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Tom's Tech Tips

Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Tablet or PC for Me?

The tablet market keeps growing wider and broader with more and more entries. It’s becoming harder and harder to take the leap of faith into the market and choose any one. Many Certified Legal Nurse Consultants have asked me whether they should buy a tablet or a computer, and if so, which one. To be clear upfront – tablets are computers just like smartphones are computers. They’re just smaller computers with limited (for now) capabilities.

So, when it comes to buying, my advice is pretty clear cut. If you’re only going to be consuming media or data, a tablet is the perfect choice. They’re great for reading, being on the Internet, keeping up with email and/or watching/downloading video. If that’s all you want or plan to do with your life, you’re a perfect candidate for a tablet. It could replace your laptop for overnight trips and simple projects. As of today, April 30, 2013, a tablet isn’t a be-all-does-all-replacement. The way things are moving forward though, one maybe tomorrow or shortly in the future.

But for now, if you’re creating data, such as writing reports as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, then you’ll need a real computer with a keyboard (Yes, I know tablets have add-on keypads) and the ability to do some complex data formatting. On a computer they’re a whole lot easier to create and manipulate (with the mouse and all).

But it’s not really that simple. It does often pay to be trilingual – just to keep up. Vickie is a great example. She has an iPhone®, iPad® and she travels with a laptop. The smartphone allows her to check email and stay in touch with the office while on-the-go. The tablet allows her to do the same but with a greater range for viewing, proofing and digesting documents and attachments – something hard to do on a 4”x 2” handset. The laptop, let’s just say it’s her office-on-the-go – when she’s in one place long enough to set it up.

So, my CLNC® amigos, the choice is clear. What you need depends upon what you do, where you go, how often you go and how long you stay gone. I’m opting for the smartphone and laptop. I’ll forgo the tablet – at least until my next 9 hour flight (then we can talk).

Keep on techin’,

Tom

P.S. Comment here and share what type(s) of device(s) are in your future and why.

4 thoughts on “Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Tablet or PC for Me?

  1. I have an iPhone and iPad and have used my iPad less and less. In the beginning I thought I could use the iPad for travel and work. I even bought an external keyboard, but I found it just doesn’t work for reviews or reports. Now that the laptops are much lighter and I use an external drive for all my records, I don’t use my iPad for any work. How is everyone else handling using the iPad for work ?

  2. Good overview.

    When choosing the platforms you’re going to use, you really need to look at the use you’re going to get out of. Besides the “trilingual” grouping you mentioned, I add a desktop computer to the mix in the office. It has two monitors on it and I can have documentation up on one screen while typing on the other. But definitely not something you can set down on a conference room table.

    You really have to look at the use, and where you’re going to be working. I tend to create documents on laptop, use iPad to present, and use smart phone as the controller/coordinator of it all.

  3. Thanks for the comment. You can accomplish the same dual monitor setup at lower cost by docking your laptop instead of adding an additional computer (desktop). We’ve covered this in earlier Tech Tips if anyone is interested.

  4. Thanks for the information, Tom. Very helpful as I jettison my PC to launch out and say “I, I” to Apple products.

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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.

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