Android tablet questions - Useful for contractors? Excel spreadsheets? PPt shows?

[Panzer5]

Software questions: Are there any Android OS tablets that will:

• Let me transfer an excel file to the tablet and update it in the field (i.e. with pricing info, worker's hours, etc.?) and then save it back to my PC?
• Can I use my MS Outlook e-mail natively or do I need to port Outlook to G-mail & back again - or, since I have Bellsouth (AT&T) as my basic ISP & e-mail provider, can I send my AT&T e-mail directly to the device or do I have to websurf to check e-mail? ***
• Can I play a PowerPoint presentation on the device - or do I have to save it as a show & play it from an internet or e-mail browser?

Form Factor Questions:

• Does the 10.1 formfactor turn out to be useful away from a couch or table (i.e. can I use it in my truck) - or is it a pain to use whenever you can't set it down?
• Is there a better form factor (i.e. 8.9 or 7") that work well in the field - without losing so much screen-space that trying to show a customer a picture of a finished room or addition is pointless?
• Are these things sturdy enough for use by the boots & bluejeans crowd - or are they better suited for reading a novel in a coffee shop?

***I'm not in love with AT&T by any means - just what I'm currently using - so if a tablet is tethered to a different cell provider I can handle a change...

FYI

I'm a small business owner looking to improve my customer relations/sales via either a laptop or a tablet. I've been a PC user (build my own for home & business use / gaming) for a long time and never liked laptops - mostly because the price / performance ratio favored PC's so heavily. I also don't like "smartphones" because trying to read e-mails on a telephone annoys me. Furthermore, trying to show a customer a picture of work I've done or propose (home remodeling & construction) is a waste of time on a tiny screen.

Earlier this year I toyed with the idea of getting a laptop to replace my PC - but again, price & performance aren't on par with what I want & need (I do 3D modeling of houses / additions before I begin working & as part of the sales / design process) - so now I'm toying with the idea of keeping my PC for the heavy lifting and going with a tablet for in-the-field productivity and sales. I'm also a heavy MS Office user - especially MS Excel.

I'm pretty sure all the tablets will show photographs well and let me recieve e-mails - so what I really want to know - is how useful are these things to the working man?

FWIW - I'm looking at the XOOM, the Samsung 8.9, or deciding whether to wait for the Motorola ruggedized (7") due later this FY.

 

[beastman]

Documents to go will do what you want. In fact it will sync the files between phone and computer if you want it too. Don't know how it would work with more than 1 Android device. Currently on sale for around $15.
It is ms office 20103 compatible. Viewing documents is free but paid app needed to create/edit.

Sent from my PC36100 using Andro
id Tablet Forum

 

[Panzer5]

Thanks.

Here's another question - Do I need a tablet with 4G* to download content when I'm not near a wi-fi hotspot - or can you use a telephone with 4G to act as a router to send content to a tablet?





*(e.g)

 

[beastman]

You can use a phone as a wifi or bluetooth but if will require either rooting ir paying the carrier the $30 per month they want. I got thd wifi only viewsonic gtablet, and rooted it. Not with me currently as no wifi available.

Sent from my PC36100 using Android Tablet Forum