This past holiday weekend we spent time "relaxing" with family for the weekend (a wise man once told me, "Fish and Family stink after 3 days...") as most people did, I'm sure. In true modern, technology-age fashion, we pretty much spent the better part of two days on our respective smart phones, computers, and iPads and talked periodically in between periods of Facebook, Twitter, and games of Angry Birds (no knocking Angry Birds...if there is a game out there that has more mindless fun, let me know).
During that time though, I was able to spend copious amounts of time on my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law's iPads (yep, they each have their own). While I was on it playing "Cut the Rope" (another game chocked full of mindless fun) and checking my Fantasy Football lineup, my Father-in-law asked me an interesting question: "Do you see anyone using one of these for more than just Internet and games?"
My initial thought was, sure...I mean I do other stuff on my smart phone that's useful so why would this be any different. But then I thought...well, actually it is different. Without the phone and GPS capabilities, there are some things where my smart phone is more useful to me than an iPad. I'll admit, for right now anyway, I don't have a lot of direct experience with one or with others that use one and how they use it. It sure seems there is an inherent usefulness with the tablet format, and the iPad specifically. But, is it useful enough to warrant its...well, use? Especially when I already have a lot of the functionality on my phone (with an admittedly much smaller screen).
For most every day computing tasks the iPad is, at the least, an acceptable alternative to the PC, and, in some cases even more useful thanks to it's convenience. It's on virtually instantly and the battery lasts darn near forever, or so it seams anyway. There are some inherent limitations to the iOS's capabilities (Adobe Flash for instance) as well as some key missing features (GPS, phone capabilities, support for add-on devices like a "thumb" drive for file transfers) that could really close the gap. But it still seems, even with all of those deficiencies, the tablet format should be a very useful tool in the business world. The questions is...where? Is it really just the convenience factor? Is it so much more convenient than a Netbook to warrant paying as much as 2-3 times as much for it?
Sales numbers indicate there is, at least according to Apple, to the tune of about 3 million iPads sold through June 2010. The vast majority of those 3 million iPads sold, granted, are for consumer use. As a long time computer user, the iPad doesn't appeal to me quite as much as it does some. Its layout and workflow seem to be catered to those that don't have, and don't really want, much familiarity with using a standard computer. It is highly intuitive to use. You don't need any special instructions, no "iPad for Dummies" books necessary. Everything is pretty much where it should be. But I have always contended that if Microsoft put a relatively small amount of effort into making a version of Windows7 that was touch screen friendly and PC manufactures made a touch screen netbook, you'd get the best of both worlds. The convenience of the tablet format, with the full featured functionality of a windows PC. Unfortunately, it isn't that simple. There are other factors at play. Hardware development, battery life, the sheer girth of the windows OS and certainly not least of all timing in them market.
It seems that Microsoft is willing to let Apple (and likely soon...Android) have the tablet market to themselves. Maybe thinking the same thing I did, that as cute and cuddly as it is, in the big scheme of things it doesn't really have a lot of real life use. That may have been true at it's original release, but more and more this seems to be a flawed premise. The iPad is making inroads into many business applications and in no small part to Microsoft, ironically. For a few years now, Microsoft has been touting cloud computing, pushing much of the business world into what is being called "Software as a Service" (or SaaS). Small businesses especially have started to really embrace using SaaS for it's convenience and overall cost effectiveness. Companies like Salesforce.com and Redtail Technology provide various small business client management tools available in a Web-based format, accessible from anywhere and (most notably) from any device. Enter iPad. This is where the iPad really has its niche in the business world. It isn't going to replace the normal corporate user's desktop computer, but it's a tool that can be used along with it for when they are away from their normal computer or network. When you factor in the convenience and time savings of using some of these SaaS solutions, many businesses have been able to justify the additional cost of the iPad to take full advantage. In a small business environment where you only have a handful of employees all trying to fill multiple roles, time is definitely money and it can save a lot of time.
It certainly seems that cloud computing is the way the technology world is headed and the iPad jumped in on the ground floor and is poised to take off with it. Whatever you believe about Apple and Steve Jobs and their pompous attitude toward everyone that isn't...well...THEM, they do always seem to be at the forefront of the next "wave". Before everyone really considered the idea of carrying their entire music library with them on a mobile device, the iPod was developed and released right at the start of the MP3 craze. Now Apple isn't the first to develop a Tablet (anyone remember Windows XP Tablet Edition and the cute little stylus based tablets that Toshiba and other released about 7-8 years ago at about $1500 a pop? Yeah, didn't think so). But they are the first to do it in a full touch screen format, and the first to do it at a price point that the average user could afford. They won't be the last to to it (they aren't the only MP3 player out there). Manufacturers are already selling Android based tablets (although Google has stated that the Android OS is not "tablet ready" yet) and there have been rumors for a while now that Microsoft will make a variation of their new, and highly regarded, Windows Mobile 7 OS for the tablet format. But one thing Apple has always done is stay ahead of the curve and I would suspect that the tablet format would be no different.
At it's inception I wrote a blog about the iPad and how silly it was, and at the time, it probably really was. It was a well put together solution, that didn't yet have a problem to solve. Maybe Apple saw the writing on the wall before the rest of us did...or maybe they were so cute and cuddly that people wanted them and create problems the iPad could solve to justify owning one. I'm not entirely sure which, but they've definitely carved out a nice little niche for themselves in the business computing market. One thing I do know...that although I don't have one yet, but I likely will...served nicely with a side of crow.
I'm sure Apple has an app for that.
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