Common Questions

Will the batteries in a standard tablet PC last long enough for a whole survey?

The internal batteries will usually work for between 6 and 8 hours depending on the particular tablet PC. If you are carrying out a longer survey, we recommend rugged tablets. These have larger batteries, most lasting beyond a 12 hour survey and are more likely to survive being accidentally dropped.

Rugged tablets are expensive, do you know of a good supplier?

If you are based in the UK, we can supply you with the rugged tablets you see on our website. We charge £300 GBP for these which we consider to be exellent value. If you are not based in the UK, or wish to purchase them directly from our supplier, we can put you in touch with them for further discount. Please contact us for more information.

How will users know which buttons they are pressing when looking away from the counter?

The app uses a 'beep' at an optimum frequency to be heard in a roadside environment. This gives some indication that the fingers are properly positioned. Tablet speakers are not always loud enough to be heard however, and where it is not safe to wear earphones, another approach may be useful. We can optionally provide acrylic overlays with the rugged tablets we supply. These have had mixed reviews though.

It's cold here and tablets won't work with gloves. Is there anything to help?

It is possible to get capacitive (or touchscreen) gloves. They are not expensive, and can work quite well. Check on the Amazon site for your country.