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woot has fires back on sale for $30

Virtual1

Virtual1

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Nov 19, 2017
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8" high res screen, 16gb, just what you need for a bigger screen than your iphone, and much cheaper than an iPad.

Amazon Fire HD 8" (2016) 16GB Tablet - $29.99 + $5 standard shipping

I got two recently and they work pretty well with my Spark. (only requires minor wiggling to get Go4 installed via Google Play, and it's about as stable as on the iOS... for whatever that's worth)

My only issue is the screen isn't terribly bright. Would really benefit from a sun screen.
 
How do you clip your fire to the controller? Is there a special adapter to make it fit?
 
Just got the 7" for £32 used on amazon.
Getting the 8" meant getting the adapter so went for the 77" to save more money, it'll be used solely for the Spark anyway :D
 
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What's the video feed latency like with a fire tablet? Is it considerably worse compared to a modern iPhone? Very good option for using with the Spark if the latency is reasonable!
 
I really didn't pay much attention to latency. I'm not racing my Spark around trees in the woods, my main use is to frame my video and picture shooting. For that, a quarter second here or half second there won't make any difference to me. But FWIW I didn't really notice any latency. But for $30 you can't really complain, it's so nice to have a larger display than I get with my iPhone 5s.
 
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Virtual1 said:
I really didn't pay much attention to latency. I'm not racing my Spark around trees in the woods, my main use is to frame my video and picture shooting. For that, a quarter second here or half second there won't make any difference to me. But FWIW I didn't really notice any latency. But for $30 you can't really complain, it's so nice to have a larger display than I get with my iPhone 5s.
Click to expand...
Yeah completely agree that for the price it's a fairly moot point. I'm impressed that such a device can even run the Go 4 app well.

One other thing: do you connect the fire tab to the spark rc via wifi? If so, how stable do you find the connection?
 
novasys said:
One other thing: do you connect the fire tab to the spark rc via wifi? If so, how stable do you find the connection?
Click to expand...

I've connected it both ways, but some of DJI's most recent updates are doing weird things, both on my fire and my iphone. Crashes a lot on both. I honestly can't tell much of a performance difference - I really wish they'd work on the stability of the app. I was with a group of friends helping someone to move into their new house last week, and after we got them moved in I put up my spark to give them some shots of their new house. Just with my iPhone, Go4 wouldn't run for more than about 60 seconds before crashing. I had to launch it, frame my shot, get the pics from that angle, and it would crash again. Move to another angle, repeat. I finally just put my phone away when I had my shots, and brought it back down to demonstrate without needing the camera. Does DJI just not fathom how much this damages their product image when people like me are trying to demonstrate it to potential customers, that are treated to a nonstop show of crap product performance? They kept commenting, "neat drone, too bad the app keeps crashing!" Fire or iPhone, WiFi or OTG, makes no difference in stability for me.
 
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Virtual1 said:
I've connected it both ways, but some of DJI's most recent updates are doing weird things, both on my fire and my iphone. Crashes a lot on both. I honestly can't tell much of a performance difference - I really wish they'd work on the stability of the app. I was with a group of friends helping someone to move into their new house last week, and after we got them moved in I put up my spark to give them some shots of their new house. Just with my iPhone, Go4 wouldn't run for more than about 60 seconds before crashing. I had to launch it, frame my shot, get the pics from that angle, and it would crash again. Move to another angle, repeat. I finally just put my phone away when I had my shots, and brought it back down to demonstrate without needing the camera. Does DJI just not fathom how much this damages their product image when people like me are trying to demonstrate it to potential customers, that are treated to a nonstop show of crap product performance? They kept commenting, "neat drone, too bad the app keeps crashing!" Fire or iPhone, WiFi or OTG, makes no difference in stability for me.
Click to expand...
Yeah, your experiences match mine right down to the letter. I typically use my OnePlus 3T and the app crashing is just nuts.

Going to purchase one of those fire tablets then. At that price you really can't go wrong, and I would be very keen to see how well it works. Thanks for all the info.
 
Lots of iPad Minis on Eb@y at very reasonable prices. I have a mini2 dedicated to my Spark. Works just fine and the retina screen is nice.
 
Woot (and others) continue to have "Fire Sales" for $30. They're getting dumped everywhere apparently. If you want one you may need to snag it now before they all disappear.
 
BobD said:
Lots of iPad Minis on Eb@y at very reasonable prices. I have a mini2 dedicated to my Spark. Works just fine and the retina screen is nice.
Click to expand...
Ipad mini 2 does the trick for me too, no issues at all. Otg is same, only problem is dedicated buttons wont be saved and always state not devined, max altitude cant be saved either. Seems like an app problem
 
lasorey said:
Ipad mini 2 does the trick for me too, no issues at all. Otg is same, only problem is dedicated buttons wont be saved and always state not devined, max altitude cant be saved either. Seems like an app problem
Click to expand...

Oh I thought the saved button state was only an android with OTG problem, not an OTG problem in general. And yes it's absolutely an app problem. (I'm a programmer) For some reason a PHB somewhere has made the call that OTG cable support is not a priority. It's a shame someone from marketing doesn't grow a pair and take them into a private meeting to have a brief discussion regarding customer satisfaction. The other major possibility is the lead developer has some "unnatural pull" (relative of a big investor or VP etc) and simply refuses to cooperate with adding support for some reason, and management can't force him to do it. Sadly, I've seen examples of both, and things can remain that way for a surprisingly long time.
 
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Virtual1 said:
Oh I thought the saved button state was only an android with OTG problem, not an OTG problem in general. And yes it's absolutely an app problem. (I'm a programmer) For some reason a PHB somewhere has made the call that OTG cable support is not a priority. It's a shame someone from marketing doesn't grow a pair and take them into a private meeting to have a brief discussion regarding customer satisfaction. The other major possibility is the lead developer has some "unnatural pull" (relative of a big investor or VP etc) and simply refuses to cooperate with adding support for some reason, and management can't force him to do it. Sadly, I've seen examples of both, and things can remain that way for a surprisingly long time.
Click to expand...

Im just not sure if the altitude is really limited tot 50 m with otg or it's just misinformation. Waiting for good weather to try it out.
Dji is gonna loose costumers to the competition. Im sure Xiaomi is working on a good and improved copy of the Spark. This is my first Drone, so for now it's good enough to get some experience.
 

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