Tablets

[Uncle Buck]

I'm part of a three-person committee at work evaluating the three main tablet platforms out there (I-Pad, Blackberry Playbook, and Android). We're looking at all three (using Motorola Xoom as the Android example) to determine if any of them has potential in our office to increase productivity and/or reduce costs.

I'm probably on the committee cause I'm the biggest tech skeptic - I always assume they are toys instead of tools until I'm REALLY convinced otherwise.

So, my question: What functions would you check on all three? Obviously opening, editing, and returning various document formats from email, saving documents to work on away from the office, integrating with our system-wide calendar to create or modify appointments/tasks, etc. for a starting point. Sorry, Rick, we don't have any use for engineering-techie-stuff.

What would you want to check on all three?

And in return for your trouble in giving me ideas - when we're done I'll let you know here what I thought of the three various performances on the issues you give me.

[Rick F]

I don't have a tablet yet... but considering getting Apple's IPad. My wife and I were at my son's house last week and he has one. We really liked it... or should I say my wife loved it and wants one. The latest issue of Consumer Reports (dated May 11) just reviewed seven of them. The article says the closest competitor to the iPad2 may be Motorola Xoom. But the Consumer Report's website said the closest competitor to iPad was Samsung's Galaxy tablet. Not sure which to believe.

As I understand it from my son, you can't download anything to the tablet — other than what you purchase (or get free) through the Apple Store front via 'iTunes'. You can access anything on the web and save a doc on your ISP or another website. They advertise this as a plus saying that since you can't download anything, you don't have to worry about getting any mal-ware infection.

I'm considering getting a refurbished iPad. They're cheaper and have the same warranty. I don't need 3G but only need WiFi and don't need the built in two cameras that iPad2 has.

[Carroll]

Quick disclaimer first: I am a huge Apple fan who carries an Android phone. I wanted (want?) and iPhone but the only carrier that works where I work is Verizon. The iPhone just became available on Verizon and I am not due a phone change for a long time.

The iPad will work. The apps you download will work. The user experience will work. Apple keeps VERY tight reigns on all aspects of the platform... so it will be slick and elegant.

The Android device will probably work. The apps you download will probably work. The user experience (while improving evry single day) will not be as slick or elegant as Apple's. You can tinker around under the hood and make the experience more useful for you.

The Blackberry platform is dated. The apps are clunkier, but there are lots of them out there. The experience is often less than elegant.

If you have CONSTANT wifi access, any of the three will be fast and effective. If you have spotty wifi or even need access without wifi, you'll need 3G (or 4G) to reach cloud based files and apps. What other computer platforms and applications do you need to interface with? Will you be printing to a networked printer? Will you be accessing networked storage devices? With what tasks are the tablets expected to assist?

I do not need a tablet, myself, but I would probably get an iPad for playing or an Android for working.

Take a look at the apps markets for all three:
http://us.blackberry.com/apps-software/appworld/" target="_blank
https://market.android.com/" target="_blank
http://www.apple.com/mac/app-store/" target="_blank

[SousaSaver]

Here is your answer:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/04/10/is ... let-usage/

[Uncle Buck]

Thanks for the responses.

Carroll, we're primarily looking to deal with standard office document and spreadsheet formats. We will definitely test ability to print to a networked printer. We are probably not ready to consider connecting tablets to our networked storage devices.

In terms of the tasks - that's kind of what we're trying to figure out. We're evaluating to determine if there are tasks they could help with - more efficiently than our current supplies - that would justify their use.

[bort]

I don't like Apple stuff very much at all... But my wife's iPad is a lot of fun and very useful for a lot of stuff. That said, I would not want to do any *real* work or typing on it. Great tool, but no substitute for a mouse and keyboard.

[Homerun]

I have the iPad 2, but my primary use is entertainment and travel purposes. That being said, what I use it for that could be business related:
- EXTREMELY reliable. I have had zero issues with bugs, crashes, malware (mac products won't get a virus unless you give it to them), or startup trouble.
- The graphics processor is fantastic.
- I stored all of my orchestral excerpts in PDF format, and have a very easy time navagating and viewing books and PDF files.
- Controls (if you have never operated a touch device) are as simple or as complex as you want to make them. You have to give it about a week of tinkering, but it's very easy to manipulate everything easily with one hand.
- The keyboard (which was my biggest question) is actually pretty easy. The predictive text fills in the missed keystrokes (for the most part). Is it as reliable as a standard keyboard? Of course not. But it's pretty good. And, you can do what I do, and use a bluetooth keyboard with it for bigger documents if needed.

I would assume that most of these points would apply to the galaxy or motorola, but I have heard about connectivity and performance issues with those that just don't exist with the iPad. Also, the lack of flash player on my iPad drives me insane. And don't get it for the camera. Both the front and rear facing cameras are a joke. Just my two cents.

[gwwilk]

You haven't given us enough information yet, Uncle Buck. How does your employer earn its keep? How secure would you like your work to be? Would you be creating data with these tablets or merely accessing it? Do you currently have an IT department? Do you currently use computers at work? If so, whose computers, yours or your employers?

If you're serious about IT in your workplace, then other companies in your field are too. Have you asked them about their experiences along these lines? Does your company belong to any organizations with other similar companies in your field? These groups can be invaluable resources. Industry specific technologies abound, but are generally expensive to acquire and use.

My experience comes from helping to find, evaluate, install, and use a paperless electronic medical record in a University Health Center. This took a multidisciplinary team years to accomplish with the help of IT consultants and the EMR vendor who also had to write several custom interfaces to other databases in the university. Not cheap, not easy. But the improvements in patient care have been significant as reflected by the Health Center's just completed triennial American Association of Ambulatory Health Care's accreditation audit which gave us a glowing review. ( ing my own horn, now.)

Re the current generation of popular tablets, they're all input deficient. Typing with a finger or trying to touch type without the tactile feedback of a keyboard is problematic at best and impossible at worst. Motion Computing http://www.motioncomputing.com/ has been making tablets that overcome these difficulties for years. We opted for these tablets in order to provide secure portable data entry that wouldn't fall prey to prying students waiting to be seen by their provider because only the dock with keyboard and mouse is present in the exam rooms until the provider enters with his/her tablet. They also use Wacom pen technology for screen input, such as is found on high-end graphics tablets. Again, not cheap at all, especially when you're equipping a medical clinic with them, but you really do get what you pay for.

A truly useful technological tool in the workplace can be game changing. But I would lean on the expierences of others in your field who have gone before. Find out what their experiences have been. What were their frustrations? Successes? Failures? Triumphs? Misgivings? If they're willing to divulge them, what are their current IT plans?

I share your skepticism of technology unless it truly meets your needs.