NOVA The Marine Tablet PRO: a tablet designed for sailing that StraitMagazine will be testing on the water
Mobile technology has been gaining ground on board for years, but it’s one thing to use a tablet on a boat and quite another to design one from the ground up with the sea in mind. That is the concept behind NOVA The Marine Tablet PRO, a new device developed specifically for sailing, scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2027.
NOVA takes as its starting point the real-world conditions a sailor might encounter: direct sunlight, glare, water, gloves, the movement of the boat and the need to access information quickly.
The result is a 10.1-inch marine tablet with an IPS display offering a resolution of 1920 × 1200 and ten-point touch technology, designed to maintain good visibility in direct sunlight and to be usable both whilst wearing gloves and when the screen is wet.
Durability is another of its key selling points. According to the specifications provided by the company, the Marine Tablet PRO features IP68 protection against water and dust, is built to the MIL-STD-810H standard and holds up to 16 certifications.
Inside, it features an octa-core processor, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and a 10,000 mAh battery.
Android designed for navigation
The hardware is just one part of the project. NOVA also features NOVA Navigator, an Android environment optimised for navigation that allows you to use different apps whilst adapting the experience to use at sea.
Among its features is Split Window, which allows two apps to be displayed simultaneously on the screen. Charts and weather forecasts, for example, can be viewed at the same time without having to switch back and forth between them constantly.
Positioning is another feature highlighted by the brand. NOVA boasts high-precision GNSS and centimetre-level positioning technology, as well as the ability to integrate with various on-board electronic systems and equipment.
Physical buttons and night-time navigation
One of the most interesting features of the device is the inclusion of physical quick-access buttons.
Navigation, weather and the MOB (Man Overboard) emergency function are all within easy reach of the sailor, cutting out extra steps when quick access to a function is needed.
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It also features a dedicated mode for night-time navigation, with a visual layout and red backlighting designed to minimise the screen’s glare at night and ensure more comfortable use in the dark.
It may seem like a minor detail, but it sums up the product’s philosophy quite well: adapting the technology to the sailor, rather than forcing the sailor to adapt to it.
More than just a tablet
NOVA also intends for The Marine Tablet PRO to be the first step in a broader technological ecosystem.
The launch will be accompanied by ten accessories, and the company’s roadmap includes new devices, apps and services related to navigation, weather, connectivity and safety.
The question now is to see how much of all this translates into real benefits once the tablet moves from the catalogue onto a boat.
StraitMagazine will be putting the NOVA The Marine Tablet PRO through its paces
And that will be our next step.
StraitMagazine will soon be testing the NOVA The Marine Tablet PRO whilst sailing in real-world conditions.
We want to test the screen’s visibility in direct sunlight, how it performs when wet and when using gloves, the night mode and its red backlight, positioning accuracy, real-world battery life, the apps, the physical controls and its overall performance on board.
Because a spec sheet can explain what a device promises.
But the sea will reveal how it really performs.
Straitmagazine
