hermans Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Our region wants to start using Practiscore for our Level II IPSC matches(40-60 shooters, 7-8 details), and I would like to get some idea of the expected battery life of a standard 8 inch Android tablet, of which we have to purchase at least 10, one master, one backup and 8 for the stages, from what I could gather here on the forum. Would it last for about 6-7 hours while it is being used to enter the different squads as they come to a specific stage? Your inputs in this regard would be appreciated, since we have to decide on what hardware to purchase. Just a remark, we cannot purchase Nooks here in our country, South Africa, so we would have to go the more expensive Android tablet route, the question is which one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Samsung Galaxy Tab3 or Tab4 7" will work okay (the latter has bigger battery and been used at USPSA IPSC Nationals in 2015). If bright sun is a concern then you will need to make some portable shade/lid/cover for your devices. Google Nexus 7 by Asys you probably won't be able to get anymore. There are another similar Asys tablet, but I have no experience with it. Generally you need device with 4000mAh or bigger battery capacity. Edited August 11, 2015 by euxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken N. Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 At a typical pistol IPSC / USPSA stage you will use about 5% to 10% battery per squad on a 7" tablet with conventional battery life - if using it judiciously. We see a lot of inefficient use, which means tablets won't make the day without a battery. It can also vary in cold or hot weather (physics at work). What we did at Nationals, for instance, last year was measure that and provide a battery to the stages. The closest to 100% at the end of the middle day of the match won a pretty decent prize. We had numerous stages return iPads with 100% battery life. They were smart in their usage, and also had it on a battery when not in use. There is a LOT of down time, for instance between squads, during walk thrus, and during lunch breaks if one is scheduled. Even just plugging it in at an RO work station (i.e. a barrel) while competitors do their sometimes lengthy pre-buzzer routine will add far more juice than scoring that shooter will take. If it comes to it, you can hot swap a spare iPad (my preference), or provide a battery that you tape to the back of the tablet, or put in their pocket. I buy batteries that are about 5000mAh or bigger. Regards, Ken N. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermans Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 euxx, thanks for the info, I will look into the ASUS 7" tablets, we do get them here, and they are reasonably priced. Ken N, thanks also for your input, very informative about the % power used per stage, I will keep that in mind also. I personally own a relatively new iPad which is amazingly easy on the battery, but over here they are just sooo expensive, so our budget would force us to look at the Android devices, which are almost 10 times cheaper here than the Apple products. From your information it seems as if you can "hot swop" the iPad's battery with a spare? Can you do this easily on the stage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 why can't you buy Nooks there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 For same reason we can't get them in Canada. B&N or Amazon don ship them outside of US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 From your information it seems as if you can "hot swop" the iPad's battery with a spare? Can you do this easily on the stage? Ken was referring to an external "power bank" device that connects to ios or android device using lighting or microusb cord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) ... Google Nexus 7 by Asys you probably won't be able to get anymore. There are another similar Asys tablet, but I have no experience with it. Generally you need device with 4000mAh or bigger battery capacity. Can't get the google nexus 7 anymore? Why not? Just curious. OH! Hmm, never mind, looks like google dropped it from the line! And really, the only meaningful difference between the google-branded asus 7 and the plain asus 7 is that google gives you an android build devoid of any of the usual banded bloat-ware that other sellers add to the operating system, so the regular asus 7 would probably do fine. Edited August 12, 2015 by wgnoyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I am not aware of any device named "asus 7". There are several tablets from Asus, but as far as I know, none of them has the same hardware specs as Nexus 7 had. On top of that, Google was subsidizing the cost, so Nexus 7 device was really under priced for its specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 You really want to knit-pick? https://www.asus.com/Tablets/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME176C/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermans Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Ok guys, I will leave the deep technical stuff up to you!!! I am also searching for a Nook look alike e-reader with touch screen and Android, but up to now, no real success here. The Asus 7 inch tablet that we can purchase over here still looks like a very good option, though somewhat on the expensive side. I will keep you posted on my progress and purchases. While we are talking hardware, any suggestions on a wireless router? Will any type do? From what I could gather here is that we do need a wireless router to do at least the printing of the stage results to a wireless printer? In IPSC rules the stage results need to be posted for one hour before the match results can be printed/displayed. This is so that any queries/faults in the scoring could be investigated/rectified. Thanks in advance for your informative comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Routers? Most anything will do. Common are Linksys and Netgear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Even just plugging it in at an RO work station (i.e. a barrel) RO Workstation -- stolen. That's a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 You really want to knit-pick? https://www.asus.com/Tablets/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME176C/ Not at all, the specs can be different between slightly differently named models. It seem like MemoPad7 has very similar specs to Nexus 7 for what matters. The main difference is no NFC, but SD card slot on the MemoPad. Internal storage may wary, but 8gb is more than enough for PS needs and the rest like cameras and all is not relevant. Though I can't compare CPU (they are different) and battery life for those devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 For same reason we can't get them in Canada. B&N or Amazon don ship them outside of US. For same reason we can't get them in Canada. B&N or Amazon don ship them outside of US. Ebay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euxx Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Ebay? It is the same for many ebay sellers, most of them are small retail businesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Do you guys have pawn shops up there in Canada? If so that's a good source for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 You really want to knit-pick? https://www.asus.com/Tablets/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME176C/ Not at all, the specs can be different between slightly differently named models. It seem like MemoPad7 has very similar specs to Nexus 7 for what matters. The main difference is no NFC, but SD card slot on the MemoPad. Internal storage may wary, but 8gb is more than enough for PS needs and the rest like cameras and all is not relevant. Though I can't compare CPU (they are different) and battery life for those devices. Agreed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raks Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I have been using Nexus 7's for a few years, we have used them for local IDPA and IPSC level II & III events. We easily get 6 hrs of use even in bright sun. When a match is running longer (8+hrs) we have battery packs to give the tablets a boost. I really like the Nexus 7's but we also use the ASUS Me572c units which have similar screen brightness and battery life - Do your research though, there are many budget ASUS tablets that will not run a full day and are really only useful indoors due to screen brightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phong Nguyen Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 We went all in on the Amazon Fire HD 6s and they've been great. Fast, durable and easy to see in daylight with a battery that will last 8 hours with 30% battery to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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