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Best Tablet for App

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12-10-2013 06:22 AM
CA_-_ReneGonzalez__GISS_
Occasional Contributor
Hi guys,

We are getting ready to purchase tablets for our planners to use on the field. I have been using my Samsung galaxy out there and has been working great.

Are there any certain devices that works better than the other? (Android and Apple)

What's all your experiences like using your current device?

We just want to get the best device for the job right the first time, and not waste money a second time around.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you!
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18 Replies
michaelcollins1
Frequent Contributor
Ipad - can't see the screen in the sunlight. Not sure about others, but this is a serious drawback. Make sure you take any tablet out on a sunny day to test before buying.

Ipads etc are cool at home or sitting in Starbucks but they fall short in the field. I'd stick to something more professional like a Trimble Juno.
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CA_-_ReneGonzalez__GISS_
Occasional Contributor
Ipad - can't see the screen in the sunlight. Not sure about others, but this is a serious draw back. Make sure you take any tablet out on a sunny day to test before buying.


Which IOS is the Pad? Our planners were using their iphones IOS7 and were having issues scrolling to the bottom of the attribute table. This made it especially difficult for them to view their attachments
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michaelcollins1
Frequent Contributor
I'm not sure, but I don't recommend them based on our experience based solely on visibility in the sunlight. Can't see it, can't collect it.

You had no such issue with your Samsung?
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CA_-_ReneGonzalez__GISS_
Occasional Contributor
I'm not sure, but I don't recommend them based on our experience based solely on visibility in the sunlight. Can't see it, can't collect it.

You had no such issue with your Samsung?


So far no issues... but we are going out in the field the second half of the day.
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CA_-_ReneGonzalez__GISS_
Occasional Contributor
Can anyone from ESRI put in their 2 cents?? I know you guys do test runs on devices

Any info Russ Roberts?
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PaulBarker
Esri Contributor
We try to test on a variety of brands and devices. Thats a lot easier to do on iOS.  Below are the devices we have on the Collector team that we test with regularly (and it is growing all the time).  This doesn't include additional devices on other teams have such as the SDK teams or devices available through cloud testing services.  In terms of a recommendation, theres too many factors to really recommend one tablet.  With consumer focused tablets generally you're going to get higher end specs (better performance) because of the cost/time investment around developing rugged hardware.  However the benefit for certain things like sunlight visibility, barcode scanners and operating temperatures (desert sun) can be really nice even essential.  

I would start if you haven't already by listing your requirements (cost,specs,ruggedness,etc. etc.) and then categorize them by essential and nice to have and start seeing what devices make the cut.  The question of capability comes up frequently when talking about android.  Overall we see less device specific issues come through these days than a year ago. 

This is solely my preference but I find the 7-9" device size is really nice in the field, the keyboard is bigger than a phone for typing, easier to hold than a larger device, smaller to shade if sunlight is a problem, bigger map than the phone, and still small enough for some pockets 

iOS
We have every device Collector supports


Android
Phones

Galaxy S2
Galaxy Nexus
Galaxy S4
Galaxy S3
Galaxy Note II International
Nexus 4
Droid Razr Maxx HD
HTC One X
HTC DNA
Galaxy Note II US
Sony Xperia Z
Nexus 5

7-9 " Tablets
Nexus 7 - 2013
Nexus 7 - 2012

10" Tablets
Xoom Tablet
Toughpad FZ-A1
Xplore Ranger
Nexus 10 - 2012
Sony Xperia Z
Galaxy Tab 10.1 - 2011
Galaxy Note 10.1 - 2014
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Babcock_Kristen_L
Occasional Contributor

Hi Paul,

 

Is there an updated list of tablets best suited for field work?  This is very helpful, and what are your thoughts on phone chips?  Thanks so much.

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CA_-_ReneGonzalez__GISS_
Occasional Contributor
Thank you for the reply Paul. Price is no issue, and since it will be used by the city planners, the otterbox case will suffice for rugged protection. I agree with you about the 7-9 " tablets but the planners like the big screen. I have done test with Galaxy tab and words great, but had issues with the scrolling on the Ipad. Management wants the latest devices and want one of each. Have you experienced any issues or reported bugs using the Note Tab?

I should add that they will be using collector
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RobertBorchert
Honored Contributor
iPads work good for us.  We enclosed them in some pretty good cases.
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