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Windows Tablets For Fieldwork

Randall Garrett said:
Fujitsu has (finally!) publicly announced some (skimpy!) details on 3 upcoming tablets. As is typical of Fujitsu products in North America, they tend to be more Business/Enterprise-oriented and thus will not likely earn much press in the consumer space. Nevertheless, some may find them a good fit for their particular circumstance(s)...

Perhaps the one I am most excited about is the Fujitsu Arrows Tab V727/S, which is their first device with the superior (IMHO) 3:2 aspect ratio screen and FWIW, I think the actual resolution of 1920 x 1280 makes more sense that the way many manufactures still try to garner consumer favor press by overloading pixels, which for our purposes only reduces battery life. Really, on a 12.3" screen, this resolution is more than sufficient! I am told that these screens will be "high luminance/high-legibility (for presentations)" but of course, I'll reserve judgement on the outdoor performance until I see/use it in person. Historically, Fujitsu Business Class tablets tend to rank favorably when compared to other manufacturers' consumer units so color me "hopeful" on this aspect. I am told that this device will be available with a range of Intel "Core" CPUs (once I verify, I will detail later), user-replaceable batteries and feature two USB type A + one USB type C ports, a fast-charge active pen, a micro-HDMI port as well as an array of typical business class security options (smart card or fingerprint reader, etc.) I am told that the new tablets are approximately 20% lighter and even though the throughput (performance) has increased, the battery life has also been improved, as well when compared to previous/similar models.

Low_ARROWSTabV727S.jpg


[Edit] - I am reminded to comment with respect to how new devices fit into an increasing interest in mobile (i.e. companion-class) devices. Without actually seeing/using this device myself (yet), IMHO the overall specs put this closer to a "laptop replacement" device vs. the upcoming SD-powered companion-class devices. This is typical of business class devices meant for Enterprise users. For some here, though, this type device - much like most MS Surface Pro (and clones) - proves that "safety net" of being able to comfortably run some of their more "full figured" software until if/when more svelte replacements become available :)

Hope this helps! I will follow up with more info on this device as soon as I have confirmed details.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
Click to expand...




What you say???? Someone other than Ms building a device with a 3:2 screen.. that only took a year and a half.. Why on this planet are our choices so.slim with 3:2 screens. Does anyone really care? My surface book is inferior in all other aspects to all previous 2:1 devices I have owned except for that one element, and unfortunately that one element, 3:2 screen makes such a huge difference, that it makes up for all of the other deficiencies and would probably buy an sb again, and maybe even the 15 inch if the price was better. Maybe this Fuj. Device will take the place? Thanks for bringing this up. Am looking forward to the specs and accessories available and pricing.

Thanks for all you do here Mr Garrett.

Chris Wagoner, Certified Residential Appraiser.
 
Randall Garrett said:
Fujitsu has (finally!) publicly announced some (skimpy!) details on 3 upcoming tablets. As is typical of Fujitsu products in North America, they tend to be more Business/Enterprise-oriented and thus will not likely earn much press in the consumer space. Nevertheless, some may find them a good fit for their particular circumstance(s)...

Perhaps the one I am most excited about is the Fujitsu Arrows Tab V727/S, which is their first device with the superior (IMHO) 3:2 aspect ratio screen and FWIW, I think the actual resolution of 1920 x 1280 makes more sense that the way many manufactures still try to garner consumer favor press by overloading pixels, which for our purposes only reduces battery life. Really, on a 12.3" screen, this resolution is more than sufficient! I am told that these screens will be "high luminance/high-legibility (for presentations)" but of course, I'll reserve judgement on the outdoor performance until I see/use it in person. Historically, Fujitsu Business Class tablets tend to rank favorably when compared to other manufacturers' consumer units so color me "hopeful" on this aspect. I am told that this device will be available with a range of Intel "Core" CPUs (once I verify, I will detail later), user-replaceable batteries and feature two USB type A + one USB type C ports, a fast-charge active pen, a micro-HDMI port as well as an array of typical business class security options (smart card or fingerprint reader, etc.) I am told that the new tablets are approximately 20% lighter and even though the throughput (performance) has increased, the battery life has also been improved, as well when compared to previous/similar models.

