Tablet: Convertible vs. Slate

[Randall Garrett]

Ric:

Since a proper Tablet PC (like any of the ones we recommend, but not limited to those) runs "real Windows", there is absolutely NO reason why your ACI program will not run just as well on a Tablet PC as it would on a "regular laptop" with a similar CPU, HDD, RAM, etc.

As far as sketching, my recommendation would be to start by upgrading your old Apex (v2?) to Apex Medina (aka v4)... In other words, why go to Apex v3 when v4, which is superior, costs the same??? I'd wait on using Nexus until you are more comfortable using a Tablet as a Tablet (vs. in laptop mode.) We used to see people really struggle when they added MobileSketch AND the Bluetooth DISTO all at once - too much all at once to learn. Our advice then was to get either MobileSketch or the DISTO first and get comfortable using that before adding the other.

Hope this helps!
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[Greg davenport]

I was really hoping you would point out what WinTOTAL doesn't do on a Tablet.

Preston
Just because a application works on a tablet, does not mean it "is a true tablet PC program." To see a true tablet application look at OneNote. In Wintotal, your pen is nothing more the a mouse. Not a true input tool. I can not hand write anything in Wintotal.

Many of the current tablet appraiser options require you to move, convert or transfer data/files to the report ... doesn't that defeat the purpose?

In my opinion it does not. It also offers you a little more protection in case your Wintotal becomes correpted (it has happend to me) and you lose the Zap file. NO ZAP in you case means no sketch, no notes, and you would have to start all over. Great time saver.

I think this is going to be similar to the Disto, it will take a while for folks to catch on ... so far other appraisers that have seen me demonstrate it have already ordered a Tablet .. it was similar for me, giving up the tape completely required me to see someone succesfully use a disto .. the light went on !

I agree, but the price will have to come down to make them acceptabe.

The Tablet/Slate type PC is the wave of the future and the hardware developers have figured that out.

If thats the case, why are so few still made?

 

[Greg davenport]

I'd wait on using Nexus until you are more comfortable using a Tablet as a Tablet (vs. in laptop mode.)

I have to disagree. I think you need to identify why you want to use a tablet first. Is it note taking, Mapping with a GPS, sketching, ect.. Learn to use your tablet through that tool.

The reason we got our FIRST tablet was for note taking (Back in 02 we had not heard of MSTT and did not know you could sketch in the field with it). Then we found out about MSTT and our focus changed.
Sketching is our biggest focus with the tablet now. When you get your sketch done right in the field every thing just works better.

Note taking is nice, but you will never get back to your office and wonder if that number is a 2 or a 5. and how many times have you forgotten to write down one number on a sketch?

 

[Randall Garrett]

Greg:

Personally, I agree with your take on things, but then I am biased... ;-) I got the idea that Ric just wanted to start moving toward being more mobile vs. being as mobile-oriented as your operation is. In either case, he'll need Apex Medina to work with his ACI program, so I was just recommending that he start with that and then include Nexus when he felt ready to take the next step - be it hours, days, weeks, or whatever...

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[BlueDog007]

Randall-

You have worked with me for about the past month and realize what I am trying to ultimately accomplish.......MOBILITY. I have only used the Disto for about a week, but it's so simple, I have it down already, with the exception of the triangular part.

I have my dual monitors in place and that's a huge time savings in itself. I do use the Pocket PC but realize the tablet is a better option. With the PPC, I wouldn't be able to label the sketch correct? Wouldn't that have to be done back at the office (w/o a tablet scenario)?

And I have previously asked but have never rec'd an answer about if the Nexus data collection will integrate with ACI? Meaning, if I use Nexus and complete the data entry WITH a tablet in the field, will that information convert back into ACI or will I have to retype, which defeats the purpose?!?!

If so, I believe I would be better off using the tablet with the desktop version of ACI in the field......along with Medina. If you don't agree, or have a better option for being mobile, PLEASE advise!.......Oh yeah, I am using Apex 1.4 remember!!!.........now that's OLD SCHOOL!

 

[Anthem]

Preston
I can not hand write anything in Wintotal.

I HAND WRITE my sketch, I scribble the lines and dimensions it instantly pops to text and lines. I scribble Bed it snaps a bedroom label .... I scribble kit it snaps a kitchen label.

