Talk me into an Ipad

[ledoux]

I've been thinking about getting an iPad or one the other 10,billion tablets on the market for awhile now. I'm trying to justify it in my mind that it will be helpful at work.Who else has one and do you feel like it's been a worthwhile investment? I like the idea of not carrying my laptop in unless it's doing network troubleshooting. Help talk me into blowing some money

[jonezy999]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I have an ipad. I also have a pc and two laptops. Honestly, I never use the ipad. Just seems to me that an android or iphone have much the same capabilities as the ipad at a quarter of the size. Also I don't like typing on the touch screen. Just my 2 cents.

[TheOwl]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab (one of the original ones) which I use for work quite a bit.

I went for the 7" screen device because it is smaller and lighter than the bigger counter parts such as the Motorola XOOM and the Apple iPads.

The main reason I have it with me at all times is so I can check my calenday from my company email. That way, if I get someone ringing me up directly to make and appointment, I can say within second "How about this date and time".

I also use it for taking down notes and attaching pictures to the notes when looking at security camera jobs, I can send emails much faster from my tablet than my phone because the screen is bigger and I suffer from fat finger syndrome.

The one thing you can't do is to expect that a tablet is going to replace your laptop, because it won't. You are still going to need your laptop for field service like firmware upgrades, testing networking and so on.

So, there you have it... Go forth and blow your money. lol

[Jules Winfield]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I think the iPads are too bulky for use in the field. Wait for the iTampon to come out. They're much smaller, although I hear they're uncomfortable to carry for long periods of time.

[JustManuals]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I'm hot to get an iPad 3 when it comes out. We have a Win7 Pro laptop, but to fire it up, wait for Windoze and the virus software to update is a PITA. A lot of times the wife and I are in the bedroom and we want to look up a movie or something. The iPad will come in handy for that. Besides, I hate Windoze 7.

[rthonpm]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I went the cheapskate route and picked up a PlayBook (RIM) and I've been fairly impressed with it. Much smaller form factor than the iPad, and it seems a little more responsive. The Flash capability, multitasking, and ability to use my phone (BlackBerry as well) as a network source without an additional data plan also helped to sell me on it.

Like others have said, it won't replace your laptop for service manuals and such, at least until Adobe comes out with a tablet version of the Reader with the ability to read and navigate bookmarks. The iPad to me was too large, too expensive, and the OS is just a little too underpowered for multitasking. Plus it seems like the only way to make the thing manageable is to jailbreak the thing. Why pay all that money only to have to void the warranty to get access to a feature set?

[copymech]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I use a Dell streak. Its a 5 inch telephone/tablet. I love it. The large screen allows easy reading of service manuals and parts manuals, easy access to forums when i need em ect. and it fits in my pocket.

[Wishbone]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I think an Ipad would be great if for nothing else to put all my service manuels on. No boot up time which would make looking up parts quick and easy too.

[ledoux]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I'm obviously wanting one more for personal reasons, just have an easier time justifying it in my mind if it will be more useful at work. I like the idea of having access to my manuals with no boot up time. Also having all my notes I make digital and more organized.I'm doing it with my phone at the moment but I think the bigger screen and keyboard would be nicer. I'd love to be able to not haul my heavy laptop everywhere but don't see that happening anytime soon.

[mx270hb]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

Ipad 3 is due out next month.
I have an ipad which has all my manuals on.. I use my usb sticks for firmware
Also have found a cat dongle that will adapt to the 30 min on an Ipad.. Interested to see if it will work with network testing

[Tactiveboy]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I got one after much thought. It's great, in fact I am on it now, all manuals on it, brochures for sales, copy tech net when stuck all with no boot up. It also distracts customers when things get tricky as they are more interested in the iPad. Away from work they're cool too. In summary they rock and anyone with an alternative whines in the same way blackberry/android phone users whine about iPhones until they get one and realise they were wrong. Just get one

[teebee1234]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

Ricoh is in the initial stages of replacing the EDGE devices (Motorola MC75) with a tablet, though it hasn't been determined what make and how long till a rollout starts. When I was in Atlanta I saw a Motorola XOOM that was being looked at and a ruggedized version of same that COMCAST field techs use. It had swappable ports that allowed you to switch between HDMI, RJ45, Serial and others as needed. It also hasn't been divulged if these will replace the laptops at some point (I don't think they have enough storage space).

[Gift]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

I don't like apples lifestyle gadgets but I was already considering to get a tablet because it's indeed more handy to take a quick look in a manual or prepare a firmware update. Unfortunately there aren't really any ARM-driven tablets out there with a fullsize SD card slot, fullsize USB connector (so I can hook up an USB stick directly) and enough internal memory for all manuals and firmware I need to carry around. I'd also love to see a tablet that comes with RJ45 network connector so I can access web interfaces. I know I can get a computer-tablet with windows but that's nothing else than a notebook without a keyboard but even some worse performance if it just contain Intels Atom CPU for instance.

I'm using a Dell PDA for ~5 years that does do most of the jobs but the performance is not state of the art anymore. Moving firmware files takes too much time and browsing through manuals is not very comfy on a little VGS display, still it does the job if I don't need to read intensely.

[ledoux]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

So I bit the bullet and got the new iPad when they released it. Still working on getting all my manuals on it but the no boot up time is great and it's kept me from lugging my 800 lb laptop in all my calls besides the IT ones. I'm already wishing I would have splurged for the 64 gig though.

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

Re: Talk me into an Ipad

There are three brands I will NEVER EVER get: Sony, Dell, and Apple. These three companies are so expensive, proprietary, corrupt, and their products are very limiting.

Basically getting anything "generic" or other than these brands is typically less expensive and not locked down as much.

Oh and Sony and Apple are notorious for suing their own customers when eventually the defendants (consumers) ended up winning under the "fair use" clause.

just my two pennies.