Ipad Mini 2 still a good buy for Solo?

redriderroy · Nov 13, 2015

Nexus 7 (2013), 16 GB, at Amazon for $149. (New)
Great for running Tower but I don't know if it has GPS.

As Maddog said this is a great unit and I have used it for follow me on my Iris+ and X8 just fine. It does have an internal GPS. This is the same tablet Tower was originally developed for. That's why I bought it.

I have used it once for Follow Me on Solo at a park where I walked around just to test it's function and it worked fine.

Before Solo I used the Iris+ to get great video following a video in the sand dunes at Pismo Beach, CA. Walking around does not do it justice. It needs a high speed vehicle. I can't wait to use it snowmobiling this winter with the Solo and see what I get.

Since I have an iPhone I needed an Andriod tablet for Tower.

Mark_T · Nov 13, 2015

Maddog said:
? Do you mean if you're using an iPad mini or something else to run the Solo app?

In this instance I was referring to valid test results.

With only the iPad mini wifi connected 'follow me' will not work due to lack of GPS in that model.

With both the iPhone and the iPad connected to the Solo controller it can use the iPhone GPS so it would appear that the iPad was working.

In general, having multiple instances of the Solo app connected and running can cause some confusion as only one Solo app can have the video feed for example so if you get no video feed on your device it is always worth making sure you don't have another device also connected.

Only situation where you can share the video feed is if you have both the Solo app and Tower running on the same Android device.

Mark_T · Nov 13, 2015

redriderroy said:
Nexus 7 (2013), 16 GB, at Amazon for $149. (New)
Great for running Tower but I don't know if it has GPS.

Yes, it has GPS.

Almost all Android devices have GPS even if they have no cellular capability, it is only Apple that made that distinction.

I said 'Almost all Android devices' because Amazon in their wisdom decided to inhibit GPS on the majority of their Fire range, but most people would not be considering Fire tablets as suitable devices anyway.

tesmithp · Nov 13, 2015

I'm very pleased with my iPad mini though I recommend getting one with a cellular plan for loading maps during shots. I went with the newer model only because I also use it for editing and wanted the 128G. Performance wise, there is no difference and if you don't need the space, go with the older model.

Maddog · Nov 13, 2015

Mark_T said:
In this instance I was referring to valid test results.

With only the iPad mini wifi connected 'follow me' will not work due to lack of GPS in that model.

With both the iPhone and the iPad connected to the Solo controller it can use the iPhone GPS so it would appear that the iPad was working.

In general, having multiple instances of the Solo app connected and running can cause some confusion as only one Solo app can have the video feed for example so if you get no video feed on your device it is always worth making sure you don't have another device also connected.

Only situation where you can share the video feed is if you have both the Solo app and Tower running on the same Android device.

Ok- I was confused.

Deleted member 2847 · Nov 13, 2015

For the Iris+, you could actually use a Pebble watch as your "follow me" target. Is that still the case with the Solo?

Either way, I have the Nexus 7 and I love it. To the OP, the iPad Mini at $200 is a bargain.