10 (or more) things you didn’t know about Business Windows Tablet PCs 1 Powerful is Productive The majority of Windows 7 Tablet PCs now surpass the average office desktop PC in terms of performance. Mobile Tablet PC technology has come a long way over the last few years with the introduction of dedicated mobile ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) CPU’s from leading manufacturers such as Intel. Intel work very closely with Tablet PC manufacturers to ensure all current Tablet computers make the most from their latest range of high end mobile CPU’s in terms of maximum performance without the sacrifice of mobile battery life. This is evident in the wellreceived i3, i5, and i7 Ivy Bridge processors from Intel. The CPU is not one of the only features which dictate fast responsive Tablet PCs, Graphics options (such as Intel’s latest HD4000 graphics) and RAM quantity/speed (Tablets now support up to 16GB DDR3 @ 1600Mhz!) dictate a smooth operating experience even on the most demanding operating system and software set-up. It’s important to buy for the future too, so a few upgrades on specification at point of purchase will reap rewards in the years to come. The inevitable amount of new software installations and the “I can also do this on my Tablet PC!“ discoveries will eventually push any system to the limit. So be prewarned, although some units can be upgraded after point of purchase the majority of consumer type devices will not be able to be upgraded due to the nature of one-off mass builds to cut down prices. Cheap is never best in my opinion, I prefer my Tablet PC hardware to last until the end – minimum 5 years.
2 Office Integration Never be out of the office. All Windows based Tablet PC have the ability to be both your main office PC and your mobile office pc. Equip your office with a docking station, and once docked, the Tablet PC will act like any office PC, just add a keyboard, a mouse and an external Monitor (depending on Docking Station type) and you’ll not be able to tell the difference. All Windows Tablet PCs will run Microsoft’s latest Office
package so no need to worry in regards to office integration, if your office is running a slightly older version of Windows, MS Office will take care of your documents and presentations. When out of the office, simply remove the tablet from the docking station and walk away. It’ll be fully charged and ready for the busy day ahead. With MS Office, you can pick-up/receive Emails onthe-go and using the same mobile network, receive up to date job sheets with your orders of the day (or send them orders!). PDF Datasheets are easily viewed and zoomed in on if you require details on specific parts etc.. PowerPoint presentations, Excel sheets, graphs, detailed photographs, online presentation etc…. All this is why the Tablet PC has become a staple in mobile computing. The encumbrance of a physical keyboard has been replaced with functioning workable on screen solutions.
3 Digitizer Pen Input Touchscreens haven’t been with us for long, I can remember the original influx of resistive type finger touch Tablet PC back in the last decade, although great at the time this left little to be desired in terms of accuracy and functionality (Although great with gloves on!). Capacitive touch is now the flavour of the day and utilises the low pulses of electricity which emits through our fingers. This is great while on the move and for hitting non-accurate large size boxes while manipulating dedicated applications, but it does have its drawbacks when running a more user friendly operating system such as Windows 7 or Windows 8 Professional. This is why Digitizer has made the list, understated in the general Tablet PC market over the last few years (mainly due to the excellent marketing of world leading manufactures), it’s been well known within the Windows Tablet PC faithful to be the best input method for a PC since the more famous “Mouse” hit the PC, and it’s just as natural to use too. Leading technology has been developed by Wacom over the past decade to produce a great user experience. Don’t get this muddled up with capacitive pens though (they’re next to useless) this is the real deal. Identical to the Wacom Cintiq’s (professional designer hardware) input method the Wacom digitizer pen input gives you more control over your actions. For example, the harder you press down on the pen the thicker a line will be produced (in dedicated applications such as Photoshop or Windows 7 Handwriting Input Panel) alternatively the lighter you press down the thinner the stroke. This is hugely popular and a staple for Computer Aided Designers (CAD) favoured by cinematography professionals for large motion picture CGI artwork which utilises the Wacom technology to produce the most stunning scenes on big picture – it all starts with human input. Digitizer also displays a mouse cursor when you hover over the screen, so when you make an action such as a screen tap on the Tablet PC you know exactly which pixel you’re tapping on. For applications such as the Microsoft’s Office Excel package, Digitizer Input is a god send. Attempting to manipulate drop down boxes on Tablet PCs with your finger becomes frustrating at the best of times. This is where the Tablet digitizer pen input shines, simple handwriting to digital text input or signature capture to sign off documents the digitizer pen input cannot be beaten.
