A map app on a 7' tablet computer provides turn-by-turn visual and voice navigation to a convention center where antiques shows are sometimes held. Computer Column #304
John P. Reid, jreid@dca.net
Many of the things antiquers do on smartphones are so much easier on a tablet computer. Here are some examples to whet interest in a tablet.
Navigation
Most of us are familiar with automobile dashboard navigation systems. Many tablet computers can serve the same purpose. A tablet should have a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver that detects navigation satellites to do the most accurate job. GPS programs today also use the Russian GLONASS satellites. Only a few Android tablets have GPS, and the feature costs a bit more. The 2013 version of the Google Nexus 7, starting at about $229, is a popular example. Not all Apple iPads come with GPS, but newer models with cell phone data capability usually do. If you already own an Android or Apple tablet, consult its settings menu to see what functions are available and turned on. Plug-in GPS adapters can be purchased for some Apple and Android devices.
The free Android GPS Status & Toolbox app, available on Google Play, is educational and fun but otherwise unnecessary. It will show a GPS newcomer how a tablet locks on to a constellation of satellites. The only similar Apple apps found on iTunes were for specific GPS adapters.
Actually, GPS is becoming a little less important to navigation. A tablet equipped to receive data from the cell phone network, an extra-cost item, can locate itself from nearby cell phone towers. And the common Wi-Fi equipped tablets can locate themselves by nearby Wi-Fi hotspots or home and business wireless networks. Apple, Microsoft, and Google have built huge databases of these locations, although privacy advocates are complaining.
GPS will provide a location accurate to within about 50 feet anywhere in the world. Cell phone and Wi-Fi detection will get within a few hundred feet but may not work in the mountains of Tennessee or the deserts of Nevada.
The current default map app for a tablet comes installed in a new tablet. The Google Maps app was the default app for both Android and Apple iOS devices after accuracy problems with Apple Maps arose in 2012. Since late 2013, Apple Maps has been regaining ground, though it may not be available for older iPads. A few iPad users prefer Google Maps.
Google Maps boasts maps of 200 countries, navigation for driving, biking, and walking, transit maps for over 800 cities, and information on more than 100 million places. Voice guidance can be turned on or off. Apple Maps has similar features. No map app is perfect. Google Maps is confused by the ongoing 14-month road construction on my street, insisting I can only turn north out of the driveway when the opposite is true. But the general reception to Google Maps is favorable.
We tried several road trips using an Android tablet with Wi-Fi and GPS but no cell phone data connection and were quite pleased. The trip must be planned with a Wi-Fi connection available so map data can be downloaded and stored. Trip planning is lost if the tablet is turned off completely but not if the screen is merely turned off with the usual short push. Moral: have a tablet battery charger in the car. Once the trip is started, GPS reception must be on if Wi-Fi is not available. Navigation is unfazed by switching to other apps and switching back. E-mail can be sent, and music can be played in the background.
If you are navigating without a network data connection, Android maps will recover from small accidental or traffic-based deviations from the planned route. I turn south from the driveway and the app catches on. The Google Maps app for Apple iOS devices may need a data connection to reroute.
If electronic navigation is an occasional convenience for you, a map app on a GPS-equipped Android or Apple tablet will serve well. I often take a wrong turn going around Washington, D.C., or Newport News, Virginia, beltways. I have gone down the wrong side of a long inlet in coastal Maine or the Maryland Eastern Shore and had to backtrack to get to a town on the other side. And I have been lost on country roads all over the U.S. A navigation app would have been welcome.
However, if you feel electronic navigation is essential to safe and timely travel, look into one of the many dedicated automobile systems either as built-ins or aftermarket add-ons. Their user interfaces are tailored for that one job, and they usually come with complete map data without an Internet connection.
Point of Sale (POS)
Filling out an electronic sales slip on a tablet rather than a smartphone is easier because of the large on-screen keyboard and display. Try a simple invoice app first to get the feel. A good one is Invoice2go, available for both iPads and Android tablets at the iTunes or Google app stores respectively. Go for the $14.99 basic version of the Apple app or the $9.99 Android version. The free versions are too limited.
Invoice2go allows sales slips to be prepared with tax and totals calculated. The slip can be e-mailed to the customer or printed on a local stand-alone printer with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability. Both the Apple and Android versions offer added capabilities for a price. From dozens to hundreds of dollars can be spent for the ability to store data on line and other features. Look over Invoice2go carefully; there are other products available.
There are apps labeled POS that can be downloaded free. Many free POS apps are confusing or do not work well. However, the apps supplied by firms offering credit card processing are excellent. Their costs depend on what options are selected. Two favorite companies are popular newcomer Square ( https://squareup.com) and long-established Intuit ( http://ift.tt/UTuhys). They provide card readers that plug into most tablets or smartphones. And their charges for processing credit card sales are competitive. Both offer complete on-line service but are quite different in costs and level of integration with bookkeeping systems, so study them carefully.
Other Apps
A note-taking app such as Evernote ( http://evernote.com) on a tablet with a camera facing away from the user is a wonderful tool at auctions or antiques shows. Pictures of objects can be composed on the large tablet screen and saved. Text or spoken comments can be added before uploading by Internet to Evernote. The illustrated notes are then available on your desktop computer and all your mobile devices.
Banking apps are easier to use on a tablet. Bank transaction listings are more complete and readable on a tablet. Many banks prevent remembering a password on a mobile device. Entering a complex password on a smartphone is tedious and prone to error.
The last few hours of a winter antiques show in the north are marked by dealers peeking out the door to check the weather for packing out and the long drive home. When run on a tablet, some weather apps are more complete and easier to use than when viewed on a dinky smartphone screen. Two favorites are AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, both available for Android and Apple iOS.
Originally published in the April 2014 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2014 Maine Antique Digest
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