HP Slate

[Eventhough]

Howdy all

I've been trying to decide what type of in-vehicle, off-road navigation system I want in my trucks. I have a 2007 FJ Cruiser and a 1976 FJ55 Land Cruiser - both fairly well built and well used. My navigation system needs are fairly unique. I am a professional cartographer and own my own firm, so I have some pretty cool professional grade software that I want to be able to run along with a consumer-grade product that has topo quads preloaded.

My biggest hang-up has been what type of computer to use. I first thought I would use my current laptop but it has a ~17" screen IIRC which takes up too much space. I then thought about Netbook but the keyboard still takes up a bunch of space. Then I considered a touchscreen and use an old laptop in the back of the vehicle to push the screen, but that gets costly, uses very old equipment (questionable reliability) and even more wires running around my vehicle. The iPad looked tempting but it's big hangup is it can't easily and reliably run PC based software without hooking into some sort of cloud which = additional front end work to get things going. I like the 'idea' of an iPad style computer though. Then I saw the HP Slate which has just been introduced. It seems to fit the bill with PC based OS, small, light weight, but yet unproven.

Here are my general needs:
- PC operating system to run my professional-grade cartography software, ESRI ArcPad, ESRI ArcView (only view level, not higher), and maybe Trimble TerraSync
- Touch screen without an attached keyboard (to save passenger leg room) but with capability to add a keyboard for note taking in the field
- External GPS receiver
- Ability to run DeLorme Topo USA
- Cost for total package of touchscreen, Delorme TopoUSA and mounting equipment less than or not much more than $1,000

I do have some very nice GPS equipment I use for work, but it takes too long to get going when in the field, and too long to preload data. I want a system that I can quickly open the GPS application, have base maps (USGS quads) preloaded, and the ability to run my prof-grade software if I want to do something more fancy.

Does anyone have any feedback on the HP Slate? I think it is what I need but would love to hear from y'all.

Thanks!

 

[Jamin_GX]

Sounds as though we have similar wants, although I won't be needing to run the pro-grade software.

I'm currently running a netbook but would love to do away w/ the physical keyboard to free up space for the passenger and hopefully make a more integrated mount or system. Cool thing is that you can always connect a physical keyboard via bluetooth when you get somewhere and want to surf the net or shoot off an email. I am definitely interested to see how the Tablet market progresses in the near future.

So, anyone out there spring for a Slate yet that can share their $.02?

 

[haven]

There are several new Windows 7 slate computers (no physical keyboard) available now or coming in the next couple of months. In addition to the HP Slate, the list includes Tegatech Tega V2, Viewsonic Viewpad 10, Onkyo TW, Viliv X10, Archos 9, and Netbook Navigator Nav 9.

Note that all of these devices run the same Intel processors as the typical netbook does, but cost 2.5 to 3 times more than a netbook.

The Viliv X10 Blade is an attractive compromise. It's a convertible netbook, with a screen that can be swiveled to lie flat when you want a slate, and swung around when you want to use a keyboard.
http://www.dynamism.com/notebooks/viliv-s10-blade.shtml

 

[Jamin_GX]

Haven,

I agree. The pricing of a tablet makes it hard to swallow when all you're really getting is a netbook w/ less hardware. I for one wish they'd add just a bit more processing power. My current netbook has the single core Atom w/ hyperthreading and it still chugs at times when trying to scroll the big Delorme Topo 9.0 maps.

I'm ready for a dual core (+hyperthreading) Atom tablet. At that time I'll be ready to pony up the bucks.

 

[Eventhough]

I too would prefer a better processor, but you can only fit so much into a 1.5 lb device I guess.

I'm checking out the dynamism viliv s10 blade too. I really want something light and thin that I can mount on a flatscreen TV mount that WalMart carries that bolts up nicely in the FJC - still have to figure out mounting in the Cruiser.

 

[MotoDave]

Have you looked at Tablet PC's? I'm not sure you vcan get one for under $1k, but they have a touchscreen that can fold flat on top of the keyboard.

 

[Eventhough]

I have thought about tablets and they would work very well with the keyboard that folds away but I'm aiming toward a fairly small, compact and light computer. A tablet will probably be several pounds heavier than the HP Slate or an iPad like device.

 

[off-roader]

Only problem I see with the HP Slate is at $1k, it's 2x the cost of a basic wifi Ipad but I do like it as well. Will check the other Windows tablets as they come to the market.

