[REQUEST] What devices do you carry?

[MarkiTech]

Looking for some advice on the best and most practical devices to carry in the field.

I've been thinking about buying a tablet (Surface Pro? Android? iPad?) to carry with me for things like letting customers / clients digitally sign paperwork etc.

What do you guys carry with you and why?

Thanks!

 

[nlinecomputers]

I wouldn't exchange a laptop for a tablet. Sometimes you need a real laptop with an ethernet connection to plug into switches, routers, and firewalls. I have an older Nexus 7 2013 tablet but I find myself using my phone for many things.

 

[MarkiTech]

I wouldn't exchange a laptop for a tablet. Sometimes you need a real laptop with an ethernet connection to plug into switches, routers, and firewalls. I have an older Nexus 7 2013 tablet but I find myself using my phone for many things.

If I did exchange my laptop for a tablet I would most likely go for a Surface Pro 2/3/4? with a USB to Ethernet adapter. Thinking about it, I probably worded the question completely wrong lol

If you don't mind me asking.. what kind of things do you use your phone for?

I personally like the idea of a tablet for having customers digitally sign invoices etc.

Thanks for your reply

 

[dgoglio]

I always carry a laptop. My laptop is very light, it is an Acer TravelMate P645. I also carry an iPad mini with 4G and just got an HP Elite X2 (looks like a surface) with 4G to use as a tablet / laptop. My phone is a Samsung S7 Edge.

We get clients to sign off on WO on the tablets.

 

[MarkiTech]

I always carry a laptop. My laptop is very light, it is an Acer TravelMate P645. I also carry an iPad mini with 4G and just got an HP Elite X2 (looks like a surface) with 4G to use as a tablet / laptop. My phone is a Samsung S7 Edge.

We get clients to sign off on WO on the tablets.

Thanks

 

[dgoglio]

And if you are ever looking to switch to a Surface look at the HP Elite X2 lineup, the biggest advantage they have is built in 4G and they are the same size and style.

 

[cypress]

I always bring my laptop with my on site along with my tool bag. Inside my tool bag I will put my iPad mini in there for client signatures after the work has been completed.

 

[Archon Prime]

I go everywhere with my macbook pro, ethernet to thunderbolt adapter. Use my note 5 for signing and processing payments. I have an iPad Air as well for other things. My phone has quite a few tools I use a lot. Ping, trace route app, wifi analyser, etc. But nothing beats a laptop to have. If you can work with a windows tablet, then go for it.

 

[Markverhyden]

If you need sigs a good smart phone will do fine. I tried using my iPad for a while but it falls way short for features. Given the cost of a properly spec'd Surface Pro it does not make sense compared to a laptop. Carry either my MB Air or Retina and my trusty D630 with a REAL serial port. Still run into needing that on occasion.

 

[Krynn72]

Carry along my Lenovo X1 Carbon with USB Ethernet adapter. Other than that I have my LG V10 phone. Sometimes I have my Galaxy tablet if I happen to have put it in my laptop bag, but usually it's on my desk at home :/

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

My aging beater laptop, a Lenovo Thinkpad T430S

Used to support some residential years ago and smaller businesses, so the back of my (back then) Jeep was stuffed with spare hard drives, tons of cables, NICs, power supplies, RAM, switches, routers, patch cables, surge strips, all sorts of tools, tons of stuff, basically a whole mobile computer repair shop. Started trimming that down...now, nothing but my laptop bag. I mostly do a few larger business clients now, tons of stuff in their server room. Laptop bag fits in my truck, or on the back of my Harley...so easy to take anywhere.

 

[GTP]

90% of the time I don't need anything more than a Swiss Army knife, a 64GB Flash drive, and about three pounds of grey jelly.

MacGyver had the right idea - I think you're all overpacking!

Same here, all I take is my 128GB Samsung Flash Drive, and my Samsung S6. I keep a network cable in the car just in case!

 

[Corrosive]

During my last venture I used repairshopr with my phone to handle payments and customer signatures. My phone was also used for various tools like checking wifi signals, mapping a network and so on. Having a laptop available is a must and I do like the idea of having a real serial port if you happen to need one (cisco).

 

[resolvetech]

old school....laptop

 

[acscva]

I would only carry a device that I am able to sell. I prefer lenovo business series laptops, 2-in-1's, tablets, etc. I would never walk in with a Microsoft surface that is only sold by your competitors like bestbuy, staples or microsoft.com.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I would only carry a device that I am able to sell. I prefer lenovo business series laptops, 2-in-1's, tablets, etc. I would never walk in with a Microsoft surface that is only sold by your competitors like bestbuy, staples or microsoft.com.

Interesting concept, I never thought about it that way. It just so happens I carry my Dell Latitude laptop, which I sell, though I have never sold one because I was carrying it.

 

[Erick]

I keep a bat in my car.

If a customer doesn't want to spend the money to have a hard drive wiped properly I offer to rent it to them for $5 and they can do it themselves with no expressed warranty.

 

[Agent Havoc]

I carry some standard tools, wires, software on USB, HDD, iPad, my phone and a small laptop.

 

[Your PCMD]

I carry an iPad 4 and 2 iODD's (one for Windows, one for iOS). In the vehicle, I have an HP laptop just in case. I have a Brother printer as well for AirPrint in case they want a full invoice instead of a text or emailed receipt. I have a Chevrolet Sonic LS and in the back are a series of storage containers with parts from ram, hdds, PSU's to motherboards. Fully loaded mobile business so I am always prepared. I have AMD and Intel so I am covering anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. This saves me time from having to either order parts or travel to Dallas, TX to my distributor. 90% of service calls are solved with just my iODD however. iPAD is used for mobile POS.

 

[jzukerman]

Just a laptop for me, Lenovo Thinkpad X250. Small, lightweight, and fast. Extended battery life (7 hours+). I rarely charge it, since most of the time I only use it onsite for a brief moment.

For digital signatures, you could send e-mails with electronic signatures ahead of time. Something like Docusign. Or have them sign on your phone. Don't need a huge display for a simple signature.