Low_ARROWSTabV727S.jpg


[Edit] - I am reminded to comment with respect to how new devices fit into an increasing interest in mobile (i.e. companion-class) devices. Without actually seeing/using this device myself (yet), IMHO the overall specs put this closer to a "laptop replacement" device vs. the upcoming SD-powered companion-class devices. This is typical of business class devices meant for Enterprise users. For some here, though, this type device - much like most MS Surface Pro (and clones) - proves that "safety net" of being able to comfortably run some of their more "full figured" software until if/when more svelte replacements become available :)

Hope this helps! I will follow up with more info on this device as soon as I have confirmed details.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
Click to expand...




What you say???? Someone other than Ms building a device with a 3:2 screen.. that only took a year and a half.. Why on this planet are our choices so.slim with 3:2 screens. Does anyone really care? My surface book is inferior in all other aspects to all previous 2:1 devices I have owned except for that one element, and unfortunately that one element, 3:2 screen makes such a huge difference, that it makes up for all of the other deficiencies and would probably buy an sb again, and maybe even the 15 inch if the price was better. Maybe this Fuj. Device will take the place? Thanks for bringing this up. Am looking forward to the specs and accessories available and pricing.

Thanks for all you do here Mr. Garrett.

Chris Wagoner, Certified Residential Appraiser.
 
Glad to help, Chris!

I agree with you on the 3:2 aspect ratio thing! There are a FEW other 3:2 devices out there but not many, despite (as you correctly, IMHO, observe) the demonstrable advantage of 3:2 over the all-to-common 16:9 screens.
I've started seeing reviewers mention that the 3:2 screens are suited for European A4 paper space (close to our "Letter" size) but, of course, that's when in Portrait mode...

FWIW, I still use my SB and am considering a move to the newest model as many people I know say it is much better. I've not had any major issues with my original (early/pre-production?) SB that I got just before official general availability. Neither did I have a lot of minor issues outside of the issues around the early adoption of the CPU regarding "sleep mode" and a few other items. MS, in a rare move, was pretty much "first out of the gate" with the new CPUs in the Surface 4 and Surface Book. Mine sports the NVidia GPU, not something I think is necessary at all for users here - I just wanted it, LOL. Sounds like you, LOL ;-)

Nevertheless, I am told that the current (new) model is much better than earlier versions, and I am also considering the 15" for myself. I know your needs go beyond most readers/users here, but I hope you go fondle a 15" tablet section and consider it for your (occasional?) field use. I don't do actual inspections for a living anymore - I just do them with certain customers as a training (mainly for me, LOL) exercise, and I think the 10" - 12" size fits most here better than a 13.5", much less the larger, 15" screen. FWIW to others, here is a link to the new SB specs - size, weight, CPU/GPU options, etc.

I think we'll know about all we need to know with regard to the newer "companion" devices with SD processors and LTE by the time MWC has hit. All we have now is a few announcements and some brief, controlled "hands on" videos with folks using largely pre-production devices being shown at trade shows, etc. CES is not really "about" tablets, etc. - most of this stuff breaks around MSC in February. I only know of a few people who actually have any of the current SD-385 devices - generally people in very large Enterprise organizations doing field trials and giving feedback for "last minute tweak-type" items prior to a larger release. Of course, we also have some more traditional tablets with Intel CPU's for those with a need/desire for more horsepower (like you) and as you see, a few are largely "bolting on" a sub-assembly ("board") with an SD LTE modem. That said, Intel has another solution in production, and it will be interesting to see how many design wins they get. I suspect that the Qualcomm designs will carry the day due to familiarity of implementation with manufacturers... We'll see...

