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Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: May 31 2013 2:40 pm
by Chuy
http://www.meetearl.com/#features
"Meet Earl, a revolutionary tablet engineered for the most extreme of outdoor situations. Built for survival, Earl works where today's smart phones and tablets cannot. Style meets efficiency with Earl's intuitive design, fusing Android 4.1 together with an energy sipping E-Ink screen and the latest in GPS, weather sensor, and radio communication technology. With Earl at your side, stay in control of your journey no matter where it takes you."
Looks like a great all in one tool built off the smart phone platform. Its like a Suunto watch mixed with a GPS and cell phone app.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: May 31 2013 2:57 pm
by Sredfield
Looks impressive.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: May 31 2013 3:04 pm
by CannondaleKid
Sredfield wrote:Looks impressive.
I agree. But being a somewhat cautious purchaser, since it is
'pending FCC approval' I'll take a conservative attitude rather than cough up the $$ now and wait for the estimated
'August 2013' delivery.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: May 31 2013 7:46 pm
by Tough_Boots
I wonder how many of its functions are rendered useless when its out of cellphone range.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: Jul 01 2013 4:13 pm
by paulshikleejr
D'oh!
I'll let you know.
I bought the $299 model.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: Jul 02 2013 4:42 am
by AZLumberjack
But does it connect with Facebook and Twitter???? After all, if you're lost you might want to tell your friends about it.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: Jul 05 2013 4:05 am
by SgtLumpy
I'm having trouble seeing what it does that my Android phone won't do. If you took my Samsung phone, removed the phone part and replaced it with the FRS/GMRS radio, that seems like what this gizmo would be.
That "up to 20 mile range" for FRS is pretty hyped. 2 or 3 miles would be more realistic at max.
Sgt Lumpy
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: Jul 05 2013 3:02 pm
by Grimey
@SgtLumpy
e-ink screen and solar charging seem to be the main differentiators here. e-ink for maps is compelling; color LCD screens can be hard to see sometimes and use a lot of power. Built in solar charging is also interesting. Personally I need to see a few reviews of working production models before I would buy one.
Re: Meet Earl a Hikers Best Friend!
Posted: Jul 06 2013 2:40 pm
by SgtLumpy
OK - if I could see the screen in sunlight, then I'd say it's a great idea. My Samsung is essentially useless with sol shining on it. Makes it very hard to take a picture of a fast critter or other opportune photo target. To view a map on my phone, I have to hide it under my hat like the old time still camera guys did with that big, black cloth thing.
Sgt Lumpy