Spending a few hours in the train today and I didn't feel like carrying around my laptop. Thus I am using this light weight mobile office:
- +Nexus 7
- Huawei mobile router
- +ZAGG Bluetooth Keyboard
- DODO hardcase for the Nexus 7
(Took the photo with my Galaxy Nexus)
How does your mobile office look like? Share your post using #mobileoffice
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Thumb typing, with some practice, may let you type fast enough not to need an external keyboard.
For me, it's Chromebook + Nexus S (for 3G).
I really don't feel the Nexus 7 as an "office" device, it'll come with me for leisure.
I have been looking in to how to get more mobile. I did buy a sony vaio last year because I thought a full windows machine in such a small format would be a good idea. This year I have tried an Android tablet but it is not stable enough for the task. I am currently looking at the idea of linking a folding blue tooth keyboard to my smart phone. At present I am using an iPhone 3GS but it is beginning to have difficulty coping with the apps that are available and it has some issues that necessitate replacement. I thought this would be an opportunity to take on a larger screened Android phone but this time choose something more stable and better supported. I was thinking of the Galaxy s3 or waiting for the Note 2.
For me thumb typing is not an option. Through years of typing I have become reasonable fast at touch typing on a decent keyboard. Thumb typing feels quick if you are good at it but it is ultimately far more time consuming and laborious. Perhaps this is not the case when you have a very good predictive system and can learn to make full use of it, but I think I am too old and inflexible to learn at what point every word kicks in as the correct suggestion. Having to watch for the suggestions would slow me down far more than just using a good full size keyboard.
Why not put your galaxy Nexus in hotspot mode? It will save carrying the router as well
+Paolo Amoroso tried that but with the DODO case, the device is a tiny bit too big which hurts my hands. Without the DODO case it is indeed one of the best ways of putting in words. Unfortunately the DODO case is not intended for easy removal and putting it back again.
Francois, Chromebook is too much to carry around
You are right it is not really an office device but for some light weight tasks it is sufficient.
+Tino Kremer and drains the battery
Spending 5 hours in total on a train and still wanting to use your GN for other stuff when outside the train, I need the battery 
+Tino Kremer the mifi only weighs 135 grams
I have an extended battery, it lasts all day in hotspot mode and still has 80% charge
+Ro Atkinson the Galaxy Note II might be your best phone. You can use Swipe or Swiftkey for easy input. Swiftkey is easy to learn and works like a charm. The Note II even has the stylus input which you might like.
I feel that with JB the Android devices became more stable. I have had the N7 now for 2 months or so and never had an unintended reboot.
+Tino Kremer what type of battery is it? The phone gets bulky really easy which I hate
Plus the mifi has unlimited data. My phone has it too but slower speed (stupid Vodafone)
I am using mifi at the moment but I have recently realised that my bill for phone and bill for 15 GB mifi combined exceeds what I would have to pay for one sim that provided unlimited internet with the possibility of tethering. I will have to get a phone that gives the option of swapping batteries though. I am surprised that no phones offer the ability to swap batteries without turning the phone off.
Not sure I have the patience to wait for Note 2. Also having to use two hands could affect productivity. Note 1 is unfortunately not an option due to not having LTE so not future proofed. I have tried swype and found it was not for me. I do not think it is a common problem as I have not heard anyone else mention it but sliding my finger tips across the screen becomes very painful for me after a while. I have difficulty just using my fingers for scrolling. I always used to like directional buttons below the screen because after half an hour of websurfing on a touch screen my finger tips sometimes scream in pain. The same goes for certain touchpads. I find my mac to be ok but my HP is terrible for it as it has a textured touchpad. iPhone is not too bad compared to my old HTC Hero. That used to be like rubbing my finger tips across sandpaper.
Yeh, the unlimited data not being sold anymore is a pain. In fact, it seems the telco's don't really want us to use the Internet. The battery I use is this one: http://www.pdashop.nl/product/183218/veripart-extended-accu-samsung-galaxy-nexus.html
… It does make the phone bulkier, but I like using it as much as I want without having to worry about running out of juice. The Nexus 7 tablet does have a nice battery, I haven't been much below 50% on quite heavy use yet.