I expect most of the pertinent things to shake out in time for a Spring Thaw... :-) Of course, then there is the upcoming SD-845 and 5G stuff coming, but my thought is that for most, it'll be a couple of years before all of that coalesces into a commonly available (and affordable?) ecosystem. Most companies I deal with are, or course, keeping an eye on long-term items, but also realize that they need something short term to take advantage of the current climate and they want to "make hay while the sun shines" in the short-to-mid term I hope that what I am providing here helps the average reader here see a path to the BB4TB (Best Bang For The Buck) device in a time frame that works for them. I believe I'll have a pretty good round-up by the end of February. I'll be heading overseas in Feb to meet with some folks in various places and in related fields, and I will be incorporating their thoughts, their desires, etc. into my recommendations for users here in North America. What these people do is not exactly the same as what we do here, but it is so similar (like sherbet to sorbet?) that I feel that solutions to their items would be of benefit to users here.

Hope this helps for now. I will post more on this stuff before I travel.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
 
Great stuff. I am dissappointed in my sb based on the cost. The p40 yoga is a far superior device with the exception of the screen aspect ration. I have had significant difficulty in the field with the sb, My earliest issues were with the hinge connection, which has seemed to work itself out. I have also been through 2 additional packs (yes packs, the original and 4 per pack), of pen tips for the pen. Do not drop the pen on any hard surface, or you are nearly guaranteed to have to replace the tip. These have added expense as well. And am on second battery. Additionally, with any moisture or rain drips on the screen of the sb, it becomes worthless. The pen will not write accurately. Never replaced a Lenovo pen tip, not once, never had to replace the battery, as it charged inside the device, and always had a place to put the pen (in the included charging silo), and never had any trouble writing with the Lenovo pens even on wet screens. I purchased a UAG case for the device which has a little a pen holder at the top of the screen, which lasted about 9 months. The pen holder will not hold the pen any longer as the rubber appears to be just weak and floppy. I had to rob a string from an old X61 pen to tie the pen to my sb as the magnetic strips do not work through the rubber case. I tried using the sb without the rubber case and just using the magnetic area for the pen, but it still falls off when bumped or moved too quickly. Lately, it has been cold here in the mid-west. The device just does not have enough battery in the tablet part itself to withstand the colder temps. Twice I have been outside sketching at temps around 10 degrees with wind chills lower and without any warning at all, device has shut down. One time a message flashed that I had 6% battery left and then immediately shut down. When I went to vehicle and plugged back to base, the screen still had 79% of battery when device rebooted. The second time this happened, the tablet was showing as having 1% battery when rebooted, but when I tried to disconnect, based would not allow to be disconnected until battery was charged higher. Took awhile. The device also gives me significant issues on bumpy roads, which I travel on a lot. The cursor has trouble tracing where I am and will start and finish sentences in two different fields and sometimes even highlight entire paragraphs and overwrite with partial sentences. I do like the screen aspect very much and enjoy the tablet part for field inspection. And with older eyes, the 15" screen size is appealing. Was able to look at one just before Christmas. Is nice size and light. Would seem to work well for field inspection. Appears by specs, they may have added larger battery, but remaining issues appear to still remain. Not to mention, a pen does not come with the unit, so on top of the $3,000 they want for the unit, you have to spend an additional $100 for the pen. $200 for the dock, $100 for a mouse and $249 for insurance. The costs are astronomical compared to Lenovo, and have not seen costs for Fujitsu units yet, which are typically high, but i cannot image getting into this range. I will serious have to consider going back to the inferior screen unless Lenovo does something this year ot the Fujitsu has some great accessories to make their tablet a viable choice. Guess this turned to mini sb field review. Hope others are having better luck. Thanks for keeping me posted on the newer stuff.

Chris Wagoner, Certified Residential Appraiser.
 
