Previously I used an iPAD and Ram Mount in my truck as a GPS. I sold the iPAD and bought a Surface Pro 3. I really like the Surface Pro 3 for use on the road while traveling for work. Finding a way to power it and mounting it in the rig to use as a GPS would have been expensive and the mounts don't look that stable to me. Plus the surface isn't a cheap device.
I found the following windows 8 tablet at Microcenter (Their brand) Reviews are great and it is only $100. They have a 7" version for $69, but that doesn't have enough memory to do anything.
I added a 64gB Micro card to store all my GPS maps, music and videos
I installed my PC based Topo USA 8, Streets USA 10 and Memory Map Topo software. All three loaded fine and work just as they did when I use to have a laptop for a GPS. In fact all the SW I installed I am using on my desktop installed with no problem
For $100 a full featured Windows Tablet is a great deal. The nice thing about this compared to my wifes more expensive Dell Venue Pro 8 is that is has a full sized USB and a micro USB and the same specs otherwise as the Dell.
It comes with a subscription to office 365 for a PC and a Tablet for 1 year
With both the Micro USB (for power) and the full sized 2.0 USB port I can have it plugged in for power and the USB GPS receiver plugged in at the same time, or you could use an extra Memory stick for more memory. Most Tablets only have one port meaning you have to choose between charging or plugging in your USB device.
The Tablet
http://www.microcenter.com/product/440932/TW802_Tablet_-_Black
The RAM Mount I am using in both the 40 and 100 series
http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-HOL-TAB4U works on 8" tablet and in picture below
The Mount
http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-101U-C
the USB GPS
http://www.amazon.com/GlobalSat-BU-353-S4-USB-Receiver-Black/dp/B008200LHW
Its not as powerful as my Surface Pro3, but more portable and if it breaks at $100 its not as a big an issue. So far it has been running very well and is a full featured windows 8 mini PC
I found the following windows 8 tablet at Microcenter (Their brand) Reviews are great and it is only $100. They have a 7" version for $69, but that doesn't have enough memory to do anything.
I added a 64gB Micro card to store all my GPS maps, music and videos
I installed my PC based Topo USA 8, Streets USA 10 and Memory Map Topo software. All three loaded fine and work just as they did when I use to have a laptop for a GPS. In fact all the SW I installed I am using on my desktop installed with no problem
For $100 a full featured Windows Tablet is a great deal. The nice thing about this compared to my wifes more expensive Dell Venue Pro 8 is that is has a full sized USB and a micro USB and the same specs otherwise as the Dell.
It comes with a subscription to office 365 for a PC and a Tablet for 1 year
With both the Micro USB (for power) and the full sized 2.0 USB port I can have it plugged in for power and the USB GPS receiver plugged in at the same time, or you could use an extra Memory stick for more memory. Most Tablets only have one port meaning you have to choose between charging or plugging in your USB device.
The Tablet
http://www.microcenter.com/product/440932/TW802_Tablet_-_Black
The RAM Mount I am using in both the 40 and 100 series
http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-HOL-TAB4U works on 8" tablet and in picture below
The Mount
http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-101U-C
the USB GPS
http://www.amazon.com/GlobalSat-BU-353-S4-USB-Receiver-Black/dp/B008200LHW
Its not as powerful as my Surface Pro3, but more portable and if it breaks at $100 its not as a big an issue. So far it has been running very well and is a full featured windows 8 mini PC