Currently it’s a little more expensive but that’s only due to the nature of the best-on-market technology. Best of all, the majority of Windows professional Wacom enabled Tablet PCs ship with capacitive touch as standard so you get ‘best of both worlds’.
4 Semi-Rugged Semi-Rugged is a relatively new term (Also known as business rugged). Semi-Rugged Tablet PCs fall in to a category of its own. Traditionally consumer grade Tablet PCs and Rugged Tablet PCs were the only choice, this was great if you wanted an entry level Tablet or a fully hardened durable unit for use in Military, mining, construction etc… but the latter comes with a higher entry level price. These high prices are warrantied though; fully rugged units ship with a high IP rating and can only gain this rating by passing very stringent testing. This testing is not an inexpensive task and many units fail to make the grade. Indecently, this is why the more rugged Tablet PCs tend to have older specifications or will keep newer specifications un-upgraded for a number of years, once individual components have been changed internally the testing becomes void and the manufacturer has to retest the units at high expense. The benefit of Semi-Rugged is that the testing and chassis materials are not as expensive as full rugged tablets and honestly, if you’re not putting a Tablet PC in an environment where it’s required to be fully rugged then why pay the extra? It would be wrong to say Semi-Rugged is not durable, though these still hold a high IP Rating and go through tough testing, such as drop testing and water ingress testing, it’s just these tests are to protect the unit against everyday use and everyday weather environment not the extremes of the fully rugged tablet pc. They are still built to last the toughest test, the general worker! Motion Computing and Panasonic specialize in these devices and as such they have seen a great increase in market share (Motion Computing out sold all other manufactures worldwide in 2012 for semi-rugged and rugged Tablet PC sales). Having a unit resistant to local yearly weather changes and drop tested from Tablet PC (held at waist height) covers the majority of typical user accidents. For the first time we are now seeing Semi-Rugged Tablet PCs enter the market below the £1000.00 mark, a welcoming price point from the entry level price of £2000.00 for a fully Rugged Tablet PC. 5 Hot Swap Batteries Battery life for Tablet PCs have drastically improved over of the last few years, this was initially due to the introduction of Lithium-Ion but nowadays, since the next upgrade for battery technology is still a little way off (Fuel cells?), the power savings have come from more power friendly CPU’s and LCD trans-reflective screen technology. Although a good Tablet PC will just about last a full working day on low power saving settings, there is still the need to draw more power from the Tablet PC by means of integrated hardware. In simple terms, the more dedicated hardware items you use the more battery power you require. Items such as integrated 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, High Brightness Screens, overclocked CPUs and dedicated GPS, will all push the best battery to the limit.
This is where a Hot-Swap feature excels. With a spare fully charged battery slab and one of the higher end Windows Tablet PCs with hot swap features, you can simply switch the batteries in a matter of seconds and carry on with your workload, zero downtime! Add an eternal way to charge the extra battery and you can put the Tablet PC to work 24/7 (just make sure to change the user every once and a while). This is excellent where the Tablet PC’s battery has a quick charge cycle. Typical charge cycles are on a 1:4 ratio, charge for 1 hour and use for 4 hours, pretty impressive.
6 Out Door Screens If you’ve never seen Motion Computing’s VAD (View Anywhere Display) then you have never seen an outdoor screen. Most manufacturers use sunlight viewable technology, which while is not too bad, it utilises a polarising filter within the screen which reduces the reflective glare on standard screens thus giving improved visibility. But this relies on pushing brightness to the maximum for you to be able to see data on screen, which in turn greatly impacts battery life. The VAD from Motion computing however is second to none in my experience. This is taken from the manufacturers’ website which will explain a little more on the tech behind the VAD: VAD (View Anywhere Display) The View Anywhere display uses a proprietary optical enhancement process based on technology initially developed for high-end military aviation and marine applications. The View Anywhere display adjusts quickly from your office or home work environment and accommodates a variety of outdoor work scenarios. This innovative solution was designed for mobile users that use Tablet PCs in bright light environments. Compared with Motion’s standard display, the View Anywhere display technology enhances indoor viewing - while substantially improving outdoor viewing.
