Windows Tablets For Fieldwork

[Bill S]

OK, I can wait a few weeks for more info. I mentioned in the past I was interested in Surface Pro which you thought was overkill. I think many of the new Windows based tablets will be shipping with Bay Trail processors rather than the Haswell (better power mgmt I suppose). Do you think that Bay Trail will be sufficient when running Word, Outlook, ACI, Adobe, and a few other apps simultaneously? (I barely know enough to be dangerous here)

 

[JSmith43]

I don't get the attraction to touch screen devices. Try using one while eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Pretty much every smudged screen I see on a note pad makes me think of CDC studies tracking human virus proliferation such as flu

What is really needed is some sort of telepathic link. Maybe the first ones will require a chip set implant in the user. For now, I remain less than enthusiastic about tablets.

I guess if a MacBook Air or other high quality ultra book had a detachable keyboard and a touch screen, the gap between laptops and note pads would be filled. Most people with note pads put them in a case that opens like a book, so might as well have a keyboard there (some case options include a keyboard).

The OS gap needs to be closed as well. The Windows 8 tablet apparently does it to a degree. I think Apple should make it so that IOS programs can operate within OSX. I know they can-software developers have long had access to a simulator so they can develop OS7 apps on OSX machines.

Musings ended for now. I don't want to muck up the thread too much for the touch screen fans:laugh:

 

[kakarotto]

i worked in the IT department of a fortune 100 company, no not a fortune 500, a fortune 100 company, and i am currently a real estate appraiser.

DO NOT BUY BAY TRAIL ATOM BASED TABLETS!!!!!! i can guarantee you, that you will be frustrated with the performance throughput of these tablets. Every single iteration of atom based processors have been disappointing to say the least. if i recall correctly, the bay trail based tablets are also using a single channel for ram, which coupled with the emmc bottleneck is going to continue to offer you a slow experience.

i'm getting my feathers ruffled because randall hasn't pushed for amd based tablets (nothing substantial has been released yet). and if he had read my post, he would have say that i have suggest the surface pro, and the surface pro 2 (which are both running intel based processors). i have iterated that the smaller storage devices (32gb and 64gb) will have serious degradation in the quality of flash storage memory over time. the reason is, these flash storage mediums are not like the platter based hard drives of yesterday. they are cells, and each cell has a lifespan of writes, and re-writes. the more cells you have (higher storage), the less writes and re-writes you will have. when you already have a bloated operating system (such as windows), and you are loading photos, and deleted photos, loading appraisal files, etc, you are seriously degrading the lifespan of a smaller storage device. as i said before, someone who is CURRENTLY an appraiser and uses appraisal software in real world scenarios daily, an active investor in technology companies via stocks, and as a hobby builds computers, etc, worked in IT for a fortune 100 company, i guess my opinions are crazy rants and should be ignored.

 

[Randall Garrett]

K,

I admire your passion, but you really are derailing the main purpose of this thread IMHO and letting your favoritism for AMD products like Temash obscure a measurable amount of objectivity, again IMHO.

I don't publish information on AMD based devices because I don't actually HAVE any. If you do, and can report on them, I again invite you to share your feedback - it would be welcomed by all, I think. I am agnostic on who makes the CPU and have mentioned that several times. IF and WHEN these devices with Temash come out, I will get them and treat them as fairly as I do all others.

Can't we stop this pointless bickering and get back to talking about devices that EXIST when they actually DO exist? Banter over imaginary devices, paper specs, etc. is really the fodder of nerds and fanboys, and there is no place for that here IMHO. Lets deal more with facts and less with conjecture - lets wait until devices are actually out in the world and can be tested so that buyers can make informed decisions.

Finally, I maintain that there IS a place for low power units and upper end units. Haswell i5/i7 seem great for the time being, but they are simply overkill for some users (price, weight, functionality, etc.) Lets let users decide what they want. Point is, there is a place for both. Just because YOU want an i5/i7 type system, doesn't mean it is the best fit for everyone. If you like them, then you should get one

Let thy feathers be unruffled ;-)


-Randall Garrett-
..Apex Software..

/end/

 

[kakarotto]

uhm, in my last post i didn't recommend an amd tablet, but an intel tablet. i'm not trying to bash you, but you are making it too easy. i stated to NOT BUY BAY TRAIL TABLETS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, and instead recommended the surface pro or surface pro 2. dude, let the amd argument go

i wouldn't recommend bay trail for anyone. it is a poor and terrible performing tablet and not one that ANYONE wouldn't wnat to use out on the field. but you sit behind a desk and wouldn't know that

 

[kakarotto]

either way, i give up, if any of you want to waste your money on a bay trail tablet by listening to randall go ahead. you will regret your purchase, but that is your cross to bear

 

[joechuchran]

if any of you want to waste your money on a bay trail tablet by listening to randall go ahead. you will regret your purchase

I'm confused. I've been following this and several other threads and I don't recall Randall "recommending" a Bay Trail device. He's always said to wait for the Haswell.

 

[JSmith43]

I thought Bay Trail was an outfit like Sportsman's Guide. BTW, ammo supplies are finally reemerging

Randall has a track record of giving solid advice, IMO.

This thread prompted me to google Bay Trail:icon_mrgreen:

I'm glad there are competing gadgets out there. It makes life more interesting.

May the readers & posters enjoy peace of mind!

Kakarotto, it would be easier to believe you if you were at least a Certified Residential (that was a joke).

There are licensed posters with impressive backgrounds & their posts and opinions are welcome by most

and predictably scorned by a few posters that think license level is all that meaningful in the greater scheme of things.

 

[Devon Hubbard]

Randall, what do you think about this:

ASUS Transformer Book TX300CA-DH71 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop

Is it too big for field work? My eyes aren't what they used to be....

Thanks

 

[Rlong]

I have relied on Randall's advice (as one primary source) for years and not been let down. I'm impatiently waiting for the new devices. In the interim I have been using a Wifi connected ipad with Total Mobile (bought used); a Galaxy Tab 2, 7" (to try form factor) and an old off lease/dirt cheap Lenovo thinkpad for a laptop. (All had for a "few hundred" dollars, or less, each)

If nothing else Randall's advice has saved me thousands of dollars in toys/equipment I would have bought without better advise. Advise what NOT to buy ("yet") is often the most valuable.

Trying to listen to ALL the static is just confusing when my primary job should be appraising.

Bob in CO