Standard company fullsize laptop, dataconnection via mobile company pda and mobile printer.
+Michael Koppenol mobile printer? You carry that around all the time? Is it all in a case or something?
Eee Pad Transformer from Asus, Samsung Nexus S (tethered), 2 power cords for the Asus and the Samsung #mobileoffice
+Ro Atkinson you are having some valid concerns. Note II should come available Oct/Nov. But you are in the US? That will take longer or you have to get one from the EU and "import it".
+Tino Kremer will have a look at that battery. But knowing that the new Nexus will be announced in Oct/Nov, I can manage with my spare batteries and +ZAGG Sparq.
+Boris Geheniau you manage to hold out on the charge of the Nexus S long? Or are you connect to juice all the time?
I'm a Brit but with global sensibilityes. (apologies for that misspelling, I did it accidentally but found it aesthetically pleasing.) I should wait for the Note 2. Even if I do not choose it maybe something else nice will turn up. Or maybe the current prices I am planning to pay will go down. I don't know why it is that I can happily use a 3GS for years but as soon as the iPhone 5 is announced I decide I must go Android immediately. It seems a bit contrary really.
+Ro Atkinson maybe you were expecting more? #switchtoAndroid
And the Note should come available pretty soon in the UK, right? The lack of LTE is to me not a real problem. I use phones 1yr and then I replace them. But seeing you are still with the 3GS, you stay a long time with your phone.
Wow cool idea, this is my ideal mobile office. Now I got s3 and ipad, and sharing data usage. Typing on s3 is easy with swift key but pain on ipad when typing a long blog post. Thinking to have a Bluetooth keyboard too
No, +Arvid Bux . I need that to print my reports for the customer. But i keep that in my car, so i may have cheated on the storage/carry issue. I also have a power transformer so i can run my 220V AC stuff off my 12V DC outlet. (just need to remember to keep the engine running while i'm doing that. (I also need about 100kilos of equipment, spares and tools so public transport isn't an option for me)
Ok, I don't get this whole keyboard thing.
If you want to use a keyboard with your tablet; why not buy a laptop??
Because we don't need/want a fullsize laptop? Just something to comfortably type a simple document.
I'm looking around for something between a tablet (which is a little small to my liking) and a laptop (which is a bit overpowered). I just want something that has a comfortable keyboard, and is still light enough and powerful enough to browse the internet with. I'm waiting for the release of Win8 (sorry Google!) and some of those ultrabooks.
You can always check out the ultra books +Michael Koppenol
+Iwan Timmermans Because a tablet can make a pretty decent laptop when a keyboard is added. A laptop can't be a tablet.
Asus transformer anyone?
+Tino Kremer I currently have had the 300 and 700 here and while I've tried to make an effort, after the first to weeks I still crabbed a different combination (tablet plus keyboard). The issues with the balance on the 300 are just to annoying (especially in things like trains) and the 700 just doesn't run anywhere near stable enough. 4.1 fixed that issue for the 300 though.
Chromebook and my phone as the portable wifi hotspot. Because I don't have a cool keyboard like you
+Michael Koppenol Which mobile printer did you end up using? I'm thinking of getting the Brother PocketJet 6 Plus with Bluetooth. Now that is one sexy thermal printer! Does both letter and legal, to boot.
Laptops are just too heavy for me. I tend to carry a lot of tech with me. I am very finicky and if I am out in the open I will use an ereader so that I have an e-ink screen. I insist on an actual camera as no phone camera has the quality I want, though many have better features. If I am planning on video then I will also carry a dedicated video camera. A monopod is something I usually have as well. All these devices mount up and I find that when I add a laptop into the mix it all suddenly becomes massively heavy. I could buy a newer lighter laptop to replace my present ones but the thing is that I have massive hard drives in my laptops and most of the space is taken up wholly with software rather than data. As I cannot simply lift out my drive and put it with a new motherboard it would take me well over a month before I had managed to replace all my software and doing so with some items would be difficult or expensive. While my laptop still has enough power to do what I ask of it without trouble I intend to keep it. This is even more important to me considering I like the fact that I can easily replace the battery if need be and there is still upgrade potential. In many ways I consider my 4 year old laptops to be superior to most of the laptops currently on the market, perhaps not in sheer power but certainly in features. They are not suitable for one handed use or simply slipping out on the bus though. That combines with the weight/bulkiness plus the general inefficiency of power use and battery life in a four year old laptop, and a number of other qualities, to make them in many ways unsuitable for portable use.
