Windows Tablets For Fieldwork

[Chris Wagoner]

So I pulled the trigger. Went with a P40 yoga at this point. used the cheaper I7 option, 512GB SSD, 16GIG RAM, FHD IPS antiglare screen, fingerprint reader, win10 pro, onelink doc, DC power adapter, 4 year on site NBD and accidental protection, and basic MS office software. When I look back at the yield with the last device, the costs are minimal and could probably afford to upgrade annually if it would help productivity. At this point it appears that productivity will be significant with most of the new hardware out there. I am still having a little difficulty finding a large enough bump style case like I had with X61 and X220T. At this point, I am going to get a generic sleeve and try to cobble something together. I paid for 1-3 day shipping from the company, and the accessories shipped earlier than expected, however, the math does not dd up on the unit itself at this point. So, website states 5-7 business days to ship, and with the 1-3 day shipping upgrade, that is 10 business days at the outset. Ordered 3/22, 3:45pm confirmation. So if I use Wed as first business day, it should ship Thurs 3/31 at latest, unless they are taking good friday. They are stating estimated ship date is 3/31, with estimated delivery date of 4/7. How could they ship on 3/31, charge me extra for 1-3 day shipping, and then show 5 business days as delivery, total 7 days? Not sure the additional shipping charge has any worth. Oh well... Time will tell. Will keep updated... Thanks again for all of the input. Chris Wagoner

 

[Mike Ault]

When you get your new Yoga and all your Microsoft Office applications appear to be stuck in "inking mode" where you can't use the pen to make any selections and it just draws lines on the screen - don't panic. The last Microsoft Office update they rolled out inadvertently stuck all pen enabled computers (or a whole bunch of them anyway, including my ThinkPad) into that mode and they are supposed to be coming out with an emergency fix soon. So if the pen isn't working inside of Office applications the way you think it should make sure and get the latest updates, by the time you take delivery of your computer hopefully they will have this issue fixed.

 

[Chris Wagoner]

Oh wow... Thanks for your advice.. That will save me significant frustration.....

 

[Randall Garrett]

Chris - Congrats on the new device - what a beast! On your shipping dates, Lenovo is notorious for getting dates all mixed up, but hopefully it will show up sooner than later. Your device is handled by the engineering group, so maybe they have different channels. I'll keep my eye out for any notices that I think might affect your shipment.

Mike - thanks for the heads up. I'm not seeing that in my SB, but since reading your post, we'll be specifically checking our other devices.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Mike Ault]

Mike - thanks for the heads up. I'm not seeing that in my SB, but since reading your post, we'll be specifically checking our other devices.

/end/

Here is the official Microsoft communication on the subject – drove me crazy until I found it. I have confirmed the issue on two other computers here locally and it is definitely not confined to the Surface Pro line of tablets.

https://community.office365.com/en-us/f/172/t/433709

 

[Chris Wagoner]

This am, Lenovo had updated my arrival date to the 3 day time to coincide with with my 1-3 day shipping costs. with ship 3/31 and eta 4/4. This evening now, they have updated my ship date to 4/6 and ETA of 4/8. That is a week later than originally estimated.... Not sure what is going on over there...

 

[Chris Wagoner]

Well. they actually did a pickup scan late yesterday and had an email this am that the package is on tract for delivery by noon tomorrow. Not sure how they will pull this off, but made it from Shanghai to Anchorage last night and I just looked and has been scanned to depart Anchorage late this afternoon. Looks like I was mistaken about the expedited shipping....

 

[Randall Garrett]

That is exciting news, Chris and I guess that I will officially be jealous sometime later today or this weekend! ;-)

Keep us informed and let us know how the new beast performs! Oh - if you have not done it yet, you might consider getting yourself the larger Lenovo ThinkPad Pen Pro for your everyday use and leave the smaller one inside the device as your emergency backup. The Pen Pro is the size and weight of a regular writing instrument and has a handy clip so you can carry it in your shirt pocked like a regular pen. It also comes with a nettle holder thing that goes into one of the USB ports in case you want to carry it attached to the device, but I always like to be able to carry my "real pen" in my shirt pocket - its a habit formed as a much younger man ;-) Anyway, the pen is about $40 retail and you can find it here: http://www.lenovoquickpick.com/usa/accessorycategory/92/pens# You can also see your regular P40 pen as well as the USB holder thingie. If you've ever used a Lenovo pen with a clip, you'll see how this one is more like a regular "Pilot" or "Pentel" type clip. I think it is an improvement

-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Chris Wagoner]

I am still in disbelief how Lenovo got this thing to me that fast. Kudios... Rcvd Fri morning just like they indicated. Have had a little time to play around with it. First impressions are all positive. Did a new install of total and migrated the data. A few glitches, and a few puzzling questions from tech support, but they figured everything out quickly. Did a new install of Apex v6, went seamlessly. Have not pursued the office stuff yet. I'm off on and running and am finding that the larger screen was a great move and the cutting edge software is saving me time already. The touch screen really allows me to use both hands and the keyboard in rapid succession. I am new to win10, and stilll need time to figure it all out, but my main programs can be accessed right from task bar at bottom middle of page and things work quickly from there. I used in my lap on a 6 hour car ride (passenger side), and am finding much more productivity based on the easier to see larger screen and the scrolling options I have with my fingers.
Now, the hardware. This thing is built like a rock and is heavy. Screen autorotates quickly. keyboard is backlit and takes a little getting used to as the distance from the back edge of the device to keys is much farther than last unit and has a huge trackpad with fantastic sensitivity. Getting away from the little nub in center of keyboard, as I am having trouble not hitting the b button each time I try to use the nub. as it is recessed significantly into the keyboard. Finish is definitely succeptible to fingerprints and am going to have to figure out how to clean. Keyboard retracts when in tablet mode like X1 Yoga advertises and neither keyboard nor trackpad function when in tablet mode. Wireless is fast and seamless both with the countless wifi networks I have attached to already and the tethering with an android 4glte phone. DC charger works well in car and machine does not heat up even in direct sunlight under load. Screen hinges are tight and hold well. I havent decided which will best for field work yet, whether to utilize tablet mode or just rotate and use as a windows portrait unit. Also not sure the win10 tiles will be too helpful, and so far Chrome works flawlessy. Have had some compatabilty issues with the new win10 internet explorer. The cortana thing I have signed into, but found little use for yet. Oh, and the charging system for this unit can be inserted up or down so no trying to figure out if the plug is upside down anymore. SD card are read quickly when inserted as well. Battery life is decent. Got close to 8 hours first day, and should run close to that today for time off charger. I put into full workload today, public records sites, MLS site, photos transfer, and even did a field review on it today scrolling between three windows at a time to compare and contrast data. Sent about three "revised" reports to upload sites and a number of emails. Flipped into tent mode tonight and showed a quick youtube video at full screen. Seamless. All for now. Will continue to update as I have more time on unit.. And will field any questions that anyone may have.

Chris Wagoner Certified Residential Appraiser, State of Indiana

 

[Mike Ault]

For those of us using Microsoft office applications with our tablets - this weekend they finally rolled out an update which restored the ability to use our pens in mouse mode to "select objects" as well as draw with. Just open the applicable office program and follow the instructions below.....

• If you don't want to automatically be in inking mode when Office detects your active pen or stylus, you can choose to use your pen to select objects by default. Here's how:
  
  Go to File > Options and select Advanced.
  
  In the Pen section, check the box next to Use pen to select and interact with content by default.
  
  You can choose to have this setting turned on or off in each Office app, depending on your preferences.