Problem with the Ipad is the limited top gps software support available and you'd have to jail break them in order to get it to work with a decent gps chipset like the sirfstar III bluetooth ones for example.

Does the Delorme Topo USA software support high resolution topo maps or is it still low res only?

Oh, and in addition to the weight one other caution on the Lenovo Tablet is that it must be used with a stylus. Your finger won't work on the screen. Boy how many stylus' am I gonna loose LOL.

 

[Jamin_GX]

BINGO! This is why I'm currently waiting to see what other W7 tablets come out before replacing my netbook setup.

 

[Kohburn]

i've seen a few multitouch netbooks available, they may have been tablet netbooks. I can't remember.

I don't backpack with it so for now my regular tablet labtop is fine.

 

[Eventhough]

Only problem I see with the HP Slate is at $1k

HP currently lists the price at $799.

 

[tdesanto]

Only problem I see with the HP Slate is at $1k, it's 2x the cost of a basic wifi Ipad but I do like it as well. Will check the other Windows tablets as they come to the market.

I think you have to compare the 64GB WiFi iPad to the Slate, as the Slate appears to be shipping (per their website) with 64GB of memory. So, the price of the iPAD on Amazon is $787 as of today. The Slate=$799.

Problem with the Ipad is the limited top gps software support available and you'd have to jail break them in order to get it to work with a decent gps chipset like the sirfstar III bluetooth ones for example.

And I think that's why the Slate appeals to some...it certainly has caught my eye. Full Windows 7 capability (think of all the software out there) and USB, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Does the Delorme Topo USA software support high resolution topo maps or is it still low res only?

The topo maps sure seem like high resolution. Do you mean the resolution of the image or the amount of information on the maps? If it isn't to your liking, you can download satellite or aerial imagery as well as USGS topo maps--as much as you want for a small annual fee. The aerial imagery alone is worth it.

 

[3Deserts]

Howdy all

I've been trying to decide what type of in-vehicle, off-road navigation system I want in my trucks.

It's a few months since this thread sank, and I'm curious if you've yet found an ideal solution.

I have an interest in running ArcInfo in the future, and being able to integrate whichever computer hosts it with DeLorme's Topo as well. It has to be Windows based, as neither run on Macs. I'm also on the fence about what GPS unit to use. I have an older Vista HCx, but have never really gotten interested in using it. For foot travel (backpacking, climbing, vegetation type mapping), I rely heavily on USGS quads (printed out at home via NG's Topo) and would prefer a GPS that can employ similarly high-res maps, and satellite imagery. Vector-based 'topos' won't cut it. I'd love to use one of Trimble's offerings, and they would integrate beautifully with the groups to whom I report my data, but I fear they don't offer enough in the way of more general purpose GPS (i.e., DeLorme PN-60)--and they're expensive.

Anyway, I'm curious if you found a solution that works.

 

[Mike S]

I am a MAC user, so I started my search for a NAV Tablet with the iPad. I found that it only has one USB port and power is supplied via the USB port - so where do I plug in my GPS aerial USB connector? Can I run the mapping SW I want on the iPad? Nope.

Now looking for a Windows 7 touch screen tablet (semi-rugged) unit. There are a number of industrial tablets offered, but they are $2K+, and that is just too much money when you add the GPS, Mapping SW, etc. PLUS - I would want all my music, e-mail, and 3G connections to be hosted on the tablet.

Any body finds the killer configuration, I'd like to know.

 

[3Deserts]

Mike, like you, I'm a Mac user. I've been so reluctant to invest any money in another computer platform, but I'm now looking at two potentially very useful programs I want to use that won't run on anything but Windows.

As you know, the iPad runs iOS, which is their mobile OS. Like some of the OSs I'm seeing on other platforms, they're not full OSs, and therefore, we can't run full scale applications. It's the main reason I've not bought an iPad yet. Outside of a phone, I need my computers to be able to run real apps. I may yet get an iPad, but it'll be mostly for couch surfing and email and so forth.

For what it's worth, ESRI does make a free, very limited GIS app for iOS. It's pretty neat. I've actually found it genuinely useful on occasion.

The 420 and 520 series (T,L, and W) Lenovos are looking pretty good for my purposes, although they're no tablet. They apparently meet eight Mil-spec criteria, as noted earlier.