But I am probably not alone in seeking something smaller, lighter, and simpler, for various situations. There is nothing like the form factor of sturdy traditional data controllers, especially the tactile keyboards. Many users have grown to wish our field controllers were as simple and versatile as those powerful little mobile devices we all carry in our pockets. We are all getting spoiled by the ease of use of more modern mobile platforms and devices, like our consumer devices, and will not miss the mess of cables and cumbersome data transfer paths of the old gear and OS. I’d had the opportunity to use past versions of Access (and its predecessor Survey Controller) in the field extensively, mostly on an old TSC2-which operated on a Windows Mobile platform, an OS many of us are not sad to see headed for its sunset.
The Windows version will run on nearly any Win 10 device, but at this time, the Android version runs only on the TDC600. Also recently released is Access 2020 for Android, that runs on the smaller TDC600 tablet. Trimble has released Access 2020, for Windows 10 devices, like the Trimble TSC7, which was a merger of a familiar style of data controller, but with more screen to work with, and for tablets like the T10. Several popular survey packages have released Android versions, and overall, these have made the transition quite successfully-the same functionality of the legacy mobile platform versions, while taking advantage of the growing options for mobile devices. Over the years I’ve used a lot of different field controllers, and more recently tried field software on Windows 10 tablets. The advent of survey software for Android, long in the works, has brought welcome new options for mobile field platforms. A quick test drive of the new Access 2020 survey field software on a companion small tablet revealed some coolness.