Choosing a Casing for a Commercial Tablet: What to Check Before You Order
The casing is the part of a room display project nobody researches and everybody regrets.
The tablet gets a spreadsheet and three rounds of comparison. The software gets a trial and a security review. The casing gets ordered on the Thursday before installation, from whichever supplier came up first, because it is just a plastic case.
Then it arrives and the charging port is in the wrong place. Or it fits last year's model of the tablet you bought. Or it is one moulded piece, so servicing the device means pulling the whole thing off the wall and redoing the adhesive.
A casing for commercial tablets costs a fraction of the device and decides more about the installation than the device does. Below, we discuss what to check before you order, and which of those checks change depending on the tablet you have chosen.
Start With the Commercial Tablet
This is the most common ordering mistake and it is entirely avoidable.
Casings are cut for one model. Not one family, one model. Manufacturers change external dimensions, camera placement and port position between generations while keeping the name almost identical, so a case for last year's ten inch tablet very often will not fit this year's.
Get the full model number and the year, not the marketing name. If you are buying devices and cases together, order one of each first and physically put them together before the rest of the order goes in. That one week of patience has saved more projects than anything else on this page.
Buy a couple of spare casings from the same batch at the same time. Finishes drift between production runs, and a replacement in a slightly different white is visible from across a corridor.
The Checks That Matter
Two part construction. The best thing a casing can have is a back plate that stays on the wall and a front that comes off. It means a device can be swapped without touching the fixing, which on an adhesive mount to glass is the difference between a five minute job and re-bonding a faceplate. A single piece casing looks neat on day one and punishes you every time a device needs attention.
Where the cable enters. Behind the mounting plate is what you want, so the cable comes out of the wall straight into the case and nothing shows. A side entry means a short visible run, which is acceptable on a surface mount and looks wrong on a flush one. Check too whether you can still reach the charging port once the device is mounted.
Material, and what it does to your wireless. Plastic is light, cheap and easy on adhesive mounts. Metal resists knocks and prying, looks better on a fitted floor, and sheds heat well. The catch with metal is that it attenuates Wi-Fi, and a corridor is already the worst covered part of most floors. Some metal casings have a cut-out behind the antenna for exactly this reason. If your panels are on wireless, test one on the worst door in the building before you order a hundred.
How much security you actually need. Options run from nothing, through tamper resistant screws, to a keyed lock. A lock is right wherever the public can reach the device. On a staff-only floor it is friction you pay for every time you service a panel and benefit from almost never. Match it to the environment rather than buying the most secure option available.
Ventilation. A tablet in a sealed case runs hotter than one in the open, and sustained heat is what ages a battery. You will rarely see a dramatic failure. What you see is a swollen battery pushing the screen out of the frame in year two or three. Ventilation slots help, and so does keeping panels out of direct sun.
Bezel coverage, tested against the real thing. Check how much of the screen the front covers, with a real device running the real software rather than from a product photo. A generous bezel can make controls near the screen edge awkward to press.
Orientation. Confirm the casing holds the device the way your software expects. A portrait-only casing with a landscape panel is an avoidable bad afternoon.
What Changes by Device
The checks above apply to any tablet. Three things vary enough by manufacturer to be worth their own articles, which follow this one.
Port position and count, which decides where the cable can enter and whether a PoE adapter fits inside the frame at all.
Button placement, which decides whether a casing can cover the power and volume buttons to stop passers-by switching the display off, and whether a legitimate reboot then needs the case opened.
Charge behaviour on permanent power, which varies by manufacturer and is the main thing determining how long a wall mounted tablet lasts. Some devices aimed at kiosk use allow the charge level to be capped, which helps a great deal.
Before You Order
1. The exact device model and year, checked physically against one sample casing.
2. Two part construction, with a back plate that stays on the wall.
3. Cable entry behind the mounting plate rather than out of the side.
4. Weight, if you are bonding to glass, against the adhesive's rated load.
5. Wi-Fi behaviour if the casing is metal and the device is wireless.
6. The device record's platform value, matching the casing, so the light is actually driven.
7. Bezel clearance tested against your real software on a real device.
8. Orientation matching what the panel expects.
9. Colour matched to the door frames, with spares from the same batch.
Wrapping Up
The casing decides whether a room display disappears into the building or looks like something somebody stuck on a wall.
Take a car dealership group fitting panels across four showrooms. Brand presentation mattered more than usual, so they specified a premium metal casing, in a finish matched to the door frames. The install looked exactly as intended and not one light bar came on. The casings were fine and the software supported them; the device records had been created with a generic platform entry, so no light driver was ever selected. Nothing was in an error state, every panel showed the right room, and it took a fortnight before anybody connected the two facts.
Order one of everything first. Put a device in it, hang it on the hardest wall you have, book a two minute meeting, and watch the light go red. That single test proves the casing, the mount and the configuration together, and it takes less time than one return visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the casing have to match the exact tablet model?
Yes. Manufacturers change dimensions and port positions between generations, so a case for last year's model usually will not fit this year's.
Should I buy a metal or a plastic casing?
Plastic for most internal offices, and for anything bonded to glass where weight matters. Metal for public areas and client facing floors, with one caution: metal attenuates Wi-Fi, so test one before ordering in volume.
Do I need a lockable casing?
Only where the public can reach the device. On a staff-only floor a lock is friction you pay for every service visit and benefit from almost never.
Can I mount a tablet casing on glass?
Yes, with an industrial adhesive faceplate rather than screws. Keep the casing light and check the adhesive's load rating.
Will the tablet overheat inside a case?
It will run warmer, which ages the battery faster. Look for ventilation, keep panels out of direct sunlight, and expect a shorter device life than the same tablet would have outside a case.
How much should I budget?
Anywhere from a small fraction of the tablet's price for a basic holder to more than the tablet for a premium casing with PoE. Price the case with the device, never separately.
