Tablets and phones that work well with DJI GO

I do not currently own any of these devices. Am I understanding this correctly.....if I purchase a cellular model, I do NOT have to subscribe to cellular service in order to have 100% operational capability of a new Phantom 3 Professional (and camera)?
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 also works great. I also have a Tab 4 and, based on my experience, it performs poorly and is not powerful enough for Phantom 3 and DJI Go.
 
Oh really?? So I don't "have" to buy a cellular iPad then?

You can always get maps onsite by tethering phone to iPad or cache the maps with wifi before going to flying site. But you might need gps on iPad if you want to switch home position with your position. Also I'm not sure if you need gps on iPad for radar position.

If choice is given to me, I will go for iPad or any other tablet with gps.
 
I do not currently own any of these devices. Am I understanding this correctly.....if I purchase a cellular model, I do NOT have to subscribe to cellular service in order to have 100% operational capability of a new Phantom 3 Professional (and camera) with the DJI APP? I am new to Drones and Smart Phones/tablets. I will purchase a smart phone or tablet only for the purpose of using my new Phantom 3. I hope not to have to subscribe to cell service with it. I hope it will support the DJI APP as a stand alone device.
 
You don't need cellular other than as one option to access local maps on site. You need GPS for Phantom to know where you are (ground station). The GS location is needed for some advanced functions but not basic flying. The Phantom has its own GPS so it usually knows where it is and where it took off from. Some people think iPad is better, some of us think android is better. That part is probably more related to whether you prefer Android or IOS for general, every day. It is important to get a tablet with good, powerful processor capability or it could lag and freeze. For the most part, it seems that most people who go low end seem to eventually go back for something higher.
 
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Apple iPads come in either a wifi only version or a wifi + cellular enabled version. Your Phantom has GPS to know where it is and to set the home point for RTH, so you can fly your Phantom with either version. Some optional features require GPS at your RC (controller) so that your RC location is also known. Wifi only iPads are NOT GPS enabled and there's no crowd sourced location data accurate enough to allow the use of the optional features. However, phones, cellular enabled iPads, and most Android tablets DO have GPS that can be used for those optional features. A data plan is not required if you go with a cellular enabled iPad.

Take a look at this high level overview of different options when using a P3P or a P3A and the GO app with an iPad. This info does not always apply to the other models of P3.

Please let me know if I have inadvertently misrepresented or omitted something.

[JAN 13, 2016]
A new thing to consider is if you will want internet access in the field so that you can instantly unlock self authorization zones in the GEO system from DJI. Without internet access in the field, you may need to plan ahead and unlock self authorization zones in advance if your country has or is getting GEO and you are impacted by one of the zones. This is similar to how you might plan ahead to cache maps in advance. Keep this in mind when considering which device to buy.

[May 30, 2017] Flight restrictions with new app installs or if logged out of app. A new thing to consider is the recent change implemented by DJI which requires you to login to newer versions of the GO app to complete an "application activation process" or your flights will be drastically limited in altitude and distance. This login is supposed to a one time only thing. You can plan ahead and do this one time login before leaving to fly (similar to caching maps), but if you happen to find yourself in an area without internet access when a login is required, you will not be able to remove the restrictions until you do get access to the internet and login. For example, this can be by moving to a location with internet access, or by tethering to a device that has internet access. Just something to keep this in mind when considering which device to buy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scenarios below assume:
Wifi access is not available at your field location.
Cellular (data) access is available at your field location.

Wifi only iPad (no internet access in the field)

* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* No Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING (this is different than FPV)
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can not manually change home point to RC location.

Wifi only iPad (tethered for internet)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can access new maps in the field if desired
* Can remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* No Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* Can use LIVE STREAMING, but likely not well.
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can not manually change home point to RC location.

Wifi only iPad with an external GPS
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

Wifi only iPad with an external GPS (tethered for internet)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can access new maps in the field if desired
* Can remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* Can use LIVE STREAMING, but likely not well.
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

Cellular iPad with no data plan
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

Cellular iPad (no data plan, tethered for internet)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can access new maps in the field if desired
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* Can use LIVE STREAMING, but likely not well.
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

Cellular iPad (with data plan)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can access new maps in the field if desired
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* Can use LIVE STREAMING
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scenarios below assume:
Wifi access is not available at your field location.
Cellular (data) access is not available at your field location.
** There is no access to the internet at all **

Wifi only iPad (no internet or data access in the field)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* No Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING (this is different than FPV)
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can not manually change home point to RC location.

Wifi only iPad with an external GPS (no internet or data access in the field)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

Cellular iPad (no internet or data access in the field)
* Can fly your Phantom with FPV
* Can remove flight restrictions if required, but must be done in advance
* Can use maps if desired, but maps must be cached in advance
* No access to new maps in the field
* No ability to remove flight restrictions in the field if required
* Can use Follow Me
* Can use Waypoints
* No LIVE STREAMING
* Dynamic Home Point
> Can manually change home point to Phantom location.
> Can manually change home point to RC location.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Notes:
Third party apps

If you are interested in trying something other than the GO app you should check if what you want is available for iOS, Android, or both.

