Has anyone seen anything about this device?

Earl Backcountry survival Tablet

Review of Features

Seems interesting, not available yet.

It looks pretty cool. I like the set of features, but at $250 I think I'd be smarter to buy a PLB. If it had Ham bands as well it might be irresistable.

So for $250 you get a GPS, a weather station, a radio and a walkie talkie. Not real excited, as I have all that already.

As a tablet user and fan, I am interested in this. In addition to the features listed above, it's built on the Android platform and also has a built in solar recharger. I try to avoid taking electronics out of the house, but in a bug-out situation it could come in handy. Of course, the rest of the family would be fighting over it to play Angry Birds, or Minecraft so maybe not.

I think I'd rather have separate devices for each of these functions. That said, I want to put my hands on it and check it out in person. My understanding is that this is a crowd source project, which means they need commitments from 1000 people of so to go into to production. Hopefully I'll get my chance.

I am curious about it. I am doubtful about the radio capabilities and I would like to see how it works with the solar charging and battery. The larger screen and contour maps would be nice, but I think they are trying to do too much with one device. I am curious though.

I like mine electronics rugged. So mine phone, camera and lights all are. So a rugged tablet would fit in that bill.

I'm not so sure about the e-ink screen shows enough detail on the maps, without color. Color definitely makes reading map much easier.

Also i like to peak at mine maps occasionally and then stuff in back in a jacket pocket. I don't think a tablet would be handy for that purpose.

And i wonder i just want to use the map on the screen and put mine compass on it. A real compass must be easier to sight. Not so sure if i can draw on the screen to create lines, like on a real map.

It doesn't light my fire, either literally or figuratively. I am skeptical....

This is my gut reaction too. Then again this was my argument against smartphones ... needless to say I don't have a separate Palm device & cell phone any more .

I don't know if this is exactly the same, but I am seeing similarities.

Regarding maps, while I agree colour is a big question mark, I think the larger screen size is a big benefit. I don't find my GPS all that handy in showing me where I am in relation to the geography around me. I tend to use the GPS to find where I am on my paper map to get some perspective.

I think what this needs is to integrate Delorme InReach capability, or something similar.

Current e-paper tech is a double edged sword. Good in sunlight, low power, but the slow refresh will likely make a painful general purpose Android tablet interface.

My guess is they are going to have their own interface to try to hide this somewhat, but it will be interesting to see how well the interface works, and it is unclear if you'll really be able to load your own apps on there which I think detracts from the value quite a bit.

-john

I like the concept, though I have some questions about its execution.

I wonder how difficult the battery would be to replace and whether it can be done by the consumer, or not. If it costs a hundred dollars, plus shipping, to have a replacement battery installed then it might not be worth the expense to me.

Colored maps aren't such a large concern of mine, but the type of map files it uses can be important.

And I, too, wonder about its radio capabilities.

It's interesting though, maybe it's time for a thread on "products you'd like to see!" for wilderness use

I am quite skeptical concerning the radio capabilities. The radio frequency FAQ reads more like a statement of FRS and MERS general standards than it does the specs of the tablet. I seriously doubt they can get the advertised range without an external antenna.

It's illegal to build an FRS radio with an external antenna in the US. GMRS and MURS radios may use external antennas. I seriously doubt that any internal antenna will work for theoretical maximum range on any of those radio services.

This is quite an interesting product, integrating an Android tablet platform integrating GPS, Radio reciever, Radio FRS, GMRS, and MURS transceiver etc (FRS and GMRS could be programmed into the cheap and widely available crop of Chinese 2 band VHF and UHF HAM transceivers such as Wouxun etc). Even HAM Satellite Comms could be achieved in theory using a Wouxun depending on the Antenna. The radio transceiver for the Earl appears to be the weakest aspect of the device, almost to the point of being useless for survival applications in remote areas.

I am currently using a iPod Touch 4th Generation and with its various accessories such as a BT GPS (Garmin Garmin Glo Portable GPS + GLONASS, which is very fast and very accurate in difficult sky view conditions for all manner of GPS applications), ZTE MF60 MiFi Mobile Wifi Hotspot (21Mbps Mobile Hotspot Network Router 2G / 3G / HSUPA / HSDPA / UMTS / WLAN / MiFi), which can be used with a variety of microwave antenna's in poor coverage area's so I can make very cost effective VOIP telephone calls. i.e. call anyone in the world for a few pennies per minute. It is actually cheaper for me to call the USA than it is to call England when calling from Scotland!

The iPod can also act as an interface to the Spot Connect Satellite Communicator if required.

The iPod also makes for a very high quality audiophile experience when using some AGK K702 headphones and a FiiO ANDES DAC headphone EO7K amplifier.

Now if there was a App for a FunCube Pro Wide band SDR receiver so I can receive precision Shortwave Radio SW, SSB, LSB, FM radio etc

+1

E-ink is fantastic for reading where battery life and clarity/look trump refresh rate. I use one on a regular basis & it beats a lit screen in all categories. When I have the time, I'm a BIG reader. A normal size novel will last a couple days if I'm undisturbed. I charge one before leaving on vacation and don't have to recharge it until well after I get home.

When I first read the topic, I thought it was referring to some new concentrated food product - like a really big vitamin.

As you can guess, I am more of a food guy than a tech/gear guy.

Hahaha! I was also thinking it was some food pill from The Jetsons!

What I want to know is what part of the tablet do I shave or baton in order to get kindling or tinder for a fire? The thing is just too techie...

More seriously, consider how you are allocating your resources. Presumably, there is a limit to how much money any of us can plow into outdoor/survival gadgets. Would you be better off with the survival tablet which gives you comms and an emap or a well rounded set of more trad survival stuff, like firestarters, FAKs knives, and warm clothing?

I'd rather have a knife and a FAK, thank you.....

My guess is even if they can get 1000 people to pony up for one they will end up with an orphan.

Ah, but what if you aren't looking for a survival tablet or gadget specifically, and just looking for a tablet. I wonder if this will be a reasonable option for every day use, that just happens to have additional benefits for use during an emergency/survival situational/outdoor use.

You also have to look at longevity and continued support. Although it's android, they will undoubtedly have their own software built in, but what of support. Short lived is probably putting it mildly. If they are not backed by a more prominent you have to think about this. However, if it gets off the ground, a prominent company could theoretically buy them out and take over development, again raising the issue of on-going support. Personally, I don't even consider new devices until generation 2 due to design/software issues and fixes. Case in point windows 8...heck I'm still using XP and it works for what I need. Don't own any android devices but have plenty experience with them. Just a thought......as a previous post points out, give me topos,a book, mp3 player, I'm good. Remeber the addage K.I.S.S.

Yeah the thread title had me thinking this was some kind of protein/vitamin food item. I figured the marketing effort might look something like this.

Pros and cons aside for a moment, I think the point of the device is not 'survival' as in starting a fire and building a shelter, but more of a robust/hardened data device for disasters, power outages, etc. Think 'Listening to Katrina'.

Agree on the short-lived issue, though.

Although, realistically, the planned retail on this isn't that much more than a decent GPS (and a bit less than some of the higher end units). So, cost wise, I think this is comparable enough to a GPS that the added feature-set might make it worthwhile for those looking to make a purchase in this area. For those with the gear already, it may not be something that would provide good value for the money, but it may be worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Again, I'm thinking it is fair to liken this to the type of device convergence we've seen with smartphones and I won't be too surprised if this concept becomes the future for backcountry electronics.