Mobile Rig

[ReluctantSamurai]

I'm getting my new business lined up to start (private home inspection), and need some suggestions.

I will be doing my inspection report entirely digital, complete with pictures. I will need to send those pics to a laptop or tablet, and then dump the whole thing to a thumbnail drive. I will also be taking payment digitally on my smartphone with peoples credit cards.

My question is this...what type of smartphone should I get? and tablet or laptop? My photo needs are modest...doesn't have to have a huge mega-pixel resolution, but I need to be able to take clear pics in dark places like basements, crawl spaces, attics, etc. Weight considerations are not that big of a deal when considering a laptop (or tablet), I just need to have the capacity to hold a log of my reports, and be able to make thumbnail-drive copies.

Any suggestions as to what I should get?

[Xiahou]

Congrats and good luck on the business!

Without hesitation, I would tell you to get an Android based smartphone. I just really don't care for iPhones. As to what model? I've been a Motorola fan for years- had a DroidX2, RAZR Maxx and now a MotoX and they've all been great, but then others are die-hard Samsung fans.

I don't think a notebook is an adequate substitute for a laptop/notebook. If you're going to be dragging it into crawlspaces with you, you might want to look into something like a Toughbook. Otherwise, just be sure to avoid the cheesy, plasticy entry level trash all the laptop makers have- they never seem to hold up well. I've always liked Thinkpads, but I also own a Dell. I've used Dell and HP laptops at work- and of the two, I prefer HP.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Access to Android apps seems to be a must...already had several other suggestions to that point. I really won't be taking the laptop along into wet, nasty places, but it needs to have durability in the sense that it's probably going to spend very little time inside my house.

I've never owned either a smart phone or a laptop, so I have as yet to acquire a preference. Durability and reliability under less than optimum conditions are at the top of the list. I won't say that money is no object, but I'm not afraid to put money down on something that's going to outlast the competition.