Tethering

Tethering your phone to a wifi only iPad does not share the phone's GPS. Some have noted that it may be possible to share GPS data if you jailbreak and use certain software, but I don't have any first hand knowledge of how to do that or how well it works. [Tethering is connecting one device to another. In the context of mobile phones and tablets, tethering allows sharing the internet connection of a phone or tablet with other devices that may not be able to access the Internet directly.]

MAPS
Maps are not required to fly, but many find them useful.

GPS alone does not transmit map/terrain data for you to download to your device.
If you do not have internet access where you plan to fly and you want to use the maps, they must be downloaded (cached/stored) in advance via the internet.

External GPS
If you have a wifi only iPad already and don't want to jailbreak or buy a new tablet, you might consider an external (bluetooth) GPS device if you want to use the features that require GPS at the RC. There are many threads on the topic. It seems that the most talked about here on the forum are Bad Elf, Dual and the Garmin GLO. Just search and you will see plenty to read for research if you want to look into that option.
A few notes to consider regarding an external GPS with a wifi only iPad:
* A wifi only iPad + an external GPS usually cost roughly the same as a cellular iPad.
* If you have an external GPS, you will not need to spend extra for the cellular version each time you upgrade your iPad.
* Having an external GPS is one more thing to charge and carry.
* It may be easier to use the emerging GEO system noted above if your mobile device has internet access in the field. A wifi iPad + external GPS does not give you internet access.

If this option interests you, one thing to watch for is that iOS 8.3 broke the ability for an external GPS to transfer data. It was fixed with iOS 8.4 and later, and still works in iOS 8.2 and earlier. It is only iOS 8.3 with the issue, but any new iOS might accidentally break it again.

As noted earlier, Android tablets almost always have built in GPS so they are a great option to consider.

'Dynamic Home Point'
This term is used here since that is a common way to refer to the functionality that allows changing an established home point to the current location of either the RC or the Phantom itself. Remember that the home point does not actually dynamically change. You must manually change the static home point to a new static home point.

'LIVE STREAMING'
The feature that allows for posting your FPV to the internet in real time.

RTH
As noted above, RTH works with both wifi only and cellular enabled tablets and phones.
 
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You don't need cellular other than as one option to access local maps on site. You need GPS for Phantom to know where you are (ground station). The GS location is needed for some advanced functions but not basic flying. The Phantom has its own GPS so it usually knows where it is and where it took off from. Some people think iPad is better, some of us think android is better. That part is probably more related to whether you prefer Android or IOS for general, every day. It is important to get a tablet with good, powerful processor capability or it could lag and freeze. For the most part, it seems that most people who go low end seem to eventually go back for something higher.
Thanks!
 
Before you spend any money, I suggest you spend a lot of time studying the specs on any device you plan to buy. That way you will know exactly what the capabilities of your new device are.
 
Isn't the NO LIVE STREAMING statement a deal breaker? If so, it appears a data plan is indeed required?!?

Also....can someone explain what is meant by tethering to internet?
 
Isn't the NO LIVE STREAMING statement a deal breaker? If so, it appears a data plan is indeed required?!?
Live streaming is the feature that allows for posting your FPV to the Internet in real time.
 
Also....can someone explain what is meant by tethering for internet?

Tethering is connecting one device to another. In the context of mobile phones and tablets, tethering allows sharing the Internet connection of a phone or tablet with other devices that may not be able to access the Internet directly. For example, when not near a wifi hotspot, a wifi only tablet will not be able to connect to the internet. Tethering your phone to that wifi only tablet provides a way for the tablet to access the internet.

Tethering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Just to let everyone know, the Galaxy Tab 4 DOES NOT work with DJI GO. It won't even let you download it. Please take it off the list, for I bought this product specifically for DJI.
 
Just to let everyone know, the Galaxy Tab 4 DOES NOT work with DJI GO. It won't even let you download it. Please take it off the list, for I bought this product specifically for DJI.
Download the APK from the DJI website and side load it.
 
Download the APK from the DJI website and side load it.
You're right, got a little frustrated when I got the tablet and it wouldn't let me download. So far, running OK, a little slow compared to my old tablet. Thank you, sorry I was so haste about that.
 
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Although there certainly other factors to should consider in a mobile device, one of the most important is display brightness. Somewhat surprisingly. the 2013 Nexus 7 continues to be the brightest, although later iPhones are nearly as good. I use a Nexus 7 with ArmorTech anti-reflective film and am happy with it.

Here's a useful table of the display brightness (in nits or cd/m**2) for many devices:
The Apple iPad Air 2 Review
 
I do not currently own any of these devices. Am I understanding this correctly.....if I purchase a cellular model, I do NOT have to subscribe to cellular service in order to have 100% operational capability of a new Phantom 3 Professional (and camera)?
Yes you got it, the tablet as with the phone is tethered (hard wired) to the controller via a cable.
 

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