Introducing the new SkyPad2The original SkyPad was wildly successful, far exceeding our expectations. But, as pilots ourselves, we had no delusions that it was perfect. We listened to what you said (and what we thought when we flew with it) and tried to improve the SkyPad. The result is the SkyPad2.
Better Screen
The screen is the most improved part of the SkyPad2. It's much brighter yet also dims far more, a little larger (so things are easier to read) and, in my opinion, most importantly, has a terrific multi-touch screen. The multi-touch screen means you use your finger tip to touch it much like you would an iPhone or iPad. No more stylus or dainty finger-nail clicks. The multi-touch does a much better job in correctly registering your clicks than the old single-touch screen in the original SkyPad, making in-flight use far easier.
Larger Keyboard
Personally, I'm not a huge guy and my hands have never been called especially ape-like. Even so, I admit that I disliked doing much typing on the original SkyPad. The SkyPad2 keyboard, while still not as good as my "gold standard" ancient IBM ThinkPad T42, is a full-sized laptop keyboard.
Newer CPU and Graphics Chip
Both the original SkyPad and the SkyPad2 are based on an Intel Atom processor. However, the SkyPad2 has the newer N450 Atom processor with an integrated Intel 3150 graphics chip. While the specs on this newer chip are just a little faster than the old one, the graphics processor is embedded in the same chip as the CPU (rather than a distinct chip) so it uses considerably less power. This allows the screen to be brighter because power can be diverted from the CPU/graphics chip to the screen.
Windows 7 Home Premium
The original SkyPad had Windows XP Home because it was appropriate for the hardware. The new SkyPad2 is based on Windows 7 since it has upgraded hardware. However, the base tablet comes from the factory with Windows 7 Starter (the cheapest possible version of Windows 7). One problem with Windows 7 Starter is that it doesn't properly support multi-touch screens (or even tablets, in general). Therefore, we upgrade all the SkyPad2's to Windows 7 Home Premium.
No More Screen Rotation Issues
The original SkyPad had a problem when Voyager was running and you intentionally or accidentally rotated the screen. Often this happened for just a fraction of a second when the lid was lifted ever so slightly from the keyboard. We solved the issue by putting a "Lock" button into the SkyPad Controller but you had to remember to bring up the SkyPad Controller and hit Lock.
The new SkyPad2 solves this by automatically locking screen rotation when Voyager is running and releasing the lock when Voyager exits. For various reasons, this was much more difficult to do with the original SkyPad hardware and Windows XP.
Larger, Faster Disk Drives
The original SkyPad used an unusual disk drive form factor and connector (1.8 inch PATA ZIF) that made it hard to find upgraded drives and very hard to find large solid-state drives. The new SkyPad2 uses laptop-standard 2.5 inch drives so we offer the base SkyPad2 with a 160 GB spinning drive (versus a 60 GB drive in the original SkyPad). The news gets better for the optional solid-state drives where we can offer an SSD with twice the capacity (64 GB vs 32 GB) and 2.5 x the speed of the original SkyPad SSD -- for the same price.
Upgrades from the Original SkyPad to the SkyPad2We've already had a lot of you ask about upgrading to the SkyPad2. As you probably know, while discounted software upgrades are common, upgrading hardware at a discount is pretty unusual -- when was the last time you brought your old computer or TV into the dealer for a discounted upgrade to the latest and greatest? The official story behind eBay's inception is that the founder wanted to sell his girlfriend's Pez collection on the Web but I really think he needed a market for his Commodore 64.
Still, we think it's a good idea to offer loyal customers a trade-in. Problem is, the new SkyPad2 hardware is considerably more expensive than the original SkyPad. This is why we raised the base price of the SkyPad2 by $100 (which did not, for the record, cover the cost differential). It also means that we're very limited in what we can offer for trade-ins.
Therefore, if you want to upgrade to the SkyPad2, here are your options as we see them:
1. Keep the original SkyPad and use it as a tablet PC for you or, perhaps, a child or grandchild. It's still a very capable Windows PC with wireless networking, Bluetooth, etc. When you purchase a SkyPad2, we'll take $50 off the purchase price plus add another 6 months of EFB ChartData (total value $225).
2. One word: eBay. Ok, a few more words. Get whatever you can on eBay and purchase a new SkyPad2 with the proceeds. When you purchase a SkyPad2, we'll take $50 off the purchase price plus add another 6 months of EFB ChartData (total value $225).
3. Exchange the original SkyPad for a SkyPad2 directly with us. We'll credit you $300 ($500 if you have a SkyPad with a solid-state drive) towards the purchase of a new SkyPad2 and add 6 months to your EFB ChartData subscription. If you keep your existing GPS (which we'll re-pair with the new SkyPad2), we'll credit you another $50.
Using Your SkyPad
Both the original SkyPad and the SkyPad
2 come with a document that helps you get started using the device. However, we enhanced it considerably for the SkyPad
2 with information not just about using the device itself but how to best use Voyager with it, both pre-flight and in the cockpit. A
preliminary version of this document was sent to all original SkyPad owners. The enhanced version that ships with the SkyPad
2 is on the desktop of all SkyPad
2 devices and a printed version is in the box. You can also
click here to download that document. If you have an original SkyPad, the enhanced document is generally relevant but it doesn't have any information about how to lock the screen to stop inadvertent rotation because the SkyPad
2 does this automatically.
Changing Power Settings
Both the original SkyPad and the SkyPad2 come with power schemes that Seattle Avionics specifically created for the device. The default power scheme on both devices is simply called SkyPad and, among other things, keeps the CPU fast, disables sleep mode, etc. (Because the original SkyPad uses Windows XP and the SkyPad2 runs Windows 7, the themes themselves are very different). The original SkyPad also comes with a theme called SkyPad Night that dims the screen more than the SkyPad Controller can. The SkyPad2, on the other hand, doesn't need the SkyPad Night theme because the SkyPad Controller on that device dims the screen very effectively. But the SkyPad2 does come with a second theme called SkyPad Battery Saver. This theme allows the machine to sleep, screen to dim, etc., and is best when you're using the SkyPad2 in a non-flying scenario.
IMPORTANT! GPS Disconnect Issue With SkyPad2It has just come to our attention that some SkyPad
2 owners have had problems with the GPS disconnecting in-flight. In looking carefully at the issue, we've determined that the problem is caused by an obscure setting in Windows 7 power themes that allows the operating system to turn off USB devices (like the Bluetooth controller) to save power if the user doesn't interact with the device for a number of minutes. In other words, if you touched anything on the SkyPad
2, this USB sleep would not occur but if you just left the device on the seat next to you, it might turn the Bluetooth off. The solution has been integrated into the next SkyPad
2 image. However, if you already have a SkyPad
2, you should modify your
SkyPad and
SkyPad Battery Saver themes to turn off this "feature." To do this:
The Two Voyager Icons
