iPad for inspection field data collection

Started using the first generation iPad without the 4G wireless for bridge inspection and general field work.  Here’s some notes on what I’ve found so far:

-          Extremely light and handy for climbing around bridges and embankments, although I need a waterproof case such as Otterbox or similar

-          Generally very fast and intuitive… I handed it to assistant and he took off with it with very little orientation

-          Camera is good enough quality for typical inspection reports; video/audio is good quality too (although can’t figure out a timestamp feature)

-          Screen is excellent for outdoor use, in direct sun it’s readable, but really great under bridge or in shade

-          Used the app “DocsToGo” to put about 70 empty reports on it, fill them in as we went, and then synched them back to office PC on our return – worked slick

-          used the built-in notepad to do photo logs and misc notes – very fast and easy compared to laptop or gps-type device

-          Tons of memory for storing maps, past reports, inspection manuals, etc.. anything you could possibly need on hand

-          Able to check in on email if wifi was in range, typically at lunch or breaks near civilization

-          Touch keyboard is very easy to use and fast, and it has the auto-fill feature which is handy for repetitive entries

-          Video with audio was very handy for ‘notes to self’

-          Used a rack mount in the vehicle for finishing/typing in between bridges – cost about $35 I think

-          Tons of other useful apps such as weather channel, mapping, sketch on photos, etc… with solid internet, the uses are endless

All in all, it is an excellent field tool that I feel blows the laptop, thinkpad, tablet pc, gps handheld, etc out of the water – I’ll be looking to use it more and more in the future; however, I will likely upgrade to the iPad 2 and would recommend you go that route as well – it really needs to have the solid, full-time internet access to be fully functional and used to its full potential.  Then you can be uploading inspection reports into bridge management systems as you go, which a lot of agencies are going toward – cloud service type approach.  It also has a Facetime app that is similar to Skype but much faster and streamlined that can be used for onsite videoconferencing if you’ve got the 4G wireless going on.  It has a cool feature for that also – push a button and it switches from the front facing to rear facing camera, so you can be talking and then show them what you’re looking at, then go back to conversation.