(Snip for brevity's sake)
PS- One thing if you go buy some super cheap tablet .... make sure it contains an accelerometer and GPS and magnetometer... I had some Verizon 'kids' talk me into some cheap tablets with a plan and didn't get around to playing with them until after the 2 week return window... ends up they don't have a magnetometer so no effective compass so really wouldn't work as a solution. basically if you can install a compass app, a GPS app and a 'level' app, then you have all the sensors needed. (my cheap tablets would install a compass app but then not work and complain that there was no sensor...)
Yup, don't buy an el cheapo tablet! I did get a dual boot (WinBlows/Android) Teclast X-80 something or other last year for $49.00 and no GPS. Can't download any
tracking software directly as one with get "device incompatible". That's stupid 'cause one can actually pair an el cheapo GPS B/T dongle. Nonetheless, was able to
lift the "GPS Rocket Locator" executable off a rooted device and got it to "sort of" work. Too much trouble and hard to do for a neophyte. Take my word, just
stay away from the el cheapo stuff. The idea of using a device behind the "bleeding edge" is very viable. On the Android side, I've had good service from
various flavors of Nexus 7's. They can be economical and can be rooted easily to grant more control. Granted, being Android they can't be used with this
tracker just yet.
I had a taste of two dual boot tablets I got from China with Android/Windows and onboard GPS chipset. It was a hassle to get going but I really like being able to
run WinBlows software out in the field and have an onboard GPS that can be seen from the Android and (with some difficulty) the Windows side using com0com
and GNSS Interface (free) programs. The 3G and 4G connectivity didn't match the providers in my area but I was interested in the dual boot capability and
didn't consider that a deal breaker. The memory side on Android leaves a bit to be desired but is still usable.
Don't know if dual boots will make the mainstream here or not. No one in the U.S. pushes them and one has to get them overseas.
Kurt