Stellarium for a Tablet PC Luddite...

[8472]

As a astro n00b, who struggles to read my star atlas in complete darkness out in the dead of night, I'm looking to purchase a (very) cheap tablet PC for running my beloved Stellarium (Our laptop is too slow).

I know absolutely nothing about these devices, and know not of what I should be looking for.

I chap i know, showed me a running astro app on his ipad (not stellarium), but there is no way in god's green earth I will pay £400-£700 for a tablet PC which will essentially serve only one purpose!

After a quick look on Youtube, I saw a Blackberry Playbook running Stellarium (mobile?) very nicely. Is there anything on the market well below £150 which will serve my needs? Do i need GPS and/or WiFi?

My other half has Google Skymaps on her smartphone thingy - it's fab (I don't own, or want to own a smartphone myself), but the screen is a bit small to be really useful.

Any help appreciated,

Thanks!

[Reni]

I am also using Stellarium on my tablet, altgough I bought it mostly for books and magazines. I am using a 100 euros 7 inch Yarvik which is definitely not one of the best ones out there but does a pretty good job. The program runs smoothly on it and I love using it much better than on my laptop.

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2

[Tinker1947]

Is there a official Tablet Stellarium or is this a butchers PC version....looking on the Play Store there is a "Stellarium Mobile" but its not a free download so i suspect its not the same as the PC Stellarium...????

[Reni]

What I have looks just like the pc version but runs nicely. It's Stellarium Mobile from Nocuta Software. Most of the programs showed in Google Play are useable on the device you are currently. I don't see it from my phone, so maybe it's the same with you.

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2

[8472]

Well i've now got myself a great deal on a smartphone (I guess I had to cave in, eventually!) and tablet PC bundle.

The tablet is a 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, and I've already installed Google Sky Maps (free) and Stellarium moblie (only £1.99 from Google Play) and its running beautifully.

Its already making things a little easier for me, even with a partially (and frustratingly) cloudy night last night.

[Davee]

Glad to hear that you are getting on with your new tablet.

Are you using anything on the tablet screen to protect your night vision?

I have an iPad that i have been using star walk with which has a red night mode, but I would like to use the kindle app for my digital copy of T. L. O. R. but the white light kills my night vision.

Can anyone recommend anything to put in front of the screen that still allows the touch screen to work?

[8472]

Good point - I was thinking the very same thing myself, last night. There appears to be no red light mode in the mobile version.

Fortunately, I have a roll of red cellophane left over from my DIY red light torch project, and upon quick experimentation, seems to work OK - albeit a bit Heath Robinson.

Until a red light version is ported over, this will have to do!

[8472]

Just bought and installed SkySafari and I hate to say it, but it looks a fair bit better than Stellarium Mobile.

It comes with a proper Night Mode and more comprehensive setup options, too...