One important thing to mention here is the heat the tablet can produce, just the operating system it self plus the screen brightness in the max, it can overheat and it will shut down to cool down, just like the phones, I have the Tripltek 9 pro behind the windshield, they said this devices don't do that, but it happened to me, and the Garmin never overheated. Another thing: the weight from the tablet does not look like much static, but dynamic weight is when you are moving and bouncing in the off-road, if you don't have a very solid support or a proper tower, that weight can eventually damage the structure you mounted the tablet, be sure it's a solid mounting point. Overall for me, traveling in multiple countries, the table with bluetooth OBD2 to monitoring the parameters of the bike was a better set up, and cell phone as a back up.

A great job covering the hardware and ecosystem differences between Garmin and DMD2! You touched on it very briefly but the features and practical usability of DMD2 (as a Nav device while moving) and its built-in map or controlling many other map apps with Bluetooth controller, including having split screen side by side or widgets, raise DMD2 to a level well above other apps or standalone devices. The screen brightness for an Android device is very important but so is the ability to change the map visibility with options for layout, contours, contrast font size, GPX colour/width etc. Lastly, I don't recall if you mentioned the roadbook as well, but I suspect a small subset of adv riders are interested in that.

Good comparison on a very hot topic in ADV navigation. Garmin is so far behind with their software and hardware. Thank you for putting this info out.

Welcome everyone! Please like and subscribe as we try to grow and bring content. A few additional items to add related to the DMD products: - Capable of high Shock / Vibration - certified -> www.drivemodedashboard.com/support/dmd-t865-support/ - The attachable expansion slot on the back which we will be used for future accessories - Auto On / Auto Off / Dock detection - No electronics on the holder and no external power supplies, tab handles 30+V of direct power - On a motorcycle it can achieve sub 1m GPS precisions - Really well calibrated sensors which will be handy on stuff like the fall detection system - SOS System and configurable hardware buttons coming soon which will be great - The total weight of the kit, its a tablet that you can easily use at home / work - Ultra minimal stable and unbolted OS with easy to release OTA updates

I use an older Montana for all my off-road riding and don't see myself changing that anytime soon since it takes a beating and I Haven't had any issues with it. I have been thinking about using a phone for my sport touring bike and just started looking at the DMD setup. Good looking units.

Great comparison . One point I didnt see, but the Zumo comes with lifetime maps, and I think the DMD2 maps cost something like $30 US a year. The Thork site says upgrades are free, but I'm pretty sure those are software upgrades. If you're doing a follow-up, you might also mention DMD2''s superior off-road type identification. DMD2 also has a reputation for putting a big drain on the power supply, Might be fine for a GS, but it might not work very well on a V-Strom.

I recently downloaded DMD2 onto a $120 Umigidi Bison X10 phone. I’ve been running Gaia on it for sledding, so it’s covered in snow a lot. Gaia doesn’t have the option to lock the screen so it does flip between screens a bit. DMD2 has the option to lock, so I’ll be trying that next sled trip. If this works out I may be selling my Zumo XT and get a tablet for the bike.

nice content, is dmd2 for motorcycle, i plan to get one for my 4x4 truck and somewhere there is no handphone signal, unlike garmin they using gps signal, how about dmd2 has anyone install in their vehicle, please advice. thanks

Since I use navigation for road tours, I ended up with a Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 (military-grade protection and IP68 water and dust resistance) running OsmAnd. I have no idea of the GPS precision however it is good enough for road tours. I also have an obd2 device. I run the two pieces of software in Android split screen mode. Negatives compared to these devices, possibly GPS precision and battery size.

Have you tried to use Osmand with the tablet? How does it run?

I read somewhere that the DMD software doesn’t offer routing and turn by turn navigation like a traditional GPS. Is that still true?

You should try a Tripltek T9 pro.

Why not voice control for the software instead of a controller?

Tried dmd2… no… maybe it’s me but it just feels like a toy and not a dedicated gps unit. All the apps do feel like it is just not the real deal for me. Android is a lot of everything but just not the one thing that will do the trick. Calculating big routes takes forever. So I tried many different apps to navigate and in the end… any android device…. Just suck.