Best tablet for service engineers

[ash_572]

I've recently started to look in to buying a cheap tablet for storing manuals and part catalogues to make my tool bag lighter rather than carrying my old laptop with me.

I need something that can comfortably open up pdf's quickly with a big internal memory. Also with micro sd and USB readers.

I hear the nook hd are good for PDFs

Which tablet do u use?

[Eric1968]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I prefer a laptop. Allthough a laptop is heavier that a tablet, it has much more storage space to store manuals than tablets. I have almost 50 GB of manuals, firmware, partslists etc. on my laptop. You can't store that on a cheap tablet. And you can connect a laptop to a machine to do network troubleshooting. A tablet can't do that.

[rthonpm]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I've used a few different ones so it all comes down to personal preferences on a few things:

1. Screen size: I've gone with a seven inch tablet so I'm taking up as little space as possible, plus I have the advantage of being able to keep it in a coat pocket if I'm not bringing the full toolbag. Some people may prefer a larger screen, but for me it wasn't a deal breaker.

2. The quality of the PDF viewer: face it, some are better than others even if they're made by Adobe. Depending on the platform, there may be better third party viewers available.

3. Other potential uses: I do a good amount of IT work so the ability to have RDP and SSH from a single device are invaluable.

4. LTE/4G/3G: I don't have a cellular plan for mine, but for some people it may be more of a need.

5. File transfer abilities: do you need to use a USB cable, firewire, the cloud, or some kind of software package to move files onto the device? I've got native samba support on mine so I can just use it as a shared network drive to transfer files, as well as a few cloud accounts.

There's also the general rule of staying away from the really cheap no name tablets that are out there: they're usually buggy, slower than molasses on ice, and completely unreliable. You're better off spending a little more for something that's going to have a chance to be a good machine rather than whatever is cheapest. I haven't tried the Nooks per se, but they seem to be pretty good, though they may be a little locked down on terms of what you can do other than view PDFs.

[ash_572]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

Might look into a mini laptop.
Think the tablets are only good for handy guides

[Eric1968]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

My laptop has a 15" display. I'll have to carry some extra weight with me, but the display is large enough to see even the most little parts clearly.

[Akitu]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

Go for a Sony Vaio, the laptop/tablet combination seems like it would be absolutely ideal for all things copier related, storage space out the wazoo, good processing speed and all the connectivity related hardware. Unfortunately it's not cheap...

[darry1322]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I use a Google Nexus 7 for manuals and a Dell Mini for a laptop. The Dell stays in the trunk and the tablet fits into a pocket on my toolbag.

[slimslob]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I prefer a laptop. Allthough a laptop is heavier that a tablet, it has much more storage space to store manuals than tablets. I have almost 50 GB of manuals, firmware, partslists etc. on my laptop. You can't store that on a cheap tablet. And you can connect a laptop to a machine to do network troubleshooting. A tablet can't do that.

I have an older laptop. Was running out of space on the 80 GB drive. Had to buy an external 700 GB drive to move all my service documentation, drivers, and firmware to.

[emujo]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I use a Google Nexus 7 for manuals and a Dell Mini for a laptop. The Dell stays in the trunk and the tablet fits into a pocket on my toolbag.

I really like my Nexus 7, (2012) but this was my 1st tablet and I was very disappointed with the front (only) facing camera. (and that's the only thing I don't like). Looking to upgrade to the 2014 version because of the camera though. The inability to connect directly to the MFP seems like the only thing keeping me from bringing in my laptop at this point. Once this hurdle is past, then my IBM may stay at home. Emujo

[darry1322]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I really like my Nexus 7, (2012) but this was my 1st tablet and I was very disappointed with the front (only) facing camera. (and that's the only thing I don't like). Looking to upgrade to the 2014 version because of the camera though. The inability to connect directly to the MFP seems like the only thing keeping me from bringing in my laptop at this point. Once this hurdle is past, then my IBM may stay at home. Emujo

Yeah, the front facing camera is a little pointless on the thing. I do use my cellphone to take pics of things like board connections and assemblies before I take them apart in case I need a reference during reassembly. The tablet would make a better viewing device if the camera faced the other direction.

[Tonerbomb]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I really like my Nexus 7, (2012) but this was my 1st tablet and I was very disappointed with the front (only) facing camera. (and that's the only thing I don't like). Looking to upgrade to the 2014 version because of the camera though. The inability to connect directly to the MFP seems like the only thing keeping me from bringing in my laptop at this point. Once this hurdle is past, then my IBM may stay at home. Emujo

last spring i snagged a nexus 7 version 2 android 4.3 right after they released it. It's much improved and has dual camera's. It's a pretty handy device, but it still has some limitations like no usb or expandable memory.

[JR2ALTA]

Does nexus 7 support flash?

[brewster67]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

I use a Nexus 7 for general carry and keep a laptop in the vehicle for the times there is in-depth troubleshooting or network issues. I keep all my manuals on a thumb drive and use an adapter to hook it up and Nexus Media Importer app to view the files.

[Tonerbomb]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

Does nexus 7 support flash?

Mine doesn't have flash, but it does have quite a bit of settings for exposure and scene types for the camera.

[darry1322]

Re: Best tablet for service engineers

Does nexus 7 support flash?

There are work-arounds to load Flash as long as you don't upgrade to Android 4.4 .....