I do need to carry a phone though. There is no escaping that fact in this modern age. Tech in phones is moving even more rapidly than in laptops and there are fewer options for older phones meaning that upgrade is required more often. My use of the 3GS suggests I do not subscribe to the school of thought that it is something to be done every year but at the moment the 3GS is beginning to stumble and the innovations introduced in the latest generation have at last meant there is a reason to upgrade. The current crop of phones is capable of performing most tasks you are likely to need on the road as well as a laptop could, but with the added benefit of being easy to slip into a jacket pocket rather than necessitating a laptop bag. With a folding bluetooth keyboard this could also easily slip into a jacket pocket. As I am the sort of person who likes to hike or cycle for miles this is invaluable. The additional fact that a phone is always on and has a web connection makes it even more appropriate.
These are my reasons +Iwan Timmermans . I am getting old now and increasingly intolerant of anything that infringes on my enjoyment of life. Being a grumpy old man I need to have everything as perfect as it can possibly be or else I will complain about it. That has been the main reason I have stuck with my old tech for all these years. It is also the reason I am choosing now to accept that these portable options may now have reached the level at which I am prepared to use them as alternatives.
I use this one. http://www.printershop.nl/product/152289/hp-officejet-100-mobiele-printer.html +Mike Trieu but it's company issued so I didn't have much of a choice in it.
PRO-TIP!!! If you do have to use a mobile printer remember to pack spare inktcartridges
Oke, I'm not an Adnroid user but I use my MacBook Air with a Decoded (very nice) cover. Then I take my iPhone 4S (soon iPhone 5) with me as a hotspot. This is my perfect mobile office. I can write, read and take picture. That's al I need
.
I don't take my iPad as a mobile office anymore since I have my MacBook Air. My iPad is for home use on the sofa en in the kitchen.
Oooo. and +Arvid Bux is trying out this stuff (Zagg, DODO) voor +StyleCowboys :)…. So a full review will be online soon….
Love my Nexus but to be honest when I want to 'work' on the move I still have to use my laptop + SGS3 as a hotspot. Am actually really looking forward to this: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx
Believe it's going to be a game changer for most companies that have BYOD policies and in the tablet market in general….just hope MS get the pricing right.
I think I might be the first to mention ereaders here but I find that I get most of my work done with the Sony T2 reader. All the hefty word processing tends to get left till I am in an office and I use the time when I am out and about for anything that involves reading. With the T2 I can highlight any passages that I want to quote and they get shoved into evernote. If I have any thoughts of my own I can write them down in the note app with the stylus. It is not ideal because there is not hand writing recognition but it is good for remembering my ideas.
+Michael Koppenol I was considering that one myself, but it's definitely not something I can just throw in my backpack at the moment. And, as you mentioned, the cost and hassle of purchasing extra cartridges makes mobile thermal printers seem like a better deal. I mean, you're going to have to carry the paper, anyway. Why not make it thermal paper? My only question: It's there such a thing as UV-stabilized thermal paper, because the stuff that comes out of most receipt printers tends to turn completely black when left out in the sunlight for even an hour.
That's the trouble with thermal paper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_paper
However, I guess you should think if using PDF's is an option. Print to a PDF file and send it by mail. You could also use the term "It's more ecofriendly". And the customers can print a copy out for himself. We also use our PDA's as a way to digitally attach a signature to the document.
"Most direct thermal papers require a protective top-coating to [...] reduce fading of the thermal image caused by exposure to UV light [...]"
Good to hear that vendors found a way to mitigate that issue. Also explains why the letter-sized sheets are of thicker weight than their receipt paper brethren.
I hear you about PDFs. I use that format heavily myself. However, there are situations where the customer would like to see an on-site estimate right away and telling them to check their email is awkward.