In this April 2019 YouTube video Richard Kohberger (the "blue collar nerd") advises technicians switching to paperless workflows to choose Apple iPads over other tablets because of better app reliability and fewer hardware variations. He compares the standard iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini (with starting prices for Wi‑Fi + cellular), notes that 2019 models support the 1st‑gen Apple Pencil, critiques its charging design, recommends the Logitech Crayon for durability and charging convenience, and mentions iPad Pro as an optional high-end choice (12.9" model priced at $1,149). He also suggests using an Amazon business credit card for 5% back when buying iPads.
Questions this video answers
$459
$629
$529
$1,149
Logitech Crayon
What's going on, everybody? It's Richard Kohberger here, the blue collar nerd. Here's a question I see a lot. I'm switching to paperless. What tablet should I get for my technicians? Well, first question we need to answer is iPad or other, and this one's really no contest at this point. IPad and tablet are pretty much synonymous now and other manufacturers are really struggling to stay relevant in this space. Plus, iPads are going to be easier to develop for, for service titan or housecall pro or whatever you're using. And because all of these companies are, you know, still startups with limited resources, it's going to be better to go with an iPad because there's less to account for because Apple controls all of the hardware, so there's only so many screen sizes to account for, only so many different processors and things like that. So an iPad app is generally going to be more reliable and less buggy. So iPad would be my recommendation. Okay, now there's a ton of iPads and Apple has just released some new ones pretty recently. So which one's best? Well, for technicians, I would say you're really between three the regular standard iPad that starts at $459 for a Wi fi and cellular model an iPad air, which is a little bit iPad with a slightly bigger 10.5-inch screen versus the standard 9.7-inch screen that starts at $629 for a Wi fi and cellular model, or an iPad mini a little bit more compact, easier to carry around. And those are starting at $529 for a Wi fi and cellular model. Now, the latest versions that came out in 2019 of all of these iPads that I just mentioned are now compatible with the first generation iPad pencil, which is cool because customers really hate signing off with their finger. But the first generation iPad pencil has kind of a deal breaker issue. See, the iPad pencil has to be charged. And the way you charge the first generation iPad pencil is by taking off this little cap, which by the way is not connected to the pencil in any way. So you might as well consider that lost. And then you have a male connector here, and so it comes with a little double ended female adapter. You put one end here and then you plug the cable into the other end. I'd show you my adapter, but I lost it. And so will your technicians. Immediately it'll be gone. So there's only one other way to charge it and that is with the iPad itself. What does that look like, you might ask? Yeah. Oof. Doesn't that, doesn't that make you uncomfortable just looking at it? This is going to get broken. Your technicians in a van, it's gonna get. Mmm, mmm, mmm. You just know it. It's gonna just pop out. The little charging adapter, it's gonna bend this. You're gonna have an unchargeable iPad and a ruined Apple pencil. Not recommended. Now, the second generation iPad pencil is better. It charges wirelessly with the iPad itself. You kind of stick it to the side with a magnet and it charges. But it's currently only with the iPad pro models. And the iPad pro models are really expensive and overkill for what we need. So what I recommend is an option that not a lot of people know about. It's called the Logitech crayon. That's kind of like an Apple pencil, but it's geared towards education. It's made for classrooms, so it's a little bit more durable. And instead of this male adapter that we have on the iPad pencil, it has a female adapter. It's got a little rubber cap. You pop off, it stays attached so it doesn't get lost. And then you just plug a regular old wire into there to charge it up. Much better for our use case. Now, you don't need to use any sort of pencil. You can get away with just not having one and letting your customer sign with their finger. I think it's just a nice little touch. People don't like to sign with their finger, so it really makes you stand out if you hand them a nice pencil to do it with. If you don't want to do any of that, you could also use, you know, one of those little rubber tips type of pen things. You know, it's okay. It's still, I guess, better than your finger, but they're not very precise. They still don't really feel like writing on something the way that these Apple pencils and the Logitech crayon do. Now, between these three models, it all really comes down to preference. What size do you want? You know, a bigger screen, obviously, is going to be better for presentation purposes, whereas something like the iPad mini is going to be much more portable, much more pocketable. You could probably fit that in a Cargo pants pocket versus these bigger iPads. Not so much. What I would do is just take a poll with your technicians, see what they would prefer, and just go with whatever gets the highest vote. Or if you're really trying to earn that world's best boss mug, just get everybody what they ask for. Now, I did mention that the iPad Pro models were overkill for technicians, and that is true. However, they do come in a much larger screen. The biggest iPad Pro has a big beautiful 12.9-inch display with with a much thinner bezel around it. It's great for presentation. So if you just wanted a bigger screen for maybe a consultant, somebody who spends more time at the kitchen table, doesn't really have to get as dirty, somebody who's less likely to break the thing, I would maybe go with iPad Pro if you're willing to spend the money. The 12.9-inch Wi Fi and cellular iPad Pro is 1149 and that's of course not including if you're going to get an Apple pencil or a Logitech crayon or something like that. Any keyboards and cases, that's all icing on the cake. Just keep in mind, not necessary. But it is a nicer screen for sure. Now, Apple doesn't really do discounts. An iPad costs what an iPad costs mostly no matter where you look. But I do have one tip, which is if you sign up for the Amazon business credit card, you get 5% back on anything you buy at Amazon. And guess what you can buy on Amazon? IPads. So if you get that credit card and then buy all your iPads off of Amazon, you're getting 5% back. 5% off of an order of, you know, six iPads. That's a nice chunk of change. I do have links for all of my recommendations in the description below, so check that out if you're interested. Anyways, that's all I've got. If you like the video, be sure to hit like subscribe to the channel. Hit that little bell. That's gonna help. Notify you anytime I upload something new. Stay techy. Appreciate it.
