Oukitel RT3 8' tablet

[AirborneSilva]

Is anyone here using the Oukitel RT3 8' tablet for navigation, with or without DMD2?  I've been trying to find a tablet to use with DMD2 and considered the Carpe Itre but after reading on the facebook page some are having issues with charging.  I've considered the Samsung tab active 3 but am trying to keep my budget as low as I can for other things needed.  Please don't flame me for a low budget, we're not all made of money or have sponsors...  Thanks, Tony

[Robo]

Also interested in this, or a waterproof rugged type of tablet

[random1781]

We have a Tripltek 9 and the T865. Both are well made, rugged, bright, and have up-to-date hardware. DMD is optimized for older devices so recent hardware doesn't matter that much, but it's nice to have.

 

The Tripltek is definitely brighter and faster than the T865. It has a much bigger battery and could last all day without being plugged in. Besides USB C, it has a POGO connector for power, but it uses a magnetic cable rather than screws, so unless you get their ridiculously priced powered mount, that connector is basically useless on the bike. I've had a couple instances while the bike was sitting still in direct sun where the it flashed a battery overheating warning.

 

The T865 has an aluminum frame, an excellent mount and waterproof connectors, and a bunch of hardware buttons. It's still very bright and is a great value overall. It also comes with DMD licensed and installed.

 

I had the Samsung Active 2 before and absolutely hated it. It wasn't really that rugged, had all of Samsung's bloat on it, and most importantly it was not nearly bright enough. I can't stress how important it is to have a bright screen. If you have to pause and shield the screen to see it, what's the point of getting a tablet for navigation?

 

Aside from brightness, be aware of support life. The downside to Android is that each manufacturer has to maintain their own version of Android, and some of these companies that make the cheaper devices might not do that.

[Tseven]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:24 PM, random1781 said:

We have a Tripltek 9 and the T865. Both are well made, rugged, bright, and have up-to-date hardware. DMD is optimized for older devices so recent hardware doesn't matter that much, but it's nice to have.

 

The Tripltek is definitely brighter and faster than the T865. It has a much bigger battery and could last all day without being plugged in. Besides USB C, it has a POGO connector for power, but it uses a magnetic cable rather than screws, so unless you get their ridiculously priced powered mount, that connector is basically useless on the bike. I've had a couple instances while the bike was sitting still in direct sun where the it flashed a battery overheating warning.

 

The T865 has an aluminum frame, an excellent mount and waterproof connectors, and a bunch of hardware buttons. It's still very bright and is a great value overall. It also comes with DMD licensed and installed.

 

I had the Samsung Active 2 before and absolutely hated it. It wasn't really that rugged, had all of Samsung's bloat on it, and most importantly it was not nearly bright enough. I can't stress how important it is to have a bright screen. If you have to pause and shield the screen to see it, what's the point of getting a tablet for navigation?

 

Aside from brightness, be aware of support life. The downside to Android is that each manufacturer has to maintain their own version of Android, and some of these companies that make the cheaper devices might not do that.

 

If you had to pick between the Triplek 9 and T865, which would you recommend? I was looking at just getting a Active3 tablet but would rather spend the money on something that won't be a headache to deal with. "buy once, cry once"

[random1781]

3 hours ago, Tseven said:

 

If you had to pick between the Triplek 9 and T865, which would you recommend? I was looking at just getting a Active3 tablet but would rather spend the money on something that won't be a headache to deal with. "buy once, cry once"

T865 unless you REALLY want one of the features that the Tripltek has, which is basically a HDMI port and slightly more brightness/speed. I think the Tripltek supports more cellular band bands also. I don't think the price difference is justified in most cases.

 

Consider that you'll also need a mount for the Tripltek. Their mount cost something like $150, so I made my own. They did kindly provide a CAD model of the tablet for me to design around though!

[AirborneSilva]

1 hour ago, random1781 said:

T865 unless you REALLY want one of the features that the Tripltek has, which is basically a HDMI port and slightly more brightness/speed. I think the Tripltek supports more cellular band bands also. I don't think the price difference is justified in most cases.

 

Consider that you'll also need a mount for the Tripltek. Their mount cost something like $150, so I made my own. They did kindly provide a CAD model of the tablet for me to design around though!