As far as notes I can handwrite notes into the fieldpad, or snap to text in a word doc I have in each templates workfile, or the addenda.

My main thing (and I would assume most others, I haven't met anyone who types the entire report in the customers living room) is to get the sketch, room labels, bed-bath count - then field notes; most of which the client will never see.

I am able to do the sketch completely with HANDWRITING not MOUSE FUNCTIONS. I am able to do my field notes with HANDWRITING.

Maybe some have misunderstood .... although I have been testing Davinci Moblie Pro ( the data gathering tool-sketcher ) I am talking about just using WinTOTAL on this tablet nothing more, the new Free Davinci Integrated Sketcher is in everyones WinTOTAL - this is not a seperate piece of software it is the same that is on my tower.

Obviously Handwriting the entire addenda and comments would be time consuming .... but who wants to do that in the customers house?

 

[Greg davenport]

I HAND WRITE my sketch, I scribble the lines and dimensions it instantly pops to text and lines. I scribble Bed it snaps a bedroom label .... I scribble kit it snaps a kitchen label.

As far as notes I can handwrite notes into the fieldpad, or snap to text in a word doc I have in each templates workfile, or the addenda.

Again Preston, tell me something that WINTOTAL does. Nothing you describe is in Wintotal, it is in some other application.

I am able to do the sketch completely with HANDWRITING not MOUSE FUNCTIONS. I am able to do my field notes with HANDWRITING.

Maybe some have misunderstood .... although I have been testing Davinci Moblie Pro ( the data gathering tool-sketcher ) I am talking about just using WinTOTAL on this tablet nothing more, the new Free Davinci Integrated Sketcher is in everyones WinTOTAL - this is not a seperate piece of software it is the same that is on my tower.

Preston you just admitted to having to do all the above in Davinci, NOT Wintotal.
Davinci is a tablet application, but Wintotal Aurora is not. Don't confuse the matter.

Obviously Handwriting the entire addenda and comments would be time consuming .... but who wants to do that in the customers house?

I agree, but it would be nice for a two person office to be able to get some work done while driving from the office to the appointment.
Hopefully Alamode with do something good with Armstrong, but I doubt it.

 

[Greg davenport]

I'm not Randall, but I take a shot at this based on what I have read before, and Randall can correct me if I'm wrong.

Randall-

You have worked with me for about the past month and realize what I am trying to ultimately accomplish.......MOBILITY. I have only used the Disto for about a week, but it's so simple, I have it down already, with the exception of the triangular part.

Triangulation is the hardest thing to use. I gave up on it and just use the +/- feature.

And I have previously asked but have never rec'd an answer about if the Nexus data collection will integrate with ACI? Meaning, if I use Nexus and complete the data entry WITH a tablet in the field, will that information convert back into ACI or will I have to retype, which defeats the purpose?!?!

I believe the answer is no. While Nexus has the backend that will allow the information to be passed to ACI, ACI will have to do some work to take advantage of it.
But don’t think of it as defeating the purpose. If you are taking notes now, my guess is you have to look from page to page to get the information you need about each room, the way the Nexus displays the data is a much easier way to read and find what you are look for then through pages of notes.

If so, I believe I would be better off using the tablet with the desktop version of ACI in the field......along with Medina. If you don't agree, or have a better option for being mobile, PLEASE advise!.......Oh yeah, I am using Apex 1.4 remember!!!.........now that's OLD SCHOOL!

What I have found (from experience) to work is to use Nexus and OneNote together. Nexus for the sketch, OneNote for information that is just too complex for Nexus (Think REO's and the amount of notes you need to take in very poor condition homes).
Your forms package does not come to play in the field. It seems like it would, but keep in mind you will be running on battery when working around the subject, and to many applications running at once will eat into the battery life.
Even with the need to check a few box's back at the office, with your dual monitor setup, you will be looking side to side and not up and down to read your notes.

 

[Randall Garrett]

Ric:

Obviously, Preston's solution is for you to switch to the product he uses, LOL. I don't think that is a viable option for you, right? I am going under the assumption that you want to keep using ACI as your underlying or main forms type program... If you are looking to completely revamp your operation and switching fro ACI to another forms program is a viable option, we'd perhaps approach things differently.

