Earlier this month, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Community Director, Suzi Dafnis, invited me to test drive the Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G device, along with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I’m a bit of a hybrid myself, as I regularly use both an iPad and a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, so was interested to see how the iPad and Galaxy tablet compared. I was running my iPad on 3G Wi-Fi via my mobile, so was also interested to see whether using a 4G device would make any difference. Here are my thoughts about the experience.
Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G device
I found the Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G device to be fast, consistent in its performance and reliable. A bonus was that it’s easy to set up. You basically just switch the device on, enter a security key and it’s ready to go with no software to install.
As a writer, I found that its ability to keep multiple wireless compatible devices connected made it easy to stay productive when I was out of the office.
During my test drive, I didn’t have the opportunity to take full advantage of its functionality – the device has the capacity to connect with up to five wireless, Ethernet and/or USB devices including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, printers, cameras and media servers. This means that you can use it to duplicate your home office’s functionality; videoconferencing, teleconferencing, downloading files and sharing your internet connection with colleagues in the same area. The device’s accessories include an extended battery that gives up to 8 hours of use, a range of antennas to extend coverage and signal strength and a desktop charging cradle to network your storage device or office, making it easy to stay productive and efficient whether you’re working in your office, or remotely*.
Samsung Galaxy Tablet vs Apple iPad
The first thing I noticed about the Samsung Galaxy tablet was that it has an amazing onscreen keyboard! Unlike the iPad, the Galaxy has the numbers and letters on the same screen, so when you’re typing in passwords or other alphanumeric text, you don’t need to switch from one screen to another as you change from letters to numbers.
As a fast typist, I find screen switching very frustrating, so have enjoyed the ease of the Galaxy’s much more user-friendly configuration.
Both tablets look sleek, are easy and light to carry around and have a huge range of accessories. On a practical level, both seem to have similar battery life (I haven’t read the manuals to see exactly how much each of them offers, but neither has run out on me yet). And both have more apps than I’ll ever use – including the usual communication and social media apps. Apart from its keyboard, the Galaxy has two other features that I’ve found really useful – the Polaris office suite, which allows you to create and edit documents in PowerPoint, Word and Excel; and a fantastic tool; its S-pen stylus, which you can use for a whole range of purposes, including jotting down notes on the go in handwriting mode. Also, using the S-pen cuts down dramatically on the finger print effect, keeping the Galaxy’s screen cleaner and clearer than the iPad’s. The Galaxy also has fast connectivity, ideal for business owners telecommuting or working remotely; and if you purchase the optional keyboard case, you can use the tablet as an extremely functional laptop. Until I trialled the Galaxy, I thought the iPad was the ultimate tablet, but I have to say that the Galaxy’s keyboard, S-pen functionality and Polaris office suite make it by far a better option for me.
*Telstra advises that when outside 4G coverage areas, the Telstra 4G USB will automatically switch over to Telstra’s advanced High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) enabled 3G network and speeds will be less. The number of users accessing the device may also affect its speed. Visit Telstra.com/mobilebbcoverage for details of coverage areas and speed ranges.