Mike Ault said:
And that is precisely what I have with my Lenovo ThinkPad One. I went through the various iterations of android tablets and all the various appraisal apps designed for that platform and after many months of struggling was still on the fence about ditching the clipboard. What I wanted was a "smart clipboard" that didn’t force me to change the way I gathered field data for the past 20+ years and that was connected via VPN when needed to answer questions about ongoing or recently completed assignments in the field. With the combination of Apex V6, Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft OneNote configured for field note use my field notes are automatically synchronized across all of my devices which makes it convenient to add handwritten annotations to MLS printouts for instance on whichever device happens to be handy at the time. I receive a lot of information about my ongoing assignments while I'm in the field working on other assignments and the ability to quickly switch to that tab in the Microsoft Onenote file associated with the assignment in question and take either handwritten, keyboard or voice notes saves a lot of lost information hassles. The AT&T 4G card mine came with seems to do about as good a job with data as my cell phone does so it is definitely worth the extra charge per month to me to avoid the "hotspot hassle" you described and full VPN access definitely does come in handy at times. Make sure and carry a mouse with you as those desktop programs are not mobile optimized and the buttons you seek seem mighty small when you're in some parking lot searching through your office hard drive. I played pretty heavily with Dragon NaturallySpeaking trying to streamline the walk-through process, it worked very well indoors but I never was able to come up with an all-around acceptable Bluetooth microphone solution that performed well outside in a windy or noisy environment. I haven’t checked into the latest Bluetooth microphone happenings in over a year now and some active noise cancellation technology might be out that would solve that problem however you still have the problem of people following you around while you are talking in the microphone about their "soiled carpeting". For a commercial appraiser I think the Dragon NaturallySpeaking teamed with a Windows tablet is well down the path to the Holy Grail, I’m just too set in my ways to make a total switchover to field voice recognition notes for residential work. Using Dragon for dictation of text notes into Microsoft OneNote directly on top of an MLS printout such as "this comparable closed with the extra 10 acre parcel included" works perfectly and is far preferable to embedded .wav audio files that you will have to keep track of somehow. If you're foolish enough to take phone calls during lunch and somebody gives you a vital piece of information you can pull up OneNote on your phone and add it directly to your that particular assignment tab while it is still fresh on your mind. Using the Windows Tablet path you’re not forced into somebody else dictating your workflow, however well-intentioned. You can use whatever fieldnote gathering procedure and camera that works best for the task at hand and if you have voice recognition set up back at the office you’re not really losing any time downloading and labeling photos off of your camera. I still don't know how you are supposed to keep your photographs straight when you're using a tablet for half of your photos and a standalone camera for the other half anyway because it's just too hard to take comparable photos by hanging a tablet out the window, especially when you need an optical zoom function, need to take pictures in low-light conditions, need to look inconspicuous, etc.. I also find it considerably faster going through a home circling checklist items and handwriting field notes as needed on a OneNote synchronized checklist to be deciphered in the peace and calm of the office environment rather than trying to hit precisely the right pulldown box for the appropriate canned response common on most of the apps that I've seen for these small tablet devices. A process made considerably harder still when trying to carry on a polite conversation with whomever is following you around at the time. Not trying to take away from all of the effort involved by the folks getting all those android and iPad appraisal apps up and functional for people not quite so set in their ways, as evidenced by numerous posts on this board they work and work well but they were just not my cup of tea and I never considered myself exactly a Luddite. Microsoft has done all the heavy lifting as far as interconnectivity and synchronization issues with the latest Windows platforms and I guess what I am trying to tell you with this lengthy thread clogger (sorry Randall) is that 2 year old technology works quite well and I would not hesitate to pick up a lightly used ThinkPad with a 4G card if you can find one. One primary factor to keep in mind is the bump cases that are available for whatever tablet you end up with. Something that’s awkward to hold in one hand while you’re measuring with the other will get old pretty fast and I’ve been very impressed with the bump case and docking station that’s available for the ThinkPad. Just a 4G ThinkPad enthusiast weighing in after real-world field use for a couple of years….
Click to expand...
Hey Mike,
Can you explain what you mean by configuring OneNote for field note use?
 
My apologies for not posting earlier. I'm still not in a position to be able to post here conveniently, reliably, etc., but I aim to do so in the near future.

