What tablet to use?

[ErwinVJ]

Hi all,

I'm new to programming, new to tablets and new to LiveCode ... maybe a little too many 'news' for what I'm planning to do but I love the challenge

Basically I want to develop an app that enables me to have students enroll in my dance classes by filling in a form on a tablet, scribble their signature on the tablet and have their pic taken by the tablet's camera. The address data would then be synced with my MacBook Pro's addressbook and the course data would be synced with a crm application (to be decided). So my setup is basically Apple but I'm open to iOS or Android as long as the sync will behave predictably.
Not sure what sync approaches would be ok: docking to the laptop, 3g via online server or WiFi direct connection with my laptop (which is available at the dance location). Suggestions are welcome.

My main question is "What tablet should I get for this purpose?". Obviously an iPad2 is in this forum the prime choice but which other (Android?) tablets would you consider? Not sure if considering screen size (for typing/signing), camera and 3g/wifi availability are the only features to consider. Is processing power a significant player to consider? How about the memory/storage for having my 400 people database locally on the tablet?

thanks! Erwin

[Mark]

Erwin,

If you buy an Android tablet, you might find out that LiveCode doesn't always behave as expected. Your safest bet currently is iPad. Test before you buy.

Kind regards,

Mark

[jacque]

This is an extremely challenging project for a newcomer. My suggestion would be to start with something much smaller and simpler until you know both programming concepts and LiveCode in particular. Once you have that under your belt, you will be in a better position to determine which tablet you should buy. For now, you can run both iOS and Android in emulation in their respective simulators, so you won't need a physcial device at all.

As for iOS vs. Android, they can both do everything you describe in LiveCode, but of course Android won't have native synching capabilities with a Mac. In fact, I'm not sure you can do that in iOS either. Apps on both platforms are sandboxed and not allowed to communicate with other apps. There may be a way around that using exported data but I'm not sure. If that does work, then exported data should be workable with an Android tablet as well.

The synching part -- and to a lesser extent, the signature part -- are the primary challenges. You might want to start with smaller pieces and work up to those.