A recent article in one of our trade magazines (“Consumer-Grade Tablets Don’t Belong in the Enterprise” by Sheila O’Neil of Panasonic, in Business Solutions Magazine, December ’11) gives some tips we thought worth passing along if you’re thinking about using one of the new tablets (think: iPad) in a tough or working environment.
O’Neil points out that consumer tablets – the ones you mostly read about today from Apple, Samsung, Sony and others – are not built to the same exacting specifications as are some of the more industrial versions. (Of course, the article is accompanied by an ad for Panasonic’s “Toughpad” tablet device, produced by O’Neil’s employer. Still, that bias aside, her points are worth noting.)
She points out some key considerations that IT departments should look at before purchasing, including:
Durability: Consumer tablets, she says, are far too fragile and delicate to withstand the spills, drops, rain, and dust that come with working in the field. She advises looking for rugged tablets with “IP” (Ingress Protection) to protect from dust and moisture, along with magnesium alloy casings to withstand drops.
Embedded Security: Enterprise computing requires higher levels of security. Look for solutions with security embedded at the hardware level, and for features like enhanced VPN, trusted boot, factor authentication and device management.
Outdoor Viewable Screens: Anti-reflective and anti-glare screen treatments will assure daylight viewability. The glossy screens found on commercial tablets look pretty, but are not as useful in direct sunlight.
Stylus-Input: A digital pen enables flexible data acquisition in the field, as well as signature capture and handwriting recognition capabilities – best for customer service and mobile POS (Point of Sale) environments.
Battery Life: A rugged tablet needs to last for a full work shift on a single charge. Some rugged tablets even allow for hot-swappable batteries on the fly. Consumer tablets (like the iPad) don’t allow for battery replacements at this time, so when the battery fails, you need to buy a new device.
Her conclusion is that mobile workforces need rugged equipment, and if you’re thinking about a tablet for your application, be sure to first check out the industrial strength offerings that you’re not likely to find at Best Buy.