In the meantime, and FWIW, I wanted to let interested parties here know that the MS Store has a Surface Pro tablet on sale for $699. The configuration basics are:
  • Core m3 CPU
  • 4GB RAM
  • 128 GB SSD
  • Keyboard cover included

As I have mentioned many times in the past, I am generally not in favor of heavy use of the early Surface devices in typical (?) field environments. The fact that they required fans for ventilation (cooling), like most other laptops & tablets, means they are susceptible to contamination from dirt/moisture, etc. That the Surface devices were especially thin also means that the ventilation system has narrow passages and thus makes them even more likely to foul. The newer Core m3 and Core i5 devices, however, are fan-less and thus far less prone to failures from these conditions. Unless you truly need a desktop replacement class device in the field (doubtful), a Core m3 will likely perform (more than) adequately as a companion device, not to mention the more powerful (and power hungry) Core i5. I still maintain that most appraiser types don't need a Core i7 - even on their desktops, not to mention a field device ;-)

For those who might be interested, the $699 model mentioned above can be found here:


Hope this helps!

-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
 
Not directly related to Windows !0 Tablets, but I thought some of you might be interested to know that the DISTO™ X3 and DISTO™ X4 were finally announced today. I've been under NDA on these since early November and simply could not discuss any details until they formally announced them. These devices are not yet available and I'm not even sure if I can comment on their projected release dates. That said (and given my long history with Leica Geosystems), I feel confident that they will be out close to their original projected release dates. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to be out before summer (and likely well before, IMHO.) Based on my exposure to the early prototypes and engineering samples, I believe these two models will likely become the most popular models to date and will top their sales charts for 2018. Once I get our final samples and I can test them fully, I will (of course), let you know my thoughts. That said, many of you will find that the price and features make them very compelling compared to other devices. I wish I could say more, but I'm just not sure I can comment on any features not mentioned in their own literature, videos, etc. BTW, both are BT-enabled. The main thing people will notice being different between the X3 and the X4 is the camera but there is actually more going on under the hood - things that I appreciate and I am sure you may, too. Both units are supposed to have better battery life.
[Edit] - adding links and thumbnail pictures

https://lasers.leica-geosystems.com/disto/x3
upload_2018-2-15_16-24-55.png​

https://lasers.leica-geosystems.com/disto/x4
upload_2018-2-15_16-25-35.png​

Hope this helps! I may post some info on various DISTO threads in the future, but for now, I wanted you folks to be the first to hear about this. Feel free to ask questions (via PM), and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. Note, though, that I am in and out of the office more than normal at this time.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
 
Last edited:
Sorry I've been away traveling for a bit - should be around for a few months before heading out again.
FWIW, I noted this item on Brad Linder's site, a "Deal of the Day" thing - a refurb Dell Latitude 12 5285 tablet with Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD for just under $640. Here is the link to the article which also has a link for purchasing the device. Note that various manufacturers operate through eBay to move refurbished products and this product comes with a 12 month Dell warranty. I would imagine these will go quickly...

Hope this helps!

-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
DellLatitude12-5285__4_.JPG
 
BTW, I will be making a fairly significant announcement with respect to our software as it relates to W10 tablets (and desktops, and more!) very soon. As you know, I don't use this site to do marketing on my own products, so I expect the announcement to be fairly "generic" and geared toward items which affect hardware selections, as appropriate. I may start a different thread on the actual product(s) announcement, specs, requirements, etc., but as usual, I won't be doing a marketing thing. Essentially, I'll be covering how the new may products affect your hardware choices in the near future. I'll also cover my own hardware purchases and try to convey the "why's" and how that might affect your own decisions going forward. FWIW, I view this as good news :-)

Regards,

-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
 
FWIW, I noticed the following short article on "straps" for Surface Pro tablets. I have not investigated the sources yet, but I suspect the manufacturers also make similar products for other devices.

On my previous post about an announcement, I am sorry to have not yet followed through on this item. I don't really know WHY we're not already talking about this, but FWIW, we'll be releasing Apex v7 very soon and it contains some items people have been wanting. Of course, there are enhancements for tablets as well as desktop use items. I'll have more info on where you can get details, pricing/promos, etc.

[Edit] - A message by PM reminded me to mention that I will be discussing support for the new Disto "X-series" devices seen in my post back in February.)


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/
 
Last edited:
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