Data Entry on a Hand-held Device?

HCL Domino Domino Forum
1

We have a requirement to do data-entry out in the field - literally. Does anyone have any experience of what devices are best to use in such a situation, please?

Currently remote users replicate data to their laptop at home, go visit the client, ask questions (the previously replicated data), go for a walk around the premises making manual notes, and then enter the data on the kitchen table before printing out a report. What we would like to happen is replicate at home, prime a hand-held device with the questions, visit the client, and do the data entry while wandering around the premises. Back in the kitchen they would sync the entered data back up to the laptop and produce the report.

(I should point out that it is more than likely that the “walking round the premises” happens in mobile reception black-spots, so G3 etc is not an option.)

Not a lot of text entry is required; perhaps out of 50 questions asked, 10 might need some feedback of say 20 to 30 words each. Very rarely one answer might need 100 words. The other questions would simply be answered by ticking checkboxes, but could as easily be answered by Y or N, or 1, 2, 3, and/or 4.

A few questions that come to mind :-

What hand-held devices would be best for this - Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, other?

Would it be Notes on the device, or some other app that could be synced using XML data export/import to the laptop then Notes?

Would voice recognition be a possibility?

Thanks for any insights at all you may have.

Jerry.

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Subject: Consider an UMID M1, or the soon-to-be released M2…

  • These are up to 1.6Ghz machines with up to 1GB RAM (for the M2) that run windoze home. They are, in essence, a fully functional ultra-tiny laptop, complete with a keyboard that has keys that press like they should, and an internal SSD that currently tops at 32GB. It’s a bit big for a pocket, but it’s something like 6.5" x 3.5" x 1", smaller than a paperback book.

  • The nice thing about this, imho, is one isn’t shackled with a virtual keyboard, which are never good for more than SMS entry, and the M2 has a built-in optical mouse in addition to the touch screen. Drawback is it’s larger than a lot of devices, and it’ll only run for four hours continuous on a charge, though the battery is replaceable like a laptop. It is available with a 3G modem built-in, but you’re stuck with AT&T and their fastest non-coverage. Still, that’s better than no wireless at all, ever. An UMID also has wifi & bt built-in, plus an SD slot.

  • Since it runs windoze natively, you should be able to run anything that will run on a laptop, and I surmise that includes Notes. Since they have USB ports for keyboard/mouse, and the M2 has VGA out, the laptop may not be strictly necessary at all. Even if the laptop is still needed, simple replication will do the trick, where anything else is going to require a custom solution to pull the data down, with varying degrees of effort. Other drawback is price … the cheapest UMID, 1.1Ghz w/ 512M & 8 GB SSD, is $500. That’s a lot more than RIM, Apple, or an Android device, all of which are also phones.

Hope this helps…