The only room booking tablet an idiot like me could implement

For a small business without an IT team, for a company that doesn't want to provide power outside every conference room, or for companies of any size who care more about something that is simple to buy, setup and maintain, I heartily recommend Joan. The value is incredible.

Pros

The best thing about Joan is the hardware. Unlike every other tablet-based solution, I can mount them without wiring and they only need to be charged every week or two. The software itself is a little annoying to set up (and the desktop software is wonky) but we're seeing great compliance among our employees. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters.

Cons

While the setup was something I could handle myself (I'm not some IT wizard, I'm just the product manager tasked with getting office technology working) the process was a little complicated. The desktop software necessary to configure Wifi on the tablets looks old and sometimes crashes/freezes. The website is a bit tricky, too. But this is small compared to the fact that *I was actually able to set this up*.

Super simple to setup!

Excellent

Pros

Has ability to host the manager on premise to save cost on monthly fees. Devices have long battery life and just work! No issues at all so far!

Cons

Has lots of features but would love to see microsoft teams integration like slack

Great software, terrible hardware

In conclusion, I believe from a cost/value perspective getting some cheap iPads that are anyway plugged in all the time will provide a better user experience for a lower cost. I like the idea and as pointed out in the pros, the software interface is really neat, but it's let down by terrible hardware implementation.

Pros

The software interface is done very well. As is the visual design of the tablet. This would be a fantastic solution, were it not for two major downsides...

Cons

The biggest issue is the battery. I think the tablet has issues with mesh networks where multiple wifi access points share the same SSID. Even directly below an access point, the tablet complains about connectivity. I believe it connects to the wrong (i.e. further away) access point, which results in a high battery drain. We have to recharge the tablets every few weeks which is significantly below the guidance of the manufacturer. The other issue is the touch control. I'm not sure if this is an issue with the e-ink display itself or simply a terrible touch layer that's used. But in the end, you might need quite a bit of force to use the display.

No more arguing about a booked meeting room.

By using Joan we have a clear view for the schedule of our meeting rooms. It saves us a hassle of walking around the office to check if something is booked or not.

Pros

Joan is really easy to work with, it gives a quick overview if a room is booked or not. It is even possible to book a meeting immediately from the touch display. By this was arguing about who a booked room does not have to happen anymore.

Cons

I think the battery is empty to quickly. Also I notice sometimes that it does not book a room when clicking on book, however this only happened to me a few times in the past year.

Exact right product for the specific need

When we moved into our new office ~2 years ago, I needed a solution that would allow for integrated organization of our 14 or so meeting rooms with our existing tooling. I did not want to feel like I had to invest in a solution that would look terrible on a budget review 9 months later. The solution is cost friendly and simple. Implementation took from 6am-9am on a Tuesday. There aren't too many on prem device integrations that take 3 hours for a first-time user.

Pros

The Joan solution is what I look for whenever I'm selecting a solution or technology for our company or office. The solution delivers exactly what it is intended to. It doesn't try to win business with a longer feature set. It offers the features that match the need. There's no waste and no hollow features for the sake of competitive parity.

Cons

If I were being picky I would say that I would like to see the AI/Slack integration to evolve a bit. I'm unaware of integrations with smart speaker functionality but this would be a nice integration as well (which again may exist at this point).