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Suggested Android Device for Collector

JoeFlannery

Hello:

I would like to try Collector for ArcGIS on a 7-inch Android tablet. I bought a Dell Venue 7 only to find out that it is not compatible with the Collector App.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a 7-inch Android device compatible (ARMv7 or x86 processor) with the Collector for ArcGIS app? This device would be used in the field, so it doesn't need to be super high-end, shiny and expensive.

Thank you in advance.

Joe

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RobBlash

Joe,

Thanks for the suggestion, I did find this beta yesterday and I started testing it on my personal device last night. Seems fairly solid so far. This will definitely be a consideration.

Thanks,

Rob

JoeFlannery

Robert:

Have you considered looking into a Windows tablet, now that Esri is nearing a release of Collector for ArcGIS on Windows 10? Windows 10 is a familar OS that is updated frequently and I'm guessing that tasks such as sideloading of basemap tiles will be easy.

Collector for ArcGIS on Windows 10 in Beta
http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2015/09/01/collector-for-arcgis-on-windows-10-is-in-beta/

RobBlash

Does anyone have updated input on this topic? I'm looking for a ruggedized tablet but most that I see are cost-prohibitive and running older (4.2x) versions of android. As we begin moving to 5.x and 6.x as the dominant versions I think it's wise to be weary of a small manufacturer who will not likely offer OS updates.

Does anyone have insight on deploying a more "mainstream" tablet (galaxy, nexus, etc.) with a rugged case like an otterbox?

EnvironmentalScienceServicesIn

Google Nexus 7 tablets work well also.

JoeFlannery

I received the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 and fired it up. I was unable to use either of two Google accounts to sign into Google Play, Gmail or the Chrome browser on the device. I tried with two factor authentication turned On and Off, App services passwords and many other suggestions found on the internet. I sent the device back. I'm done trying tablets with the Android OS. It should not be this difficult to sign into an account on a tablet and use Apps. When the Windows version of Collector is released, I will try it on a Windows tablet. Thanks to all who provided advice.

AlicePence

And since I had some money left over - I actually purchased bluetooth GPS Garmin receivers that worked with the Galaxy Tab's to give the field crew more accurate locations, even when they were using Collector offline (which was basically all the time) and some faux-otter cases from Amazon for when they dropped it. The only thing to watch out for would be storage space on the device -sometimes it was hard to upload the data over wi-fi from the tablet if there were pictures attached and a lot of points, but I'm sure this has gotten better with the upgrades to the Collector app since I used it last year-ish.

JoeFlannery

Alice:

Thank you for the input. I am encouraged by your experience. I, too, purchased the tablet with WiFi-only. Looking for a device that won't break the bank or bum me out when it is broken in the field.

AlicePence

I used Samsung Galaxy Tab 3's that were 7 inch screens and they worked perfectly! I think the Tab 4 is out now, but I had no problem running Collector on them. I only bought the wi-fi enabled ones so they were less expensive, but never ran into major problems.

JoeFlannery

Update

My trouble with the Dell Venue 7 may have been this:

"It turns out that as shipped, both Venue tablets needed an update to Google Play Services before anything would work correctly. I’ve never seen this before as on ARM tablets as this is part of the ROM image for Android. Apparently that’s not the case with Android for the Atom processor.

I had to manually update Play Services, and then discovered that 22 apps on each tablet needed to be updated. These were all the Google apps that make up Android. Once all the updates were installed on each tablet, everything ran fine with one exception I’ll describe later in the review."

Source: http://goo.gl/d038Nw

I returned the Dell Venue 7 before finding this article. I have since ordered a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4.

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