Greetings,

 

I'm currently looking for a tablet (preferably running Windows 8) to use as an EFB for FSX (Charts, Notes, TOPCAT, etc.) as well as run other programs like ActiveSky, PFPX and Photoshop.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions from personal experience? I was thinking about a Surface, but after Froogle's video , I'm not so sure. Has anything changed since then?

 

Thanks,

If you plan on running active sky and the like from it you don't have much choice tablet wise other than surface pro

I use a MS Surface Pro as an EFB and I've fallen in love with it since the day it arrived. Not only I love it as an EFB, but I think it's great as a tablet for study and entertainment as well! Maybe it's worth having a look at this topic: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/422351-my-virtual-efb-contents-for-my-pmdg-products/. Of course the Ipad can show PDFs and a charts app, but the Surface Pro can do just about anything and it allows you to take notes onto your PDF docs as well. Using it for your PFPX OFP it just rocks. I think Windows 8(.1) is just great when used on a tablet and much more powerful than iOS or Android.

If you plan on running active sky and the like from it you don't have much choice tablet wise other than surface pro

The Dell XPS18 would also be an option. Considerably more powerful than the Surface.

 

Regards

That's right, but look at home big that thing is: 

I use a MS Surface Pro as an EFB and I've fallen in love with it since the day it arrived. Not only I love it as an EFB, but I think it's great as a tablet for study and entertainment as well! Maybe it's worth having a look at this topic: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/422351-my-virtual-efb-contents-for-my-pmdg-products/. Of course the Ipad can show PDFs and a charts app, but the Surface Pro can do just about anything and it allows you to take notes onto your PDF docs as well. Using it for your PFPX OFP it just rocks. I think Windows 8(.1) is just great when used on a tablet and much more powerful than iOS or Android.

Have you run Aivlasoft EFB with it? I heard there were some problems with it. Also, any thoughts on the Sony Vaio or Lenovo convertibles?

 

Thanks,

Yes, it works, but since the minimum resolution is 1024px wide it only works in landscape mode. The Surface by default has the 'make text and other items larger or smaller' option set to 150%; this should be off too or you should have ticked 'disable display scaling on high DPI settings' in the application's compatibility settings.

Thanks for that Kevin, I'm starting to lean back towards the surface now.

 

Does anyone have any opinions on other Windows 8 convertibles?

 

Thanks,

I use the Samsung Note 10.1 Android Tablet, which I have added a 64GB mini SD card.  On this I run GARMIN Pilot (full subscription).  For USA flights, Garmin Pilot is hard to beat.  It shows real time moving weather maps, Hi and Low enroute Charts, your flight-in-progress on a moving map, and has 'safe-taxi' mode so you can see the airport layout and where you are in relation to the runways and taxiways (also a moving map).  The downside is, pricey (about $170 a year) and only the USA is covered, so no help on International flights.

 

That said, I totally love Garmin Pilot.  It can run on either the iPad or the Android OS.  FSX can transmit GPSOut (GPS Output) via FSUIPC (registered), and combined with Bluetooth on the FSX PC and Bluetooth on the Android, it's 100% wireless between the two.

 

Apologies - this is off topic, just throwing it out there.  I love the Note, because it's built-in stylus allows me to jot down my flight plan, appropriate frequencies for the flight, and other details.

 

Other apps I use for FSX include realtime Weather app for all the airports I fly to, with winds, altimeter (in inches) and ambient temps in your choice of F or C.

Right now I'm a dedicated PMDG user with the NGX and T7, and I have a Surface Pro as my EFB with the following:

 

- OneNote for my PFPX flight plans

- TOPCAT

- NGX and T7 QRHs and other reference documents

- Navigraph Cloud

 

I love the experience!

Thanks for all your help everyone.

 

I think I'm going to get the Surface Pro 2 (when it comes out) with the Aivlasoft EFB and Navigraph Cloud.

 

Not too sure about touch or type cover just yet, any thoughts?

 

Thanks,

pretty pricey isn't it

I use an ipad mini, not as an efb but to accompany fsx using fsxFollow and FsKneeboard etc.

Luis, can you tell me how you use OneNote for your flightplans?

 

Anyway, to make things clear: you can Aivlasoft's EFB, as long as your screen is at least 1024 pixels wide. Surface's screen resolution is 1920x1080. It only becomes a problem if you use display scaling options.