It appears that Microsoft paid almost half a billion dollars to become the official provider of sideline technology for the NFL, only to get confusion with the iPad and discontent regarding battery life. The season is well on its way and people in the NFL are complaining about battery life of the playbook slates.
The coaches and other staff are using Microsoft Surface devices to run plays, but sometimes the battery just runs out. This is the first year that the League switches from paper playbooks to tablets. Players have been quoted saying that they barely access the plays and already battery is at one third and they have to rush and get through the schematics as fast as possible, to avoid losing all battery.
A Cincinnati Bengals offensive was quoted saying that he arrived to see the tablet dead a couple of times and missed the play. Coaches and players are required to use Surface tablets on the sidelines every Sunday, but they can choose alternative tech for the locker rooms, or team meetings throughout the week. Of course, charging a tablet would a safe thing to do, but somehow it’s never enough juice.
The battery drainage is worse when the team uses the device to watch videos of plays and also the tablets take long to charge. Bad move Microsoft…
