Submitted by Dean Hawthorne on January 08, 2013.
Yes, an iPad will cost more than an Android tablet. A demo flight with a Nexus tablet may impress, but see how pilots feel about their Android tablets after a few months of use, including chart downloads, system and software updates, backup routines, etc. Some will be happy, but more will not, in my opinion.
For $200, you can get the bottom of the line Nexus 7 with 16 gigs. Even this version has GPS -- impressive. However, my recommendation is to get the $300 version with the cellular data. This is still less expensive than the base iPad mini. The Nexus 7 cellular version is unlocked and can be used with several carriers. AT&T allows you to buy a data plan a month at a time. If you don't find the cellular service that useful or too expensive, you can just cancel it -- no contract. Basically, this will allow you to do the same things that you can do with your smart phone with a bigger easier to read screen. This will also allow you to do some things like overlay weather in the Garmin Pilot app -- at least at the pre-flight stage.