lex'•i•con: the vocabulary of a branch of knowledge. Thoughts on environment, health & safety (EHS), sustainability and information technology to support them.
Tag Archives: tablet computer
Photo: Microsoft
On 20 May, Microsoft launched its Surface Pro 3 tablet. They call it ” the tablet that can replace your laptop.” The lightweight, Windows 8.x tablet boasts a 12-inch screen. It has a sleek design and long battery life. Prices range from $799 for the 64 GB 4th-Gen Intel i3 model to $1949 for a 512 GB i7 model. Keyboards, adapters, etc. are optional, at extra cost. This price point puts the Surface Pro 3 in the mix with Ultrabooks, MacBooks and lightweight hybrid/convertible notebook computers.
Tech blogs are critical of the new tablet’s foray into the enterprise business market, citing the Windows 8.x operating system, design, user experience and cost as the main detractors. As mentioned in an recent blog post, enterprise IT departments prefer Windows 7 to Windows 8.x, and many saw Windows XP end of support as an opportunity to explore new hardware and operating systems like Google Chrome and Mac OSX.
The jury’s still out. Let’s see if the Surface Pro 3 catches on. You can view the full specs on the Microsoft Web site here and read an eWeek product review here.
When you get an iPad, you think, “Hey, I can replace my laptop with this small tablet!”
Technology stack with overlapping functions
I look at my “technology stack,” and see a Windows 7 PC, a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an iPhone. These devices all help me get through my daily routine, with overlapping capabilities:
Read content
Read and compose email
Read and create documents, spreadsheets and presentations
Participate in social networks
Attend Web meetings
Visit Web sites
View photos and graphics.
Depending upon what I want to achieve, these four devices are not totally interchangeable.
I can use my smartphone to create a presentation, but anything but a simple presentation is best created on a laptop or tablet. I can sort through hundreds of emails on my tablet or smartphone, but must use a laptop for powerful sorting and cleanup. Likewise, I can create complex spreadsheets on the tablet, but likely would use my MacBook or PC with a keyboard and full functionality.
Rethinking the tablet
If you’re already quite comfortable with a laptop and a smartphone, and a tablet falls into your hands, what’s the best way to use it? Here’s an interesting perspective on the use of tablets, worth reading: Rethinking the iPad…
My take—Tip #1: I DO use the iPad for mail and social apps; Tip #2: I use the iPad to catch up on reading; Tip #3: I turn off MOST notifications; Tip #4: I change SOME of the settings to improve battery life.
It’s clear that 2012 was The Year of the Tablet with Android and iOS tablets creating market excitement for much of the year and Windows 8/RT creating excitement late in the year. Tablets extend BYOD (bring your own device) beyond smartphones in the business enterprise.
I have seen senior executives and mid-level managers tote tablets to meetings in lieu of notebook computers. In 2013, look for more pervasive tablet use as organizations begin to develop proprietary applications for 24/7, global connectivity. In 2013-2014, expect to find new business applications in the “app stores,” allowing tablets increase productivity and proving their value to businesses.
With the winter holidays a faint memory and 2012 coming to an end,
we wish you a happy, healthy and successful new year!
Industry analysts predict that tablet purchases will outnumber laptop purchases by 2013. The increasing use of tablets, both business and personal, has quite an impact on the environment. Their use results in lower ink and paper consumption, lower CO2 emissions, as well as lower water consumption during production.
Twenty-five percent of adults in the U.S. own tablets, compared to only 4% in 2010. And 45% of tablet users say they have decreased printing.
–morganstanley.com and appleinsider.com
Uberflip, a Canadian company that helps organizations to deploy content on electronic platforms, identified four environmental sustainability trends related to tablet use:
A decline in printing. Although many people feel that they still require hard copies of just about everything, this is no longer the norm. Printer manufacturers like HP are feeling the crunch as the demand for ink shrinks.
I work with more electronic documents than paper documents these days. I buy less paper and ink than I have bought in the past. When I need a paper copy, I print wirelessly from my iPad or notebook computer.
Eco-friendly devices. Over their lifetime, tablets result in lower CO2 emissions, notably when people use their tablets as e-readers rather than buying paper books. The CO2 equivalent emissions from a tablet are about 1/3rd that of a small notebook and 1/25th that of a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.
E-waste. The volume of electronic waste will double by 2025. To combat this, electronics manufacturers and big box retailers have implemented recycling programs. I took advantage of this free recycling service at least four times this year, giving up an old notebook computer, a desktop computer, a laser printer and an inkjet printer. I reused the computer hard drives, converting them into external hard drives with a simple enclosure kit.
Green business. More and more businesses use tablets to demonstrate products and services, and for sales transactions. My local grocery chain uses iPads to sign up customers for their loyalty coupon program, which has computer and mobile apps. This replaces printing and mailing costs.
A national electronics chain uses iPads to demonstrate how tablets connect to big-screen TVs to display streaming videos. The Apple store uses iPads that allow customers to compare products and view features. A sales technician is on hand to answer questions and complete the sale–by entering transaction information on an iPhone and then swiping a credit card. You get a small paper receipt and an electronic receipt by email. There is no cash register evident in the store (there may be one in the back for cash sales) and no waiting in lines.
Among the tech gadgets in executive suites, tablets rank third (78%) behind smartphones (84.8%) and laptop computers (82.6%). About 33% use mobile apps and 33% use the Cloud. Execs prefer iOS and Blackberry smartphones for personal use, though they have employees use Android and Blackberry devices more often (69%) than iPhones (54%). Source: CEO.com.
iPad ownership by CEOs and small business owners quadrupled in the last year (CEO.com)
Count me in! I use all of the top three technologies. As the proud owner of a 4th Generation iPad, I find it easy to use. Of course, having an iPhone and being familiar with iOs helps, though I find a new world of opportunities with the larger, iPad retina screen. The tablet format allows me to visualize much more data than I can using the same apps on my iPhone. Reading email and browsing the Internet are a pleasure. I can read documents, presentations, books and .PDFs with ease. The 10-hour battery life is a real plus.
Ultimately, my tablet will replace a somewhat heavy notebook computer for certain purposes. I am testing different office and productivity apps and will see where this leads… the consumerization of business continues.
You can view an infographic on CEO gadgets topic here.
At a software user group meeting, several attendees took notes on iPads. At the grocery store, one of the staff had an iPad, showing shoppers how to sign up for a paperless coupon program. More and more executives are using tablets at work. And workers in a range of other job functions bring personal smartphones and tablets to work. All of these parties would like the IT department to support their mobile devices.
Bring Your Own Device is the new modus operandi. IT executives should ask not about whether to allow such consumer devices into the organization, but how to implement a BYOD policy, and what that policy should address.
A number of years ago, I was an early adopter of the first color Palm OS device—the Handspring Visor. This device replaced two pounds of paper in a junior desk size Covey planner, and did more—it allowed me to keep my calendar and contacts electronically, where the planner only organized my calendar. Eventually my Visor became unreliable and I replaced it with a much faster, slimmer, cheaper, multi-featured Sony Palm OS device.
Fast forward to the 21st century… smartphones with more computing power than my first few laptop computers are ubiquitous. People want data at their fingertips and they want it “to go.” Mobile devices provide information, convenience and social networking across a variety of screen sizes and types, and market analysts predict that tablet sales will surpass PC sales in a couple of years.
Devices like the iPad did not even exist three years ago, and they have changed the way we live and work. With excitement, I look forward to being part of this revolution.
Uberflip
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