The time has come to open this can of jelly-belly worms. I have avoided “going there” before now because I was not really in a true traveling full time lifestyle. Full time, yes but just not traveling much so the PC was a lot more instantly available.
I use a lot of tools to get through the day. Sure, planning tools, like mapping programs, RV Forums and Campground review sites take a lot of the uncertainty out of the process but how about while on the road?
First, a tablet or a SmartPhone (no matter whose) is not a full replacement for a PC. it is an extension of the PC concept into a more convenient form factor. Here is where one’s own subjective attitudes starts to muddy the waters because no two people will use their devices in the same ways at the same times. This is a really important point to understand because so many people’s view of technology is based purely in what they already know and that is a huge variable in trying to sensibly compare their comments.
For instance, what does “good Wifi” or “broadband speeds” actually mean? These are not measured comparisons based in technology but each person’s understanding of how well these fit their own experiences and understandings. Good Wifi may really suck to many others for a variety of reasons such as the difference in the operating system, its default maintenance profiles and how much actual personal multitasking that person actually does on a device. There is a huge difference in the concept of a good connection between an accomplished Windows 8 user that spends a lot of online time researching and planning versus a pocket mail only user that does everything in hardcopy.
Online RV research resources contain a lot of active advertising, pictures (like in blogs) and videos (Youtube and Vimeo) and those all require good consistent BI-DIRECTIONAL bandwidth. YourTube and Vimeo contain huge amounts of instructional videos for RVers and the Wifi systems in most campgrounds and hotspots just cannot handle their content delivery.
A person that has not learned the value of these resources cannot have any reliable perspective on what is “good Wifi” or “Good Bandwidth”. They know the terms but not the implications.
Since tablets and SmartPhones are almost totally dependent on wireless connectivity, their usefulness can be really stymied when they cannot communicate at the rate and with the consistency necessary to adequately support the user. This brings about a growing hesitancy by many to becoming too dependent on the hand held technologies. They just don’t want to become enslaved to failing bandwidth and connectivity issues as they move around.
For simplicity, let’s just call all handheld devices, tablets to help paint some relatable perspective for non-users.
In the RVing world there is a lot of planning that can be done. Some do it overtly using any tool that helps them form a better perspective about what they want to happen. Others claim a more whimsically serendipitous approach and let nature take its course. Internally, they still do a lot of planning based in their experiences even if it is not overtly.
This is fine for those that already have the experiences but newbies lack the perspectives necessary to make reliable assumptions and worse, often have no clue that they are so uninformed. They usually figure that it is a hands on workshop with no instruction and they just have to wing-it!
As mentioned, there is a huge and growing amount of content on YouTube and Vimeo that really helps flesh-out perspectives and teach RVers how to do common things from backing up to replacing a rubber roof or hooking up a satellite dish. Access to these resources is traditionally through a PC or laptop. If those are not handy at a moment, one may struggle unnecessarily to figure out a problem or decide where to go. The tablet form factor makes it more likely that access to these resources will already be at hand. Even more likely if the RVer in need has a smartphone.
The critical factor is whether that RVer thinks to use their tablet to assist in their situation and whether it has any connectivity available. Chances are that if they have already become familiar with accessing RV resources online their tablet will already have the necessary apps on it.
Finding just what is needed is usually a matter of starting with a search. Just describe your problem or question in Google or Bing in exactly the same words as you would if you were talking to “an expert”. You will get applicable answers to what you need to know. Most of the time, this process of working through these search hits will develop a broadening perspective about the subject and that is what eventually becomes one’s “experience”.
The more that one does this research technique the faster they will become able to manage it all. The more available the access is to these tools the more that they will be used and that is where the tablets and smart phones blossom. They help each user grow their knowledge base and experience far faster than any other method of problem solving. The tablet technology puts that vital information at their finger tips and the more that one uses that tool the faster and more accurate they will become in solving their situations.
A simple analogy is a flat tire on a highway in the mountains of Tennessee. If one has no cell phone and needs help just consider how long it will likely take to get in touch with a serviceman and get it fixed if one has no wireless connectivity. Now consider you have connectivity with a tablet / smartphone. An App takes you directly to the Emergency Road Service or a phone number that gets the necessary service out to you as soon as practical. No one plans to have a flat but it is not rocket science to see that having good connectivity is better than not having it.
Good connectivity tools are a great hedge against the unplanned and spontaneous changes of life as it unfolds before us. Like the good witch of Sleeping Beauty fame, one cannot necessarily prevent the bad from happening but having and using the right tools can change the devastating into something more acceptable and manageable. Mountains can be turned into mole hills.. with the right tools, attitude and competency. Smartphones and Tablets are a very good start.
ttfn
