PlayFreeBird
Active member
A few years ago, I realized the best way to reduce my kit was to exchange my guidebook for an app on a mobile device. I could use a smart phone, but I prefer the larger format of a tablet. The cheapest option was an Amazon Fire 8HD combined with the Sibley app. The app is glorious. The tablet less so. It had the annoying habit of randomly shutting off and only turning back on once connected to the charger. Every "answer" I could find on the web started with the suggestion you plug it in - which doesn't solve the problem. I thought maybe it was an interaction with a latch magnet on the bag I carried it with, and I seemed to avoid the problem by changing bags, but it recently did it again. It appears to be an unsolved bug still extant in the Fire rendering it unreliable.
In addition, the Fire OS Android fork no longer seems to work with Ebird checklists. I get in an infinite loop asking me about toggling tracking.
The other options in tablets are the inexpensive Samsung A7 lite or the precious Ipad mini. Both appear to support tracking with GPS reading. In either case, without a cellular plan, I would be restricted to WiFi connection to explore Ebird hotspots, but I could use my cell phone for that.
So try out the Samsung, or bite the bullet and shell out for the Apple? Can anyone offer experience and/or advise?
In addition, the Fire OS Android fork no longer seems to work with Ebird checklists. I get in an infinite loop asking me about toggling tracking.
The other options in tablets are the inexpensive Samsung A7 lite or the precious Ipad mini. Both appear to support tracking with GPS reading. In either case, without a cellular plan, I would be restricted to WiFi connection to explore Ebird hotspots, but I could use my cell phone for that.
So try out the Samsung, or bite the bullet and shell out for the Apple? Can anyone offer experience and/or advise?