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Hi all,
Long story short is that my trusty and ultra portable laptop with decent processing capability has died and needs replacing.
I travel a lot for work so long battery life and portability are key. A large bulk of the work is email related so not demanding (even a phone is mostly ok for this) but the other part involves delivering presentations/ training and specialist computational modelling (much more demanding!).
I have an iphone which honestly handles most of the travel related stuff pretty well and a high spec PC at home which more than handles the modelling side of things.
My crazy idea is to use a tablet for work rather than a high spec laptop, partly to save money and partly to make the travel even easier. In my mind it should be fine running a few presentations (provided there is a video out to run this on a monitor) and should be fine for the modelling side as I'd use a remote desktop connection on to my PC if needed, but more often than not the customer should have the required software. The only extras I may need are a handful of files on a largeish USB stick just in case
Is this completely crazy and am I really missing something?
The barriers I see are the video output from a tablet and looking like a tit when my wife has turned off the PC at home by mistake 😀 Most tablets suggest they can do video out with a quick Google but I don't see any mention in the specs next to video outputs. The RDC aspect is more of an unknown but I did most of my studies from home using a PC located in Uni without too much bother...
Sound plausible? Ta 😀
What's the modeling? Driving desktops remotely using a touch screen is a pain in the arse. Ok for the occasional file open, but manipulating is difficult.
For other uses a tablet is great, I'm not well up on attaching to projectors though. Wireless casting to a tv works great. Oh, one thought, if you have a projector with hdmi in, you could probably use a chromecast plugged into the hdmi, and cast to that. I wonder if similar exists to get video into vga, that would be quite universal then.
Plausible yes but I don't think this is an application for a Hudl level tablet. I use a Surface Pro with kbd - it is good to the extent I would ditch my PC in its favour excepting only storage capacity. And if you need high end processing power (I don't) then the Surface would probably struggle.
How about a 'Surface' laptop instead
As cp says getting video out is a pain, Surface handles this with a video output but I needed an adaptor to get to the standard plugs, I think you can also adapt via USB which means most tablets could be made to work with a projector or WHY.
Sorry. Never saw the previous Surface post
A quick google found a link which has devices which convert hdmi into VGA, so get a wireless cast receiver, get a hdmi to vga converter and your laughing.
I'm currently on my windows phone, the link didn't copy and I can't go back to it. Don't get a windows tablet.
Trouble is these days you might get VGA or full size HDMI when you go to present and few devices have either these days without a dongle or adaptor anyway.
I just carry [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/VicTsing-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Compatible-Resolution/dp/B00W3GXVY6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1448211494&sr=8-4&keywords=Mini+DisplayPort ]one of these[/url] and cover all bases.
The Surface line is very good for this - even the non-Pro Surface 3 is very capable and even more portable.
I use an Xperia z4 for that. It's a tablet with a docking keyboard. Much like the surface but android rather than windows (which I prefer). Better keyboard too.
I went that way for a while. Ok but ultimately comprised. Currently using thinkpad yoga which can be used as both. Use a touchscreen laptop and Windows 8/10 suddenly makes sense.
5thElefant - Member
I use an Xperia z4 for that. It's a tablet with a docking keyboard. Much like the surface but androidy rather than windows (which I prefer). Better keyboard too.
I like Android as a phone UI, but I can't think of one reason why I'd want it over Windows, when trying to use a tablet as a PC.
Surface Pro 4 user here
I went this way - using an iPad air 2 with clip-on keyboard - perfect for email, presentations and (very) light spreadsheet use with Office 365. Looks smart.
I'd connect via remote desktop into either a workstation in the office or the home PC (with Jump Desktop app to get the full iPad resolution).
Also got a thunderbolt to HDMI adapter from Apple (£££) and a bog-standard HDMI to VGA adapter (£) and can daisy chain them if necessary for presentations etc.
I found that I was a little over-reliant on the Remote Desktop element for 'actual work' (computational modelling), and found that sometimes client firewalls would block remote desktop, which meant I had no way to do actual work if I was without a 4G signal.
I also wish it was a Windows tablet for the mouse support (much quicker to actually get anything done).
So I got a new & tiny ultrabook (which also needs an adapter for video out) and take it with me on days where connectivity is uncertain, and use the iPad for the other days.
Surface would make sense - didn't want one myself though.
Three questions...
1. What are you modelling?
For me more is always better as even if you are not at the limits of the system running the model post processing and well everything else runs a bit smoother. Work give us Dell M6800 series workstation/laptops which are just about enough to do basic modelling but they are not cheap or portable. I would second the comment that touch screen and modelling is an arse especially when the software expects a mouse and keyboard
2. How sure are you that all of you clients can connect a projector to a tablet? We have a variety of systems at work from wireless back to VGA cables so the people with the ultra portable laptops often have to carry a load of converter cables or we have to cluster around a tiny screen to look at stuff.
3. What inputs/outputs do you need? If you are running a presentation through a multi use port can you still charge the device? You could look like a right tit if you have to stop and charge your iPad mid presentation
If you always have a good internet connection you could look at Frame. I've seen cad software run on a Frame server 'in the cloud' somewhere, with the user interacted on a tablet. It looked pretty good, but useless without a fast internet connection, and if you loose it, you're on your own.
I like Android as a phone UI, but I can't think of one reason why I'd want it over Windows, when trying to use a tablet as a PC.
It's responsive, has the same touch interface as my phone, has a ludicrously long battery life and I'm not using it as a PC. It does on-the-road stuff not pc stuff.
I had a surface rt when they came out. Was OK but the prop/keyboard thing wasn't great and the touch interface was unfamiliar.
Splash out on a posh touch-screen ultra-portable laptop, you won't regret it.
Something like a Toshiba Kira or Asus Zenbook.
Your're looking at £800/900 for i7, full HD screen, great battery, SSD drive, Windows 10 and a little over 1kg in weight. Sooooo much better than a tablet, although twice the cost obviously....
Splash out on a posh touch-screen ultra-portable laptop, you won't regret it.Something like a Toshiba Kira or Asus Zenbook.
Your're looking at £800/900 for i7, full HD screen, great battery, SSD drive, Windows 10 and a little over 1kg in weight. Sooooo much better than a tablet, although twice the cost obviously....
This is pretty much what I have at the moment but am reluctant to spend £700+ again if there's a better alternative.
I think I've overestimated the connectivity of a tablet. The point of not being able to charge most devices mid presentation is a good one. It seems pretty much all I had in mind to do with a tablet is possible but probably more trouble than it is worth. I saw it as a hub for bringing together the various different elements but in reality they are mostly just email and app browsers
What's the modeling? Driving desktops remotely using a touch screen is a pain in the arse. Ok for the occasional file open, but manipulating is difficult.
Biomechanical modelling rather than CAD type modelling. More script based than interactive (if that's the right word!) but even that could be a PITA now I think about it more.
The Surface line is very good for this - even the non-Pro Surface 3 is very capable and even more portable.
This is the only tablet I have any experience of and while I think it comes closest (mainly for the connectivity).....
Currently using thinkpad yoga which can be used as both.
..... I think more this type of thing makes sense, especially given the cost of the Surface.
All of this was inspired by a colleague who uses an external HDD with an operating system and some other bits installed to drive some nice portable UI's... even that seems more trouble than it is worth TBH although the thought of a super compact system is nice
Sounds like an ideal application for a Chromebook to be honest, that has decent remote desktop capability easy video out and MS 365 for you presentations, (possibly even google docs). Job jobbed.