As far as your other questions:

Triangulation - That is not particularly hard to do, but bear in mind, for most appraisal purposes, it is meant to be available for use when you have no other options... That is, as Greg mentions, the regular/traditional "linear" measurements (sometimes using the +/- features) is the preferred method and you'd use the triangulation (Pythagorean functions) feature only when it was too difficult/inconvenient/dangerous/impossible to do a traditional straight linear measurement. I think it is helpful to know HOW to use this function just in case using it becomes the best option... Hope this is worded well enough to make sense...

On the direct ACI integration with Nexus, I simply cannot comment. Greg is right - Nexus CAN be integrated. It was designed to allow someone to use it in conjunction with an existing non-Tablet enabled forms (or other) program, not to replace a forms program. Right now, there is no DIRECT integration between Nexus and ACI. If/when it becomes available, it would have to come from ACI and I simply cannot comment on their efforts to do this or their future plans. We have a development relationship with them and I am under non-disclosure on items like this. Hence, it is not that I don't want to comment, it is that it is inappropriate for me to talk about this sort of thing. If you want to see direct integration, my advice is to let your ACI representative(s) know about it. Anyway, in lieu of this direct integration, Nexus also has integration with Apex Medina and, of course, Apex Medina has an existing integration to/with ACI. That is why I said your best 1st step is to move from your v1.x version of Apex to Apex Medina (aka v4) anyway. You can use that now. IF and when you want to move to Nexus in the field, you can, but it is not required. Remember, and I do NOT mean for this to start anything (LOL), Nexus IS a true Tablet program (by "my developer definition") - it REQUIRES the Tablet PC OS and will not run on a regular WinXP or Vista version that does not have the Tablet PC stuff "in" the OS.

I believe the best thing for you is to sit through a Nexus Webinar and see how you might move forward.

I did not intend to downplay your desire to go MOBILE. If you are really wanting to make a radical change to your operation, that is great, and I am glad to try and help. Please understand, though, MY vision may not be the same as yours... Kind of like when we started the thread and private e-mails - I'd not get the monitors YOU got. Do they work, heck yes, but it is not what I use - my needs are different from yours in some regards, so the BB4TB for ME may not be what it is for YOU and YOUR business. For example, I tend to use my X61 more than my LE 1700, but then I am not inspecting properties for a living, either, so MY daily use is different than yours or most other appraisers. If I were still an active appraiser, I suspect that I'd prefer a slate like the LE1700...

Anyway, please also remember that I try really hard to stay away from things which might be viewed as "sales" type activities. I have no problem recommending equipment and software not made by my company if they "pass the tests" (LOL), but I find it difficult to recommend purchasing something from my company. Sorry that was worded so poorly. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that IF you see that your old Apex is getting long in the tooth (it must be 6 or more years old now), I'd move to Apex Medina (v4) instead of Apex v3 sine they are essentially thew same price. Apex v4 is simply newer and better. Additionally, it "talks" to Nexus where Apex v3 does not. Hence, IF you want to use Nexus, you'll want Apex v4 anyway. If you do not use Nexus, you're getting a better sketch program with v4 for the same or less. Going with v4 simply gives you more options and functionality.

All that said, I agree with Greg. We always recommend adding OneNote to a Tablet PC when ordered. It is a great piece of software and I think only costs about $20 when ordered with something like the X61.

Let me know if I can help. I still think, however, that the first thing you should do is attend a free Webinar on Nexus so you get a better picture of how it works and how it might make you more efficient.

[Edit] - It seems that this thread has gotten a bit off track from the subject line - "Convertible vs. Slate" - so maybe we should start a new one and let this one deal with the pro's and con's of slates vs. convertibles again (?)

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[Anthem]

Davinci comes with WinTOTAL aurora it is no different then clicking on the comps Powerview to get to the sketch. Do you have WinTOTAL?,,,, doesn't sound like you do. Again I am not talking about Davinci Mobile Pro the data gathering tool which is a separate piece of software but yet still utilizes the same format. The whole point behind my posts here is sharing that I am doing all this in one application.

As far as corrupted .zap files I have never lost a file ... and I am a BETA TESTER... every time WinTOTAL saves your file it is creating a back up, I have used the back feature to recover a file.

Randall I am not trying to get anyone to buy one or the other... I am simply sharing something that is saving me a tremendous amount of time. Very few appraisers are aware that the new free sketcher works in pen mode right from WinTOTAL, it automatically recognizes that the it is on a tablet.