Update of the past few weeks. As mentioned, I decided that some "in the field" protection for the devices was needed. After some research on-line and discussion with current users/owners, I decided on notebook-like covers, such as offered by www.thesnugg.com. I contacted Sammie Mercer (customer service), who helped me decide on the version to purchase (I needed the Google Nexus 7 series 2 version), which I then ordered.
Sammie was able to offer me a significant discount as I made a bulk purchase- and the cases were going to be used by a public school. The cases arrived quickly, were unpacked, un-wrapped, and the Nexus devices were slipped into the slots, secured by a wrap-around-velco closing tab. This is a very nice design- especially as the case has an elastic band sewn through the backing, which allows the user to one-hand-hold the device securely, while the other hand is free to enter data.
I also ordered 15 thin plastic screen protectors- actually, I ordered these screen protectors in 3 different batches from some ebay retailers- thereby getting wicked good deals.
Another update- we tried using 3 of the Google Nexus devices during a Summer Institute field trip to the Bow Knox-Road-School Forest. 1 lost it's basemap- I don't know how, and the user did not have the admin password to try downloading another version. The other 2 never really displayed an accurate location- at least , when running the ArcGIS Collector app. This needs further investigation.
It may be that the devices needed time to settle down and get an accurate "fix", or it may be that the devices have a setting that needs tweaking- or it may be that there is a flaw in the Collector app- I do know that the devices themselves are accurate, at least while using the GPS Essentials app.
Another update- Rebecca Lilja (US Forest Service) borrowed one of the devices over this past weekend August 8-9-10, to test during a GPS "field day" event at the University of New Hampshire. She determined that they are accurate- AND... was able to solve another mystery. Garmin GPS units generally display 10 or 11 or 12 satellites that are "viewable" at any given moment. However, the Google Nexus devices display...26!!!
How is that possible? One half of all 26 GPS satellites are on the other side of the planet at any given moment... Well. These Google Nexus 7 devices seem to have a GPS chip that is capable of seeing not only the United States' satellites, but also the Russian GPS satellites! Cool!
Sammie was able to offer me a significant discount as I made a bulk purchase- and the cases were going to be used by a public school. The cases arrived quickly, were unpacked, un-wrapped, and the Nexus devices were slipped into the slots, secured by a wrap-around-velco closing tab. This is a very nice design- especially as the case has an elastic band sewn through the backing, which allows the user to one-hand-hold the device securely, while the other hand is free to enter data.
I also ordered 15 thin plastic screen protectors- actually, I ordered these screen protectors in 3 different batches from some ebay retailers- thereby getting wicked good deals.
Another update- we tried using 3 of the Google Nexus devices during a Summer Institute field trip to the Bow Knox-Road-School Forest. 1 lost it's basemap- I don't know how, and the user did not have the admin password to try downloading another version. The other 2 never really displayed an accurate location- at least , when running the ArcGIS Collector app. This needs further investigation.
It may be that the devices needed time to settle down and get an accurate "fix", or it may be that the devices have a setting that needs tweaking- or it may be that there is a flaw in the Collector app- I do know that the devices themselves are accurate, at least while using the GPS Essentials app.
Another update- Rebecca Lilja (US Forest Service) borrowed one of the devices over this past weekend August 8-9-10, to test during a GPS "field day" event at the University of New Hampshire. She determined that they are accurate- AND... was able to solve another mystery. Garmin GPS units generally display 10 or 11 or 12 satellites that are "viewable" at any given moment. However, the Google Nexus devices display...26!!!
How is that possible? One half of all 26 GPS satellites are on the other side of the planet at any given moment... Well. These Google Nexus 7 devices seem to have a GPS chip that is capable of seeing not only the United States' satellites, but also the Russian GPS satellites! Cool!
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