I’m looking for input on the pluses and minuses of tablet use in the field. Our ND has agreed to buy one as an experiment and see how useful it is. We currently have 2 reporters who use their personal iPads in the field and love them. One has 3G unlimited on his and uses it for web browsing, email, and a prompter/notepad for live shots. The other reporter doesn’t have the 3G service but uses her personal iPhone as a wireless hotspot and links the iPad through that. She too uses it for web, email, and prompter.
So far I’m VERY impressed with the battery life, 10-12 hours on a charge with heavy use, every time! After watching them get dropped a couple times (once with and once without protection) I strongly suggest one of the "bombproof" mil-spec covers, I can verify their worth!
We currently have only two negatives with them. The first is the inability to print scripts on the live truck printers. (This will likely be solved soon by upgrading to wireless printers.) We have also found that when using the Avid I-News Web application the formatting doesn’t work properly so we have to send scripts "indirectly" via email.
We are also considering PC-based tablets to be more compatible with our PC newsroom and email but haven’t heard much about their use for news yet. Yes, the iPad is pricey, but like all other Apple products (except Final Cut X), it just plain works!
Any input from real field users would be greatly appreciated!