Hobie Craft--I'll buy you a couple beers when I get to Sweden. My son was apparently aware that these tablets might have 3g/4g capability because he held my Tablet up to his ear in a joking fashion at Xmas. Their literature does not claim that functionality.
The important point is that with the on-board GPS--totally independent of phone/Wi-Fi connectivity--can determine accurate coordinates. Use the Navionics App and you have a "GPS" similar to any other consumer GPS--auto or backcountry.
Downloading maps by the App is trivial--you set in your living room with Wi-Fi and your Galaxy Tab 3, scroll the App map to anywhere (see my post above
Wow! Check Out This GPS Marine & Lake Chart App for Tablets)
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=360 like Hawaii or Yellowstone or Ft Desoto to Key Largo (WaterTribe EC route), and the maps are downloaded--you do nothing except scroll to the area. Obviously, if you are doing a trip to an area, you will look at the area on your Tablet App before you go--that simple action causes the maps to be downloaded--about as quick as you can scroll & zoom. Downloading the maps is a non-issue.
Maybe I’m being a bit parochial. Some people may not have Wi-Fi in their living room and will be dependent on their phone. Downloading maps may not be so trivial for them. But it is easy if you have a Wi-Fi connection.
Stringy--yes, that App tide feature is great. I have yet to use my Tablet + Navionics App in the field, but I know you can get the tides without phone/Wi-Fi connection. After I do that once, I will probably quit using my PDF tides. No, as I write this, I'm thinking--I'm done with my PDF tides. Yes, I will use the App tides.
Yes!Stingy, that is good info about the difference between the phone and Tablet app. Are you saying you could not load the cheap ($10) phone app onto your Galaxy tablet?
Keith