Tablet PC for running Ozi
Submitted: Saturday, Feb 12, 2005 at 18:03
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Member - Phil G (SA)
Just went out and bought a NEC Tablet PC which is small enough to fit nicely between the buckets on my 79series.
link to NEC tablet
I've used laptop for the past few years, but it won't fit the new truck, and I've been reluctant about the PDAs because of photo storage.
With the tablet PC:
It weighs only one kg.
It has a 10.4" touch screen (uses a touch pen on or near the screen)
Screen can be turned to face any direction.
Has a mini keyboard/mouse, if you want to use it.
It has a CF card slot for downloading photos.
It has a 20GIG HDD for storing maps/photos
It has wireless networking for
home (or McDonalds!!!)
3 USB slots - I'll hook in a CD/DVD burner to back up as I go
It was $1000 off at $1999 from IT Warehouse in
Adelaide.
It should be a great work computer.
My plan is to incorporate it into the lid of a custom centre console.
Anyone else out there with one?? Anything else I should know :-))
Cheers
Phil
Reply By: Member - Smocky (NSW) - Saturday, Feb 12, 2005 at 23:48
Saturday, Feb 12, 2005 at 23:48
Hi Phil,
I've had a Compaq T1000 for a couple of years now. I'm in IT, so get to play with the toys.
They're excellent if you realise the differences between them and a notebook. I still often carry my full size notebook with me when I travel interstate for work as it's much better to type on. If you aren't doing much typing, they're great. I haven't used OziExplorer yet, I'm new to that but I imagine it is almost the perfect program for it.
Despite the networking capabilities, get yourself a USB key for transferring files. If you get yourself a decent one (size), you'll love it. This can be used basically instead of floppy drives, cd's etc for transferring files. They work on any Win98 or XP machine. I've got one on my keyring and use it a LOT.
What GPS do you think you're going to use? A bluetooth one? I'm seriously thinking of a serial cable job for reliability and one less thing to charge.
Enjoy and would love to hear back about how it went.
Cheers.
AnswerID:
98076
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 00:04
Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 00:04
Hi Smocky,
We use the odd tablet at work. I guess the downsides you mention are that they don't come with CDROM, floppy etc. This one has a separate USB keyboard/mouse, but I have a cordless keyboard/mouse that I might use if the need arises.
Oziexplorer is a magic program when you're out in the bush. I find its interesting just looking at the survey maps and seeing whats around. But when you're
well into
the desert with no signposts, it stops a lot of wrong turns.
I have a Garmin 11+ GPS and ext antenna, and have a Garmin serial cable, but will need either a converter or buy a new USB data cable.
I'll get to use it next month, so we'll see how it goes.
Cheers
Phil
FollowupID:
356607
Reply By: DeanoNSW - Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 11:06
Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 11:06
We have just got a new Fujitsu 7010. Its really good, and better specs than most of the tablets I have looked at, although the specs on the one phil has just got are better than most. I do need a keyboard, and having to plug one is a drawback for me.
The other thing I like about the laptop it is that it has a DVD burner included, and with 1 GB RAM, and just over 1.4 kg its fanatasitc. Battery lasts for about 5 hours, and we got the 12/24 volt charger so that we will not have to worry about buying an inverter.
We are currently running the iburst wireless broadband (through Ozemail) at 1.5 mb. It works
well throughout
Sydney. I am looking at getting a CDMA phone for when we are out bush. The final step will be connecting up to the
HF radio for when we are really out of the way.
Cheers
AnswerID:
98117
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 23:06
Sunday, Feb 13, 2005 at 23:06
Hi Deanno,
Yeah, I've used a laptop mounted on a stand in the vehicle for the past few years - an old 233MHz Tosh that is starting to die. But the 79series has limited cab space, so was looking for something very compact.
But the tablet can be easily operated without a keyboard or mouse in the car, which I expect will suit mapping with Oziexplorer. But just I'm just thinking out loud - I need to try it out and see. I have an external DVD burner that I can dig out and use for backing up the photos etc.
Can never have enough gadgets :-))
Cheers
Phil
FollowupID:
356710
Follow Up By: Member - Smocky (NSW) - Monday, Feb 14, 2005 at 01:18
Monday, Feb 14, 2005 at 01:18
Here, here Phil,
You're spot on. You can never have enough gadgets :-)
My wife doesn't understand that, but it's comforting to know I'm not the only one thinking that.
FWIW, I reckon the table was made for OziExplorer. Meaning, that's exactly the sort of app that the tablet was designed for. Low data entry. I reckon it will be awesome. Have my Garmin GPS on order and will be trying it on the Compaq soon.
Cheers,
Smocky.
FollowupID:
356718