Window display shows iPad at Apple store in Chicago

Seems to be two types of people in the news right now in discussions of Apple's iPad: Apple fans [people who love anything with the bite-out-of-it apple logo] and Business [with the big B].

I talked about the iPad in January [at my previous blog url] when it was announced and was a bit skeptical: "...what would I, as a small solo-preneur business person, need with the iPad?...What would I use an iPad for?...."  Apparently I just wasn't educated enough at the time.

Saturday's Huffington Post had a great feature about "11 Ways the iPad Could Change Business."  The article by Ryan McCarthy and Grace Kiser says, "...Almost instantaneously, the iPad's launch means that the rest of the business world is presented with huge new opportunities...." And the writers go on to give some ways in which this could be including:

  • medical folks: "...more than one in five doctors say they plan to buy an iPad,...We’ve also heard anecdotal reports that doctors' offices looking to save on medical records costs have already placed tens of thousands of orders for iPads...."
  • monied folks and apps: "...Renowned venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has started a $100 million fund for iPhone apps – which has recently doubled in size...."
  • iPads as textbooks: "...some schools are already planning to use the device on a mass scale...."
  • Gamers: "...Game developers have been in a mad rush to push out content for the iPad...."

And these are only some of the 11 ways business with the big B will be impacted according to the article.

So I turned to Sunday's edition of the San Francisco Chronicle that I purchased while out for an Easter stroll.  One of the articles on page E4 of the business section, "Workplace braces for iPad's impact" by Rich Jaroslovsky caught my eye.  In it Jaroslovsky says, "...For business users and others looking for a new productivity tool, the pound-and-a-half iPad offers a marriage of the always-connected ultra-portability of a wireless phone with the power and flexibility of a laptop or even a desktop PC...."

Wow.  Somehow I didn't think of the iPad as a productivity tool - so many others are seeing it as a pure leisure toy.  Jaroslovshy beings this article with just that idea, "...Apple has largely pitched the iPad as an ideal way to consume media in all its many forms. Books, games, movies, magazines...all for you in one magical device!..."

Magical?  It's an electronic device not magic.  However, I was interested in knowing more about this business + productivity relationship and once more the Chronicle supplied some ideas in the Technology column on page E4, "Business leaders weigh in on iPad's influence, hype," with four short interviews.

  • Paul Saffo said, "...This doesn't replace a laptop but begins a process where devices like this will end up displacing laptops...in the long run, we'll shift our work activity to devices like this...."
  • Richard Maggiotto said, "...I think it is a total game changer...It's a big deal from a content consumption standpoint...It's a phenomenal channel for distribution of thousands and thousands of magazines...."
  • Ted Weinstein said, "...I am skeptical that it's going to 'save the book industry.'...Another problem with the iPad as a device for any use is the size and lack of a keyboard...I think the future is small, tablet-style netbooks with both a backlit and E Ink screen...plus a physical keyboard...."
  • Peter Farago added, "...with more broadband, you can now take a lot of the different things that people wouldn't have done just two years ago and take it seriously on a device like the iPad, like gaming, watching a movie or reading a book...This is going to be a small total addressable market...."

I found yet another great take on the iPad by Walt Mossberg, author and creator of the Wall Street Journal's weekly Personal Technology column.  Apparently Mr. Mossberg has been testing in depth the iPad and has very interesting takes on its applicability and functionality.  He begins by saying, "...I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades...."

A few other insights from Mr. Mossberg:

  • "...iPad lacks some of the features—such as a physical keyboard, a Webcam, USB ports and multitasking—that most laptop or netbook users have come to expect...
  • ...for Web surfing, email, social-networking, video- and photo-viewing, gaming, music and even some light content creation—it could be a game changer...
  • ...As I got deeper into it, I found the iPad a pleasure to use, and had less and less interest in cracking open my heavier ThinkPad or MacBook. I probably used the laptops about 20% as often as normal, reserving them mainly for writing or editing longer documents, or viewing Web videos in Adobe's Flash technology, which the iPad doesn't support, despite its wide popularity online....
  • ...My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time...If you're mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music—this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn't going to cut it as your go-to device....

Mr. Mossberg gives, in my estimation, a fair assessment of the device.  Reading his entire article is illuminating.  But, as he says at the end of the article, "...Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and netbook...."

Back to my original question: would I use the iPad - as it isright now - for my business?  I'm an artist and writer.  How do I use my iPhone and laptop that iPad would step in for?  Certainly not to:

  1. make phone calls or text message 
  2. check the weather - the iPad doesn't carry this app - although I could check the weather through the Safari browser
  3. use the map/GPS...unless you get the upgraded 3G model of iPad which costs more
  4. iPad has no camera or the great voice memo feature the iPhone has
  5. certain websites: neither the iPhone nor iPad can utilize Adobe's Flash technology which means I can't bring up my nephew's graphic design business website on either device...I need my laptop for this
  6. memory: I write a lot and upload lots of jpegs...the iPad's memory capacity just isn't there - I need my laptop for that

What the iPad can do in it's basic model that seems more attractive than the iPhone:

  1. write email using a bigger keyboard - I'm liking the whole touchscreen technology thing - I wouldn't mind an iPad-like device that has loads of memory and a touchscreen keyboard
  2. reading...obviously the iPhone's tiny screen isn't conducive to much more than reading a couple of emails or a quick overview of a website

What the iPad can do in it's basic model that seems more attractive than my laptop:

  1. it's lighter - it weighs less
  2. longer battery life
  3. bigger screen for reading and writing
  4. more portable...I'd be inclined to take an iPad places rather than lug my laptop

What I wish the iPad had now at an affordable price:

  1. Keyboard-standard
  2. 3G as standard
  3. Office Suite as standard
  4. Memory-as much as a laptop
  5. USB ports
  6. Multitasking capabilities

If I had an iPad right now, I suppose I could use it to take to art shows [part of my business]:

  • have a bigger screen than my iPhone to access my art website for clients
  • have a bigger screen than my iPhone to jot notes or calendar things

Right now that's about all it would offer for my particular business...a bigger screen - but that might be something.


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