How To Choose A Rugged Tablet Computer
Why Can’t I Choose A Rugged Tablet
by Rugged Ralph
Why are so many people having trouble choosing a rugged tablet? Well, I’m not surprised. Once you eliminate the obvious reasons, it becomes hard to decide. It’s kind of like buying a car. They all have 4 wheels and an engine, but yet you still spend hours and hours at dealerships deciding which one to get.
Thus, the important questions really come down to what types of environment will I be using it in, and what do I need it to do? To start, these aspects of a rugged tablet are simply to figure out:
- A full operating system
- Fast processing speed
- Protection against environmental factors
- Overall ruggedness
- Battery Life
These could make or break your mobile tablet decision. They are essential and the right decision on these aspects will set the foundation for your mobile tablet. For the operating system, you need to look into which operating system goes along with the operating systems that you already have. You don’t want to buy a Windows system tablet for a Linux based system. It will only make the integration process a nightmare.
Going along with the computerized aspect of the mobile tablet is the processing speed. A successful mobile tablet is an efficient tablet, and one of the most important parts of its efficiency is the processing speed. You have to get a good processing speed for the best efficiency.
Now for the ruggedness of the mobile tablet; this one of the most important if not the most important factors of a tablet. You could have the fastest, most beautiful looking, most cutting-edge mobile tablet, and it will be useless if dropped once. The more abuse your tablet can take, the longer it will last and the less you will have to fix it. Don’t give me the “but I’m careful” act either now. How many times have you dropped your phone in the last year? I bet more than once. What I’m trying to say is that accidents happen, so it is a good idea to look into the mobile tablets with high drop ratings. The same goes for protection against environmental factors. Dust, snow, and water, along with multiple other factors can damage your mobile tablet. Thus, the protection of the tablet is the number one priority, because a broken tablet is no help to business. It actual hurts it.
The last major must have aspect is battery life. A dead mobile tablet is as useless as a broken tablet. So make sure to get a mobile tablet with a decent battery life. Battery life can be extended with the addition of accessories, such as the vehicle mount.
There are still even more options to look into when buying a mobile tablet. However, unlike the first five listed, there really is no right answer to what is best in a tablet. These options help personalize your tablet to best fit your business:
- Wireless communication (all mobile tablets require this, but how it is transmitted is a choice you have to make): Wi-Fi, Cellular, or Bluetooth
- Vehicle mount
- Barcode scanner
- Camera
- Sunlight readable display
- GPS
- and many more
When looking at these options you really have to consider two aspects: the functionality, and the integration of the accessory. For functionality, ask what does it do, and how will it help your company? While for integration, ask how this accessory help will ease this mobile tablet into your company. If it eases or helps with both, then it’s the obvious yes. If it doesn’t do one or both, it might not be in your best fit, based on the specifics of your business.
Rugged tablets have an extensive array of accessories that can help improve the efficiency of your business, which is something you should definitely look into, but when it comes down it, the most important features to consider are its ruggedness, protection, battery life, operating system and processing speed. Making a good choice on these will provide you with a strong foundation mobile tablet that you can then personalize to your company’s needs, just like you personalize your car.