mean, I use the Ellipsis 10's 4G to load the maps on the Shield, so I have both with me anyway. A Shield with 4G would win out with me because the screen and size is nice. The little bit larger screen with the 10" over the 8" really isn't needed but it is nice. Watch the first video and you can see the differences, I'm glad that I have 2, 1 for each of my birds. I've been looking at an 18" tablet and that really shows some promise

 

[grizgrin]

... I personally like to use an iPad Mini 4 (when I need an Apple device) or an Nvidia Shield K1 or Google Nexus 7 (2013) (when I need an Android device).

At what times would you need Apple over Android, or vice versa? Thanks.

 

[msinger]

At what times would you need Apple over Android, or vice versa?

I use both when testing software (like Litchi) on different operating systems to compare them. And, some 3rd party apps are not available for both Apple and Android devices. DJI GO works well on either type of device.

 

[grizgrin]

.... I've been looking at an 18" tablet and that really shows some promise

You mean the Samsung View? I am considering that too. What a beast!

 

[Reed L]

You mean the Samsung View? I am considering that too. What a beast!

Yea, my friend has one, I'm gunna hafta try it hehe

 

[grizgrin]

Yea, my friend has one, I'm gunna hafta try it hehe

Are there any chances of it actually not working well? It's not on the approved list, but Dat Screen!

 

[grizgrin]

wow, thats a 6 pound tblet. next.

 

[BenDronePilot]

Hello all. Soon to be new P4 owner here, gearing up for use. Two questions for y'all here.

1. Tablet vs. phone: Short of possible battery life issues with tablets, what advantages could a phone have over a tablet? I see some folks on here using phones, and with the comparatively smaller screens I would say that it sounds like it neuters the experience.

2. Tablet recommendations: I have read that the DJI equipment is designed to work best with iProducts, however are there any real issues with Android use? I Android myself. Would any problems arise down the road doing post-processing of video and stills? I am looking at other Samsung products as well. Anyone ever use a Samsung TabPro S, a View, or a Tab S? How did it work?

Thanks.,

The downside of using a tablet vs phone is that you need to cache your maps on the tablet while you have a data connection, that or cell / data service on your tablet. That's literally the only downside of tablet use. Just make sure you're using a tablet that has built in GPS or you will be loosing some of the auto tracking features. Note only cellular versions of iPads have GPS in them.

The upside to using a tablet is a much more satisfying FPV experience. It's easier to see what is happening and navigate the app while flying.

The best experience can be had on an iDevice as they tend to be the most reliable. And if you're using he DJI Go app and want the simulator function it's only available on iOS. iPad Air 2 or Pro will give you the best possible experience with the iPad mini 4 being a runner up and easier to walk around with.

You will be fine though using android devices, there were some crashing issues early on but I think those have been resolved at this point. The overall FPV experience will be the same just make sure you're running on a well speced phone or tablet.

 

[BenDronePilot]

At what times would you need Apple over Android, or vice versa? Thanks.

When you want to use the simulator as its only available on the iOS version of the DJI GO app.

 

[grizgrin]

... I prefer external editing.

What do you edit on?

 

[MPPilot]

Right now

What do you edit on?

Right now a MacBook Pro running DaVinci Resolve 12.5. Thinking of building an editing PC with a lot more power and storage. Resolve is FREE and runs on Mac, PC, and Linux.

 

[Reed L]

Are there any chances of it actually not working well? It's not on the approved list, but Dat Screen!

You never know until you try. Basically Android is Android and it's what's inside the tablet that counts. My Ellipsis 10 isn't on the list and it works great. The approved list has a lot of minimum requirement machines, so if your machine is for gaming or a high end machine, the only way to find out is to try it The 18" will have to mount on the tripod but that's easy enough, I've shot 100's of movies that still need to be edited... hehe

 

[JAAir]

I was using the S2 9.7 and had issues connecting and also updating. Samsung S2 can't connect
Got an iPad Air 2, works seamlessly out of the box.
Always used android until this time, so no affiliations for me.
Not saying the same for everybody but this has been my experience.

 

[Dirty Bird]

The simulator is in the Android version also.

When you want to use the simulator as its only available on the iOS version of the DJI GO app.