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Windows Tablets For Fieldwork

SurfacePro or Ipad -> which is better for appraising (collecting field data) & using for mobile office?
 
Mejappz said:
Randall any idea how to improve battery life on the Surface Pro 8? I fully charged mine, last only six hours.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay in responding - I'm just now back at my desk.
My reply below is sort of generic - I don't have any magic answers - but now you have me curious why I tend to get more like 8 or 9 (rarely 10) hours vs. your 6...
What are your Tablet specs - CPU, RAM, storage, etc? I aim to delve into things to see if I can discover anything that would materially increase your battery life.
[Edit] - Forgot to ask, what OS are you running - 10 or 11? (There may be some meaningful improvements to your battery life by running a slim version of 11)

For me, unless something is defective, the major thing that seems to affect battery life are which applications I am running. That is, if you are trying to use some old, bloated memory hog application such as a traditional URAR-type package, it is going to chew through your battery in a hurry. Of course, the advantage of a Windows Tablet is that you CAN do that (vs. a more modern/optimized "app") but that is the price you pay for that convenience. We all (should) realize that your beefy desktop wouldn't last long at all if you hooked it up to (say) a UPS with the same size battery that is in your Tablet. So, I try to restrict running "legacy", bloated software programs to as short a time as I can when I'm not near a traditional 110/120v power source. Of course, you'll want to make sure that you're up to date on critical updates (see me previous post?) and also look at your startup apps to make sure you're not running any unnecessary "bloatware" apps in the background. The next most item that is notorious for sapping battery are things related to the screen - brightness, refresh rates, etc. I fully understand that you can't run your SP8 at low screen brightness, especially when you're outside on a sunny day, but FWIW, I ALWAYS use an anti-glare/anti-reflective screen protector which allows me to lower my screen brightness by about 25% (try not to wear sunglasses as they are usually polarized and may really restrict visibility of the screen.) I even had a tech replace the screen on prior SP models with an RLCD screen but I would not recommend that expense - not even sure if they are still available...

Just as a thought - IF you absolutely NEED to be able to run legacy software while in the field, AND you don't want to carry something with a larger battery (heavier, mor bulky, etc.) you might consider something with an ARM CPU. I get MUCH better battery life out of even my OLD SPX devices, but my hoggy legacy software runs slower. For ME, the tradeoff is worth is since I never intended to run legacy software in "speed demon mode" anyway :) What ends up working the best for you really depends a lot on your use case scenario. I use a Tablet as a companion device, not a desktop replacement...

Once you let me know about your particular SP8 and perhaps a summary of your use case scenario(s), I will do a deeper dive to see if I can help you squeeze out some extra field life out of your Tablet.

Hope this helps!


+Randall Garrett+
Home in TX for a while
/end/
 
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NJAPRAZE said:
SurfacePro or Ipad -> which is better for appraising (collecting field data) & using for mobile office?
Click to expand...
Surface Pro vs. iPad?
IMHO, it really depends on whether or not you want (or need) to run any traditional "legacy" PC applications on it, right? Size, weight and battery life specs on an iPad trounce a Surface Pro with a Core i7, but the iPad won't run your old URAR-type software (unless, of course, you are running it via a "remote desktop" tunnel.) FWIW, please note that when I travel, I carry an iPad as well as a Surface device (or two, LOL) as well as a laptop when appropriate. Lately, I'm ditching the iPad more and more and just carrying the laptop and an Android tablet, primarily due to the superior outdoor screen technology (for MY use) which allows for a measurably increase in the battery life in the field. Note that I am no longer actively engaged in appraising and that MY field inspection-type activities are not what they were in the past. I still enjoy doing appraisal-type field inspections – mainly to help friends with their real estate tax appeals :) – as well as other, no-appraisal type floor plan interests I have. Thus, MY real-world use case scenario probably doesn't reflect YOURS as close as it would have in years past. Still, my background was in the real estate appraisal business since childhood and I still find myself contemplating "how would I measure that one" when I drive down the street and a maintain an interest in things that affect the readers here, which is why I still post info and opinions here.

If any of you are finding that you are OK with moving away from your legacy software while in the field - i.e. that you are OK with doing the "field app > desktop" thing - and want me to start posting about non-Windows devices I use for floor plan related activities, let me know. The 11" Android tablet I referred to above with the improved (but not yet "perfect") should be available to the public now, or at least in the next few weeks (?) Not to worry, it is definitely a consumer-oriented device, so not expensive :)

Hope this helps!


+Randall Garrett+
Home in TX for a while
/end/
 
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Randall:

My laptop has an 11th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of Ram, and 256GB of storage. It runs on Windows 11 and I always make sure it has the latest updates and drivers. However, I find that the battery life is not very good. I usually keep the screen brightness at around 50%, but it still drains quickly. (6 hours maybe 7) I should have bought the i5 processor instead since it is more energy-efficient. But I like the performance of the i7, which is similar to my desktop computer. I am thinking of getting an external SSD 1TB SSD card to expand the storage capacity and maybe a battery bank to extend the battery life. Any suggestions?
 
Well, I have to agree with your suggestion that maybe the Core i5 would have been a better choice. I've "preached" that for a while, especially in light of the fan-less (passively cooled) models and since even most "full URAR type programs" are not very taxing on the CPU except that they are not well optimized for mobile devices, etc. That being said, perhaps you can gain some optimization tips from this link :
It's pretty geeky so only dig as deep as you are comfortable with the settings. If/when you decide to replace that unit, I would consider something with a lower base power draw. The Core i5 models draw less and in my experience, they are not really all that much slower. Most of the software programs you are likely running are bottle-necked not by the CPU so much, but rather the amount of RAM and the speed of your storage. That's true on your desktop system as well. As in my past posts, I admit that I don't follow my own advice most of the time, either, so I'm not "casting stones" here, LOL. I find that the later models of the SPX ran most of the Software I used (including copies of various URAR software for integration testing) "well enough", just not "snappy" but for ME, the battery life was more important that speed. FWI, the newer ARM-based tablets seem even better, especially now that 64-bit emulation is more readily available (depending on your particular software vendor, and note that I no longer have software like that on my personal devices, so YMMV on that.)

If you are interested in a more modern ARM-based Windows table in the future, let me know and I'll make some suggestions. Except for a 2-week trip in early October and a 1-week trip in mid-November, I'll mainly be "home" until mid-December so I should be able to get back with you more readily.

Hope this helps!


+Randall Garrett+
/end/
 
Saw that the SG3 has a new firmware update with some handy improvements:

I'm away at sea ATM and didn't bring my Surface Go with me on this particular trip so I can't install/test/comment, but will take a look when I get home next week and before I leave on a 5-month trip.


Hope this helps!


+Randall Garrett+
/end/
 
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