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Techy advice needed please.

At work we want to replace the clipboard and pencil with a tablet PC for field based monitoring work (city environment). Primarily it's needed for basic excel function i.e. replacing a paper form to input data. It will also be used at public events to provide web based information and videos so will need to be 3G.

Key requirements - run an application compatible with excel 2010, ease of data transfer to a PC,  robustness/weatherproof, decent touchscreen/ease of text input, screen viewable in sunlight, long battery life and basic web functions.

a) is this a stupid idea and I'm an idiot for overcomplicating matters?

b) if the answer to a) is no, then which tablet should I buy, budget £500ish max.

Any recommendations or experiences using tablets for work would be greatly appreciated.

Most (if not all) Android tablets have office-like apps available through the market. Of course, there's the iPad as well, but if your videos are Flash based then that rules it out.

Transferring data to a PC is easy with any tablet. If you go with an Android tablet then you can get 50GB free file hosting with Box which eliminates the need to connect up to a PC with a cable.

Cheers Sam, I was leaning toward Android anyway because it's what I'm used to.

From my own research I would have gone for the Asus Transformer but no 3G ruled that out for me. Which? recommend the Galaxy tab so does anybody have one of these and can they recommend? Have people used the Xoom or do Acer or Hanspree make anything decent?

Do tablets get used for work by anybody else or are they purely entertainment devices?

I've recently bought a Xoom and it's great. Battery is brilliant, lasts for ages.

If you have an Android phone, then there's no need to fork out the extra for a 3G tablet. You can use your phone to create a wifi hotspot and then connect the tablet up to that.

From a public perspective point of view you'll look a lot better with an iPad than an Android. I use my iPad for work and more often than not customers comment on it (normally asking what it's like as they want one). Go in to a meeting with an Android and you'll look a bit cheap. Pretty sure it's played a part in winning some contracts as well.

Well the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 looks a bit tacky (that was the first one) but if you look at Galaxy Tab 10.1, it looks near same as an iPad, very stylish and sleek.

I just think the iPad poses some limitation issues. No customisation available whatsoever, and no Flash. With an android, you can customise the device to pretty much however you want.

I played with an Archos 101 G9 the other day and it seems like a great tablet for £249.99

I bought my daughter the Blackberry currently on sale in currys. Down from £400 to £170. Apart from checking it works i have no idea how good it is (athough it was rated in reviews i read of it) put away until her birthday later in the month

Could you please have a fiddle with it and tell us how good it is? It seems so cheap I want to run down there and get one!  :eek:

Bummer. Blackberries use their own OS??  >:(

That's a joke, right?

Playbook is very limited. The current OS in BBs own. There's a beta of their new OS which is Android based, but heavily customised by BB. It doesn't have the Android app market as standard. It can be done, but it's not straightforward.

my mrs has hidden it and it's wrapped up.

Oh I see  :D I thought it was for Christmas! Happy Birthday(?) to your daughter :)

I'm no good with the things anyway. My knowledge with computer stuff is very limited

If you want portability and a strong processor.. I'd recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0? It looks nice as well. Only downfall is it is not that cheap, priced at 349.99.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-0-plus-gt-p6210-wifi-16gb-11939545-pdt.html

In comparison, the Xoom has a 10" screen and 32GB internal memory (expandable to 64GB) and is only £329.

Wow that really does compare. I guess it depends whether you want a more portable device, a slightly stronger processor and a slightly more established brand(?) in terms of tablets/computers?

The Xoom has exactly the same processing power (dual core 1.2ghz). And Motorola is now owned by Google.

No it isn't.

Barring the European Commission ruling it does.

The US Government haven't approved the merger either.

Which in my book means the statement "And Motorola is now owned by Google" is incorrect.

The Xoom sounds the business. I'll make a recommendation to IT and then probably end up with an ipad.

In my book, the statement "Go in to a meeting with an Android and you'll look a bit cheap" makes you look like an arrogant cunt.

THIS

 :D

i love my ipad but lack of flash is a pain in the arse!

MotD on a tablet sounds sweet :)
I occasionally watch it on my phone, but that's where apple users miss out I guess.

I love my iPad but it generally only gets used to surf the web when I am stuck in the garage having a smoke

big time