TOPIC: A New Tablet!! CTL2Go

Okay, here is the latest:

I shipped my 2gopc overnight back for repair, paid $100 for rush repair service, and paid for overnight shipping back.  They got my unit, repaired it and didn't ship it back.  Apparently they don't get FedEx everyday.  Long story short, they gave me my rush repair money back and shipped me the computer back overnight Saturday delivery.  I paid for the shipping but they paid the difference in the Saturday delivery.

Got the pc back and used it 3 time and the screen goes white on me at the beginning of my forth inspection.  Good thing I had my everyday computer with me!

After a nice phone call to them from my wife, I shipped the computer back again, overnight, and they put my HDD in a new computer and sent it back to me.  So now I have a whole new computer except the HDD.

Now I say this computer has made me tones of money by saving my man hours. But this lil problem has cost me about $1000 in lost jobs plus all the shipping.  I think it would have been cheaper for me to have bought a new unit and sent this one back for repair in the normal repair pipeline.

Woof...that's a pretty spendy fix.  The lost time is just so hard to deal with too.  There's no amount anyone can put on that, unless they're willing to pay your standard fee! 

Sounds like they fixed the issues, how long did it take to get it back? Why did it cost $1000 in lost jobs? Did you have to turn down jobs because you didn't have it? I don't get why they can't send via fedex every day, hopefully Matt will chime in.

It is always smart to have a backup machine and this would prevent you from having to pay for the overnight shipping, so you're right, getting a 2nd unit isn't a bad idea!

Yes I had to turn down work.  First time I sent it in on a Tuesday and should have had it back on a Thursday.  But due to the shipping delay I got it back on Saturday.  The second time I sent it in, they got it back very fast!  And I ended up using my personal PC for the jobs I already had booked.  My personal PC is a HP zd8000.  Its very bulky and very little battery life.  It did slow me down quite a bit but I got through. 

Lesson is, I should have a back up for all my critical tools.  Anyone looking to sell their 2gopc? 

I have several questions about how others are using this device in the field:

1) Do you use it in tablet mode or in standard laptop mode? I had a problem with the Accelerometer where it flipped the screen when in tablet mode but wouldn't flip back when in laptop mode. Had to reboot to get it working again. Anybody else experience this?

2) Do you find that sun reflection is a problem in either mode? If so, have you found a solution?

3) Do you actually carry it with you throughout the exterior inspection or do you update it once you're back inside?

4) How about adding new narratives?  Use keyboard? Use handwriting recognition?  Any recommendation on how to add new narratives quickly and accurately?

Bottom line - I'm curious about how others are getting an advantage from using this machine. My first few times using this machine have been very frustrating. It may just be my approach.  Any usage tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks,  Ken

Hi Ken,

1) If you're using the 9" version there's a driver update on their site to make the Accelerometer work better. But in the bottom right there's a program you can right click on (looks like a blue box) and can rotate in any direction. You can also flip it back to tablet mode in back and that resets the Accelerometer.

2) Make sure you increase the brightness using the Fn key plus the sun icon up in the F keys (don't have mine in front of me, I'm talking along the top of the keyboard). When you unplug the device it automatically decreases the brightness to save battery live but you can override this.

3) I was at 2 conferences this weekend and we talked a lot about the device and quite a few guys had them. Almost all of them carry it around except for the roof & crawlspace.

4) Handwriting recognition unless it's after you've come down from the room, then guys will have it sitting in tablet mode and type in everything they just saw.

Make sure you've calibrated the touch screen and gone through the handwriting program so that it recognizes your writing better. Also, any word it comes up with that's wrong, click on the word under your writing and select the correct phrase.