Tablet PCs, lightweight, portable computers that convert from touch-screen tablets to monitors with a keyboard, are taking the business world by storm. Fortune 500 companies, including United Airlines, Wells Fargo, Roche and Sears are deploying thousands of these units among their workforce, according to Entrepreneur magazine.
The New York Times recently quoted Ted Schadler, a vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, as saying he expects American businesses to have tens of millions of tablets in the workplace by 2015. Easy-to-carry tablets allow employees to interact with customers face-to-face in real time, rather than from behind a room divider in an office cubicle. For salespeople, tablets allow employees to take the full power and memory of their computers on the road and on sales calls with them. For customer service reps, such as those working in an airport, tablets allow workers to deal with customers in person rather than via telephone or email.
Using your tools to be a resource manager can sometimes be tough. But, with advances in technology increasing exponentially, offices are heading in the direction of being PC free.
Tablets aren’t the only tech trend impacting the way we do business. New touch-screen operating systems, larger tablet display screens and hands-free options are a few of the new technological advances making it easier to perform common PC functions and react more quickly to customer needs.
Windows 8: The latest version of Windows is designed for tablets. Gone is the start button, replaced by a series of tiles that allow users to choose where they want to dive into the computer rather than follow the same preset path. Windows 8 also has touch-screen capabilities, allowing tablets to function as a presentation device or a photo viewer.
Samsung Galaxy S4: Unveiled in March, this is expected to outsell Apple products. It will allow users to control functions without touching the screen. People will be able to look away from the screen while watching a video and it will smart pause, or pause when users look away. Smart scroll lets users look through emails without touching the screen, detecting movements of the eyes and wrists.
Larger Tablet Screens: Although the original 12-24″ tablet screens were generally too small to be convenient for daily office use, new tablet computers with 27″ screens, such as Lenovo’s Horizon touch-screen tablet PC make displays easier to read and show to clients.
Google Glass: This is a product currently in development by the search engine giant, according to Mirror.co.uk. You won’t even need a tablet, or your hands, to do many PC functions. These lightweight glasses fit on your face and allow users to take pictures, record videos and send email messages, all using voice commands.
3D Printers: According to Mirror.co.uk, this technology is able to map out an object. The printer layers slices of materials on top of each other to create a 3D object. RepRap and other companies are trying to produce 3D printers for at-home use.
