I have an iPhone5 but fear the screen might be a bit small for using easily with the controller, so am thinking about getting a cheap Android 5.5" phablet just for the Mavic.

Does anyone know if it will be possible to get the DJI app into the phone without a SIM card or phone account? Never used Android in my life!

Will one of the $100 no-name phones on eBay be ok for this?

Yes.  You can install the DJI Go app over Wifi.  You don't need a phone account to run it.

That's awesome. Thanks.

So any old cheap Android phone will be ok? It's all I would use it for...

Not sure that "any old Android phone" will be ok.
I would guess that something from the Phantom 4 recommended list (phones only) is guaranteed to work.
Your iPhone 5 is not good enough according to that list (5s is ok) so i would wait until some official Mavic recommended phones are listed before buying.

FlyLight Posted at 2016-10-4 08:01
That's awesome. Thanks.

So any old cheap Android phone will be ok? It's all I would use it for... ...

I don't think a cheap device will work, you should have at least 2gb or RAM. The lest expensive device I've seen to work well with the GO app is the NVIDIA Shield K at $200.

Nvidia Shield works really great as android device with the go app (and other 3rd party apps for the phantom) but I think it won't fit in the mavicholder, does it?

You need good hardware video decoding for the downlink to keep up. Given the claimed 1080p for the Mavic it probably has to be even better than the 720p of the P4. *Most* modern SoC 64-bit ARM things will do it, but I don't think anyone has done a chipset based test, rather than phone model test.

FlyLight Posted at 2016-10-4 08:01
That's awesome. Thanks.

So any old cheap Android phone will be ok? It's all I would use it for... ...

No. You need at least 2GB of ram, and a CPU better than Snapdragon 801. You can obtain the specs of the phone CPU, and Google it to see its benchmark score comparing Snapdragon 801.  That being said, you should check the return policy of the phone before you buy it just to make sure.

I suggest Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro 5.5" MIUI7 Snapdragon 650.  Costs about $146 on eBay.

Back to the original question.  Can you use a phone without a SIM or a tablet that doesn't have a phone in it?  For just controlling you aren't using the phone features unless streaming video to FB or unlocking a zone for example.

superjet96 Posted at 2016-10-4 06:53
Back to the original question.  Can you use a phone without a SIM or a tablet that doesn't have a ph ...

A cell connection is completely irrelevant.  (Not needed.)

So a Tablet like the Nvidia Shield with WiFi only is fine.  You do not need a Tablet with a cell radio.

You can also use a phone that does not have the cell service activated.  Just needs WiFi.  No cell connection needed.

Sorry for the confusion.  I was not asking about WiFi but rather using it with the controller but not having a SIM.  

superjet96 Posted at 2016-10-4 08:35
Sorry for the confusion.  I was not asking about WiFi but rather using it with the controller but no ...

OK, SIM is just for you to connect to Cellular network, nothing else.
So YES, you can use your phone without SIM card.

Hi , yes you can run the Go app on a device without a sim .

I heard otherwise from an e-mail with DJI but that is why I am asking.  I think you are all correct.  Why would it need a SIM if you are just using it to monitor and not using any over air features?
It would be really nice if I can use a decommissioned phone or a small tablet.

OK... I will try to make this as simple as I can.  I have been flying a DJI Phantom 3 for over a year using an iPad Air which does not contain any Celluar radios nor any place to PUT a SIM card.

The DJI Go app runs fine on that iPad Air.  The iPad Air does NOT have any SIM card slot.  It works fine.
I also have flown my P3 with an Nvidia Shield tablet which does NOT have a cellular radio nor any SIM card slot.  It works fine.

The Mavic also uses the DJI Go app.  Therefore it should work on devices that do not have a SIM card.  (Just like all other current DJI products.)

SIM cards are used by cellular radios to connect to the cellular network.  The DJI Go app does not require any cellular connection unless you want to set waypoints on the google maps.  Cell phones with map functions do require a Wifi or cellular data connection as the maps are streamed down as you select the area you are looking at.   However... Google does allow cashing maps in local memory.  So you CAN work around this issue by cashing the maps in advance of flying using WiFi...

I often fly my P3 using the iPad air with the iPad in Airplane mode which disables ALL of the radios in the iPad.  DJI Go works better for me in this mode.  Neither the DJI Go app nor the drone need any connection to the internet to fly.  (Unless you want to look at maps live or stream video live to the internet.)  You CAN pre-cash maps in the phone's memory as well.  The tablet and phone do not need any internet connection nor SIM card to operate the drone with DJI Go.

I hope that explains it.

That's what I thought.  I figured DJI was just throwing a blanket statement over my question by saying it had to be a "phone".  It keeps it simple on their end.  
I have a phone I can use of course but it would be nice to have a good sunlight readable tablet instead.

Thanks for all the replies! I have only owned iPhones in the last 10 years, and they can't be set-up and have apps installed without a SIM card, hence my noob-question.

Looks like I either throw down a few-hundred for a reasonable Android The one mentioned above is $300 through eBay in Australia), or just use it as an excuse to upgrade my iPhone :-))))))
Guess that brings me to the next question: Do I get iPhone 7 or 7Plus?
Is the smaller 7 big enough for flying?
Is 7Plus too big for normal phone use/carrying around?

FlyLight Posted at 2016-10-4 23:43
Thanks for all the replies! I have only owned iPhones in the last 10 years, and they can't be set-up ...

I think there's a similar thread going on somewhere else.  You're going to be limited to something that's 160mm in length to fit within the space provided on the controller.  I recently bought an NVIDIA Shield K1 tablet thinking I might get a P4 (cheaper to have something accidentally happen to a $200 tablet, instead of a $600 ipad).  It's nice, but sadly it's 221mm in length and won't fit within the controller's arms.  Guess I'll have to use my phone for it.

I bought a used osmo plus without a sim card, I couldn't seem to take pictures..is it because I don't have a sim card in there?

I use a phone without a sim card solely to fly my Mavic Air. Just downloaded the app from GS over wi-fi