The T865 is what I have my eye on, it's the one makes most sense financially!  I have a cheapo tablet right now that I use to just tool around my area but you really can't see it very well in the day light and it's not water resistant or shock proof. 

[Rider 101]

Forgive the ignorant but what is the advantage of a tablet over a Montana 700 for example?

Surely a tablet would be more prone to damage in a fall due to the size.

[random1781]

Tomorrow I'll take the tablets outside and take a side by side picture. Don't know why I didn't think about that.

 

21 minutes ago, Rider 101 said:

Forgive the ignorant but what is the advantage of a tablet over a Montana 700 for example?

Surely a tablet would be more prone to damage in a fall due to the size.

There are many apps that do so much more than a standalone GPS. Garmin's interface is very clunky, slow, limits the amount of things you can display, and is hard to quickly add stuff. I would never be able to quickly see all this stuff on a GPS for example...

 

 

...much less pinch to zoom, connect to handlebar controllers, or switch maps on the fly.

 

Other apps like DMD2 let you pair with OBD dongles and display all your bike stuff... Speed, rpm, temp, etc. so my tablet covers up my OEM display. I have a cellular data, so I can use Google maps, find tracks or routes online, or watch Netflix when I'm forced onto the highway!

 

It's only been recently that tablets have been rugged and affordable, but both of these are really stout and waterproof.

[Rider 101]

I struggle to compose an sms.

I think I will stick to my Montana.

I do use a laptop with Memory Maps for NSW and OzToppo.

I will plot a track then upload to the Montana.

I would be handy to have a small tablet in my backpack for saving or creating tracks when doing a multi day ride.

As far as other information I am happy with speed and outside air temps 

 

I have been watching Itchy Boots and she is using a Carpe Ite ( with a few issues ) so I can see the advantage when in a foreign country.

[Tenerider]

Thanks for your real-world information @random1781 - I didn't really have the T865 on my list, neither the Tripltek. Thought Carpe Iter was the only way, but I think these are slightly overpriced, don't run Android 12 yet (so long term software support might be an issue) AND there seem to be availability issues. But I prefer its smaller size (at least on the T7).

 

Currently, I'm happy with mounting my phone onto the crossbar (Quadlock wireless charging head), I'm always pondering about getting a second used phone for that purpose. But sooner or later I'll buy a tablet as well.

[HomerFX]

9 hours ago, Rider 101 said:

I have been watching Itchy Boots and she is using a Carpe Ite ( with a few issues ) so I can see the advantage when in a foreign country.

I thought she was using a Trippy II this season going through Africa and fried the charger by mistake. I am keen on the  Carpe Ite and would be interested how it performs on a long trip. 

[random1781]

12 hours ago, Rider 101 said:

I struggle to compose an sms.

I think I will stick to my Montana.

I do use a laptop with Memory Maps for NSW and OzToppo.

I will plot a track then upload to the Montana.

I would be handy to have a small tablet in my backpack for saving or creating tracks when doing a multi day ride.

As far as other information I am happy with speed and outside air temps 

 

I have been watching Itchy Boots and she is using a Carpe Ite ( with a few issues ) so I can see the advantage when in a foreign country.

Originally I got the Tripltek and my partner got the Montana 700i. The thought was that I'd have a modern device for route planning and execution and she would have the Montana as a bomb-proof backup with satcom capability for emergencies since we're abroad. In the year that she had the Montana, she had to warranty two units. One of them was got bricked while installing an update, and the second was physically damaged by the powered mount. The POGO pins on the mount seized and dimpled the contact pads on the GPS. This was a known issue with the mount, and while Garmin did replace the unit, it took them 1.5 years between reporting the problem for them to get a fix. All that to say that we lost faith in Garmin for durability/reliability. I certainly wouldn't trust it as a life-saving device to send an emergency SOS. At this point there was zero appeal for us, but that was just our experience.

 

A lot of these tablets are white-labeled. A manufacturer will make a base model and another company will customize it a bit, brand it, and sell it. Look at these three tablets:

 

Carpe Iter

 

Tripltek 7 (discontinued)

 

XenArc RT71

 

They all look suspiciously identical with a few minor tweaks. The CI has the screw-on power connector. The internals might be slightly different, and might be updated over time, but it's often hard to tell.

