I need a new Rugged Windows Tablet, what do you use?

[Jbullfrog]

I have had a Dell Venue 11 with a hard shell for 5 years and liked it for day to day use. It needs a motherboard to fix a charging problem and is out of warranty. I have had the tablet replaced 3 times in 5 years. I do service work on lift chairs and power wheel chairs in the homes of clients, farm, have a full service shop, and do excavation. I'm looking for rugged tablet with Verizon, wifi, gps, and Windows operating system. What is everyone using and what are the pros and cons of your system?

 

[rijndael]

Panasonic Toughbook.

 

[shawhite]

We use xplore tablets at work. Not bad but if it were my money I would get a surface and rugged case.

 

[Mr_B]

^
+1 on surface, I picked up 2 surface pro's used off eBay . Buy a good case and job jobbed .

 

[rijndael]

IME, Surface Pros (and 1st gen Surface Books) have a higher rate of issues than normal laptops. YMMV. I'm basing it off a fairly large sample size, not a sample size of one.

 

[PhysicsDude]

We use windows tablets to field program a device we install a lot. We just buy $100 tablets, and replace them every year or so. We just need a few programs on them though, if you have to keep current documentation, etc, it would be a PITA to replace your tablet yearly.

 

[Mrmontebuilder]

A motion computing MC-F5 with an i7 is a nice machine and most have built in barcode scanner and all have a built in carry handle. There is one on eBay now for $89.99 with free shipping. These are aimed at the medical field and look pretty rugged although I have no personal hands on with them.

 

[Dirtydan69]

Motion computing units are nice. Had one in the mid 2000’s. Was a lot pricier back then. Pre iPad etc. Think I paid 3k for the whole setup.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Panasonic Toughbook.

By far the best in the "rugged" category !

 

[Mr_B]

as stating tablet I assume would want toughpad.
I not broke a notebook or surface in workshop or mobile yet, surface in a decent case is pretty good unless getting real rough or dirty .

 

[Jbullfrog]

Am I the only one that has used a Dell tablet?

 

[iWrench]

IME, Surface Pros (and 1st gen Surface Books) have a higher rate of issues than normal laptops. YMMV. I'm basing it off a fairly large sample size, not a sample size of one.

+1 I bought a first gen Surface Pro and had nothing but issues with it. It would freeze, overheat and require a restart at the most inopportune times. After trying constant updates and wiping the entire SSD several times for a fresh Windows install, I sold it on craigslist. I bought an iPad Pro 12.9 inch and I love it. As for a Windows tablet, those Dell Latitude Rugged ones look pretty sweet.

 

[sweet victory]

The first two surface pro's aren't any good. 3rd and 4th generation are great.

 

[rijndael]

I had a Surface Pro 3 and now have a Surface Book, both have serious issues.

 

[Citation]

If you need really rugged then Panasonic and Dell have options. No reason to favor one vs the other. If your computing needs are very light look at one of the Microsoft Surface Go + rugged case. Several Surface models (3rd gen and later) have no cooling fans this nothing to **** dirt into the machine. That and the availability of a rugged case would be my top criteria.

I would avoid the first and second gen Surface models. The RT models don't run full windows and thus are very limited. I have a second gen RT surface, great for what it is but software is very limited. The non-RT first and second gen have had reliability issues.

If you don't need super rugged consider the HP elite 1012 g1. The computer can be had for under $400 and a semi rugged case is $40. This is a nice option if you don't need a heavy duty product this is a good option.