The Class of 2015 juniors received their Helix Tablets this summer instead of at the end of the fall semester, as part of Seton Hall University's mobile computing program. Students who could not pick up their laptops over the summer will receive them this Friday.
The refresh over the summer made it convenient for local students to receive their new tablets. However, this was a problem for out-of-state students.
"I picked my tablet up over the summer," marketing major Veronica Beck said. "It was a very easy set-up process."
Education major Alyssa Morrissey said that she took a day to come to campus to pick up her new tablet.
"I decided to get the tablet over the summer to get acquainted with it, and also because my older computer wasn't working properly," Morrissey said.
Juniors Jenna Copperwhite, a Massachusetts resident, and Joseph Pistritto, a Connecticut resident were unable to make it to campus during the refresh period and will receive their tablets on Friday.
"I'm pretty excited because I have heard they aren't big and bulky and have great touchscreen technology," Pistritto said.
Students said they are enjoying the lightweight features in the new Helix Tablets.
"They are a lot faster and lightweight than the old computers. The screen is really clear," Morrissey said, "Microsoft Word has a lot more options which I find useful."
Beck has mixed feelings about the new tablets.
"I love that it's lighter than the laptops and that it runs well," Beck said. "Being not so tech savvy, though, it's hard to figure out all the fancy features the tablet has to offer."
Morrissey also expressed some concerns about the small tablet screen.
"The screen is very little, which will make writing papers a lot harder. Morrissey said. "The mouse moves itself when you're typing so sometimes you will end up typing something in the middle of another sentence."
Copperwhite said she feels that she is at a disadvantage because she will be receiving her tablet on Friday, which gives her little time to get used to it since classes have begun already.
Beck said she thinks that if she spends more time using the tablet, she will get used to it. "I don't really hate anything about the tablet," Beck said. "I just don't know how to use it to its full potential, which I guess is my fault."
Students interviewed agree that the university is heading in the right direction in terms of its mobile computing initiatives. Tech Services extended its hours for the first few weeks of the semester to help students with any problems. "
I think it's good that the University is being more innovative and creating more opportunities for students to use different types of technologies because when they leave college and go out to the real world, many of us will be using new devices," Morrissey said.
Patrick Maroun can be reached at Patrick.Maroun@student.shu.edu Patrick Maroun can be reached at Patrick.Maroun@student.shu.edu