 

@Tenerider has a really good point about long-term software support. One of the reasons I went with the Tripltek 9 is that they promised a minimum of 5 years software support for it, and at the time it had just been released. This support is an important distinction between more reputable brands (like CI/DMD and Tripltek) and other brands. A Chinese version that looks (and probably is) identical to these probably won't have the same software support that these will.

 

One thing to keep in mind with Android is that a major release has something like 4 years of support. So for example, Android 12 is still being supported with security and stability updates even though it was released in 2021 and Android 13 and 14 are out. Eventually this will stop, but just because you're not on the latest major release doesn't mean you're not up to date. It takes a lot of man-power to support a new major release every single year, which is prohibitive for these smaller companies.

[Tseven]

19 hours ago, random1781 said:

T865 unless you REALLY want one of the features that the Tripltek has, which is basically a HDMI port and slightly more brightness/speed. I think the Tripltek supports more cellular band bands also. I don't think the price difference is justified in most cases.

 

Consider that you'll also need a mount for the Tripltek. Their mount cost something like $150, so I made my own. They did kindly provide a CAD model of the tablet for me to design around though!

 

Thanks! I'll start looking for a used Tripltek. Apparently it's a popular tablet for drone pilots because of the brightness. I'm planning on getting a drone also so it might be the better option for me.

[random1781]

6 minutes ago, Tseven said:

 

Thanks! I'll start looking for a used Tripltek. Apparently it's a popular tablet for drone pilots because of the brightness. I'm planning on getting a drone also so it might be the better option for me.

Yeah I never put them side by side before, but now that I have, the Tripltek is actually significantly brighter. That might be better in SoCal!

 

 

 

FYI when I got mine, I wound up finding a discount code from one of those coupon sites that actually worked, so if you can't find a used one, maybe give that a try.

[smd3]

15 hours ago, random1781 said:

…or watch Netflix when I'm forced onto the highway!

 

LOL…what?

[Tenerider]

12 minutes ago, smd3 said:

 

LOL…what?

That's what I thought!

[random1781]

1 hour ago, smd3 said:

 

LOL…what?

I'm kidding, obviously. I'd never pay the monthly subscription fee for Netflix!

[Tseven]

On 3/8/2024 at 10:02 AM, random1781 said:

Yeah I never put them side by side before, but now that I have, the Tripltek is actually significantly brighter. That might be better in SoCal!

 

 

 

FYI when I got mine, I wound up finding a discount code from one of those coupon sites that actually worked, so if you can't find a used one, maybe give that a try.

That's a very noticeable difference! Thanks for the pictures. I'll keep trying different discount codes and see if any of them work.

[random1781]

It's also worth mentioning that there's a sun shield for the T865...

 

DMD-T865 Sunshade Cap

---

Increase the screen visibility by shielding it from light and reflection.The Sunshade is an accessory that can easily be added and removed and will make a difference on the worst light conditions.

 

[mpatch]

I’ve been eyeing the CarPlay screens. Much cheaper. 
Big thread on them. 
 

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/adding-apple-carplay-android-auto-to-bike.1585249/

Edited March 12 by mpatch

[random1781]

1 hour ago, mpatch said:

I’ve been eyeing the CarPlay screens. Much cheaper. 
Big thread on them. 
 

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/adding-apple-carplay-android-auto-to-bike.1585249/

Yeah I forgot about these, could be a great option. Cheap, no need to worry about it being yanked from your bike, and no extra data plan to worry about.

 

At the time I was looking, there weren't any available with large screens that were waterproof or super bright. Some of the apps I use are supposedly incompatible, and I've never seen one in person to test that out. Not sure what's changed since.

[mpatch]

1 hour ago, random1781 said:

Yeah I forgot about these, could be a great option. Cheap, no need to worry about it being yanked from your bike, and no extra data plan to worry about.

 

At the time I was looking, there weren't any available with large screens that were waterproof or super bright. Some of the apps I use are supposedly incompatible, and I've never seen one in person to test that out. Not sure what's changed since.

I have been using Gaia premium and it does most everything I need for it off road stuff. For on road google maps is hard to beat