Looking into a first tablet - specific needs. Recommendations?

[ergalthema]

For work, I remotely log into my two computers - one Windows and one Mac. I usually need to login to a VPN, then I run Windows Remote Desktop Connection and Mac's Screen Sharing. I only have a Mac at home, so I don't know how I would remote into the work Mac from a Windows machine (I know of some options, but I don't know how reliable they are).

I just started trying out TeamViewer, since LogMeIn is no longer free. It seems to work pretty well but not as smoothly as Remote Desktop and Screen Sharing. I think there is a TeamViewer Android app, as well as some other remote-control apps, but I have no idea how well they work. I also don't know how the VPN requirement ties in. I've had some success using TeamViewer to control the computers on my work network without being logged into the VPN - but LogMeIn never worked, and I'm afraid that my company will eventually do something to block TeamViewer's ability to control without VPN.

I have no idea what options there are for Android that can reliably remote into Windows and Mac. I'm wondering if something like a Dell Venue 8 Pro is the only possible option at this point?

I'm open to an iPad, but I've been with the Google/Android ecosystem for many years now - and iPads are too costly compared to other tablets. As a musician, I would like to have the Animoog app though - that's the only reason I've ever considered an iPad.

Any info would be very appreciated.

Edit: I will need to do some typing, like replying to emails and entering some info into SharePoint. I'm guessing this can be done directly onto the tablet screen?

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I can control my PCs or Macs with the Android Teamviewer app. Teamviewer has an option to create a VPN link, though I've never tried it and I've never tried running Teamviewer over (corporate) VPN.

One thing to consider... Do you really need to drive the PC remotely from your tablet (perhaps because that PC runs some software not available on tablets) or do you just need to manipulate/edit files (like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDFs, email, contacts, & calendars) on that PC? If it's the latter, then it would probably be a lot easier and smoother to just sync the PC's files to a cloud storage service (like Box.net, Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive, or even your company's servers, etc., many of which are free up to a certain amount of storage), and then manipulate the files on your tablet/phone using a (free) mobile app, like Kingsoft Office. Of course, emails and calendar can similarly be synced through Exchange servers, Outlook.com, or Gmail. That's what I do.

I can remotely access my PC via Teamviewer, but I rarely do so because I rarely need to drive the PC and it's so much easier to just manipulate the synchronized files using apps on my phone & tablet.

 

[ergalthema]

I am familiar with the workflows you described, but I'm glad you pointed it out that way. There are a lot of applications at work that are accessed through a web browser. Most of them aren't usable on my phone, but they might be okay on a tablet. I will reconsider as much as I can in that regard.

A significant portion of my work already exists on Google Drive, so that's a no-brainer.

I did a search for "Android SharePoint" and there appear to be options. I'm not sure if my SharePoint work will translate well to a tablet though.

Also, some of the work I do seems to go faster if I drive my office stations and let them do the work from inside the network there, opposed to bringing things all the way to me outside the network. Just depends on what I'm doing.

I'll definitely keep an open mind about all that. Thanks.