I was just reading the specs for the iPad mini which is the perfect size for my airplane; but it has NO internal gps. I've been thinking of buying the Nexus 7 and using Garmin's ap but I like foreflight. Too bad the folks at Apple left this off the mini.

It's a non-issue though to use an aftermarket bluetooth GPS unit. They're fairly inexpensive.

The cellular model has assisted gps (same as ipad 2) and glonas (Russian) gps.

ernstmfg wrote:The cellular model has assisted gps (same as ipad 2) and glonas (Russian) gps.

Not according to the Apple web site. the iPad does but not the mini.

Also, yes you can get an aftermarket GPS but that increases the cost by $100+ or 30%+ annoying.

Recheck apple site and click on compare ipad's

dual and bad elf external gps are $100 bucks. And the sportys stratus for $600 gives you gps plus ads-b in nexrad weather. I don't think this is a big limitation for the mini.

The WIFI+ Cellular version of the mini does have built-in GPS. Look on this page, scroll down to the "Location" section. It's a little buried, but it's there:

http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/specs/

Obviously, I don't have a mini. However, I've had great luck with my iPad 2 with the onboard GPS. I've never activated the cellular subscription but I bought that model to have the GPS chip.

I also have a Dual Electronics XGPS150 and I find that while it is a neat device, I don't get any better accuracy with it when compared to the onboard unit (both seem to hover at 5m accuracy). The downside of the external unit is that I have to carry a separate device and remember to keep it charged. BadElf runs off the iPad battery but I don't like the idea of it dangling out of the 30pin connector around my arm & elbows in the cockpit. I've permanently loaned my Dual unit to neighbor with a WiFi only iPad.

So...I tend to advise friends to buy the cellular equipped iPad and don't worry about activating the wireless subscription.

Oregon180 wrote:The WIFI+ Cellular version of the mini does have built-in GPS. Look on this page, scroll down to the "Location" section. It's a little buried, but it's there:

http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/specs/

Is this not just assisted GPS via the cellular network rather than an inbuilt stand alone GPS like the iPad has. That's the way I read it anyway, useless if you're out of cell coverage.

NZMaule wrote:Is this not just assisted GPS via the cellular network rather than an inbuilt stand alone GPS like the iPad has. That's the way I read it anyway, useless if you're out of cell coverage.

In my experience, the assisted GPS feature helps to shorten the amount of time it takes to get a cold fix, but it's not required. The device will get a fix without it. This is how all the iOS devices with cellular radios work.

Ah ha, my bad. I see same specs for iPhone and iPad 2. In that case I reckon they would be an ideal size in the cockpit.