10:1 reduction in unwanted reflectance and glare 15% improvement in “light pass-through” efficiency 225% increase in sunlight contrast ratio over the standard display Better view-ability at wide viewing angles The view anywhere Tablet PC display technology also retains the traditional feel of pen on paper that has become a hallmark of Motion’s ink-enabled Windows Tablet PCs, and the solution is also stronger, more durable and scratch resistant. Finally, Motion Computing accomplishes this solution without compromises, complexity or high cost. Who should have the View Anywhere® display? High Ambient Light Usage Scenarios
Ideal for inspectors, field engineers, surveyors, law enforcement personnel, military, construction superintendents, sports/coaches, customer service professionals, aviation/pilots, realtors and other highly mobile professionals. Great for outdoor field use in conjunction with WWAN and GPS technology available in the industry. Great for any user who uses a Windows Tablet PC in bright indoor light, in automobiles or outdoors.
High Reflective Usage Scenarios
Better solution than conventional display technology for individuals working in a room with bright fluorescent lighting, such as in a large retail setting, hospital or classroom. Medical professionals operating in bright artificial light. Actions speak louder than words, as they say, but to put it plainly, this is without a doubt the beston-market display I have come across, stunningly excellent. 7 Lightweight is best? Tablet PCs are becoming lighter and thinner, this is great! But the downside is that durability suffers. If you’re buying a new thin lightweight Tablet PC then make sure you look for a decent carry case and other tablet pc protection solutions. On the flip side this means that more business tablet pcs are dropping weight too, it was only last year that Motion Computing brought out the Motion CL910 which weighs less than 1KG and Panasonic have also just released the FZ-G1 – this unit weighs only 1.1KG which is quite a feat for a fully rugged IP64 Tablet PC. The above two units when in a carry solution are not noticeable when on the move, so while thin and light is great for entry level units there are alternative solutions available for the more rugged type Tablet PC. 8 Peripherals Peripherals are king when introducing new technology into your work life or everyday use, these can transform the functionality of your Tablet PC and make you wonder how you ever dealt without them. As above Carry Cases are great for when you’re getting about and using the tablet when on your feet but it’s when you’re back in the office or at home where the accessories start to shine. The best set-up I’ve seen is a user with a Tablet PC & Tablet PC Docking Station hooked up to two external monitors giving 3 displays total. This was with one of the Motion J3600 Tablet PCs (a very powerful Semi-Rugged Windows Tablet PC) and the user was running the full standard desktop version of CAD. The other ports on the docking station were used for fast internet connection via the Ethernet port and via the USB ports the user added a keyboard and mouse. This set-up was duplicated at home and in the office, ensuring the Tablet PC stayed with the user at all times. Whatever your location work can commence. This might sound a little over the top for the standard Tablet PC user but the savings made over a month paid for the entire hardware, food for thought and A professional Tablet PC solution for a true business professional. Other peripherals are available just make sure to see the individual Tablet PC in question and don’t forget to check the manufacturers’ page. More often than not these are more up to date with newer items and updated frequently. If there is a lack of accessories then you may wish to consider the longevity of the Tablet PC in questions. If no apparent support in terms of accessories, does this
mean support for the Tablet PC hardware will suddenly be non-existent? I’ve seen this countless times for cheap Tablet PCs where manufactures disappear even before the warranty is up! Again, look for no shorter than 4-5 fully supported computing years, especially for technology at the true business end of the spectrum. 9 TEXT & Email With integrated 3G Broadband you’d expect to be able to send emails with your Tablet PC, but did you know you can also send Text messages and even make calls? Nor did I until about 5 minutes ago. I used my standard phone SIM card to enable 3G on this Tablet PC and next thing a text popped up! Which was actually useful since my phone was off due to me removing the SIM Card, you can send them too it seems. I’d still recommend a dedicated card for your Tablet PC, all Mobile operators ship them now and some are even free if you have an existing contract with a mobile 3G operator. 10 This article has been written on a Tablet PC!
You won’t see any difference, but this entire article has been written on a Tablet PC supplied from Camtech Systems, I’d like to thanks them for their support by adding this ‘did you know guide’ to this website and hopefully help them a little too by giving them a mention: You can see their full range of Tablet PCs on their website www.camtechsystems.co.uk and for reference I wrote this on the Motion J3600, was a bit tricky to start with but once I got used to the writing style it was on par with physical writing to a pad of paper (I used Microsoft Journal in this case since it’s supplied free with Windows 7 Professional) and once I’d finished writing my article the software on the tablet pc converted my scribble to actual text, it even corrected the occasional misspelling. Thanks again to Camtech for their full support and quickly retuning any questions I had along the way.