“After testing the iPad out, I’m convinced that the media, the analysts, the market, and maybe even Apple themselves are missing the most important element of the device,” Jason Schwarz writes for Seeking Alpha. “We keep hearing the same theories repeated over and over that describe the iPad as a niche e-reader and gaming device that might sell a couple million units in 2010 and a few more in 2011. The prevailing assumption is that nobody really needs an iPad like they need a laptop or a phone. After all, the iPad is for entertainment purposes only, right? It’s time to correct those assumptions.”
“iPad is primed to usher in a new era of mobile computing efficiency that will take the business world by storm. Nobody is talking about the iPad as a must have business device but that is exactly what it is,” Schwarz writes. “Anyone who previously relied on a notepad or clipboard will adopt the iPad. Doctors will use the iPad as they move from room to room and interact with patients, teachers will use the iPad as they lecture, coaches will use it as an in game video/scouting tool…think of all the real estate agents and other salesmen who operate at point of sale. Anybody who walks around at work will want an iPad to hold directly in their hands.”
Schwarz writes, “I believe the iPad will increase business efficiency in a way that has never been done and because of this, it will become Apple’s flagship product.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “GetMeOnTop” for the heads up.]
Could happen.
Reminds me of that Jefferson Flagship tune… Oh wait….
I just wish iPhone OS had a dictionary service and better paste behavior. Why do I have to see an empty magnifying glass just to paste? And reading books is going to be dismal if I have to quit out every five minutes to look up a definition.
Anyone who reads (anything other than USA Today) needs a dictionary. And preferably wikipedia as well.
This would be great for restaurants, digital menu with graphics and video of the food and drink and info.
This is it, and it was not missed on Apple, as they when and did demos and got feedback from hospital staffs, teachers and through out businesses. Apple is keenly aware of the vast markets that await the iPad in the business world, That is why the first versions will be WiFi Only and have no cameras (business does not like Cameras) Just like the iPod touch expect the WiFi only iPads not to get a camera.
It’s all I really need when I have 1-3 day biz trip. If I have a good device that can read/write email in a much more usable fashion than iPhone, update of business docs (even if not conducive to full creation) and great portability overall, I can leave the laptop at home.
That’s a good business machine – and it doesn’t even have a physical keyboard. OK, maybe I’ll bring along the small BT keyboard…
Speeches, sermon notes, anything you can use a teleprompter for. This will change how material is presented for presenters.
I’ll be getting one for engineering field work both in the design phase and during construction administration. I will be able to carry all of a projects plans, notes and related emails with me at all times. I do this some on my iPhone, but a larger screen and iWork will make my job much easier and much better organized.
I look forward to Dragon Dictate for iPad that can process on the computer when a network is unavailable and I’d like to see “Save in iTunes as Spoken Text”, too. Great for reviewing emails, notes, news articles and, um, ebooks.
@DX – I agree with the need for a system-wide dictionary/ spell checker. It is one of the most usefully implemented features of OSX.
Uh, DX, if you need to hit a dictionary and wikipedia every five minutes when reading a book I hope that either a) the books you are reading are medical, scientific or ancient language journals or b) that your mommy and daddy strap you in to bed each night so you don’t roll off in your sleep.
I’ll be looking at it whilst I do my business. Just got to figure out how to attach it to the toilet paper holder. Another good reason for it to not have a webcam!
For a lot of business uses, some sort of weatherproofing will be necessary. Any job done outdoors (the sports examples above or UPS/FEDEX applications for example) means it could be rained/snowed on. Not sure how the “touch” process could work with weatherproofing.
DX has a good point, but not related to what the analyst is saying. While it is true that anyone reading anything from a bit below their expertise to many levels above their expertise is likely to at least occasionally need a Dictionary, it isn’t the one lurker mentioned.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Apple will include a “restricted” browser function to allow lookups from within the reader? Unless it’s the one from Amazon, where it would be THAT party needing to build it in. A business “reader” is actually more likely to need that feature than a casual reader.
@ MadMac
When the truth is found to be lies…
Sounds like the song about iPad pundits.
@ DX,
There are Apps for vocabulary deficiencies.
Wow, that’s two more words you’ll have to look up.
Wittsend, there’s weatherproofing and then there’s weatherproofing! I think that “case” that converts into a stand would offer sufficient protection for most such job situations. For a football coach, outside in often unpredictable weather, there would still be few games that would require more. And, those games (the “Snow Bowl” that Adam Vinitari more or less won, for example) live on in legend!
Big Al said: “There are Apps for vocabulary deficiencies.”, which is both true and far from relevant. The snippy comment that followed may, or may not, have been correct, it was certainly both hostile and uncalled for.
Yeah, I don’t think Apple is misapprehending anything here, anymore than they did with the iPhone. I am primarily a business user, and several of my colleagues and I cannot wait to get our hands on iPads. Better dictionary integration would be a huge plus. But even if it didn’t present media content, the iWork and Mail combo alone would sell me.
DX is right about the dictionary. It needs to be integrated throughout apps like it is in OS X.
@ Big Al and OpJ:
Grow up. Most authors don’t use words correctly, particularly these tech pundits who are trying to sound much more sophisticated than they are. Being able to look up a word without leaving your app is a big time saver and helps the reader understand the article.
Plus, it would be great for education uses. Most schools that even have dictionaries in their course rooms don’t encourage or teach the kids to use them, so they just gather dust.
Lol, are you guys for real? How many in-jokes, acronyms, technical concepts and historical references are you skipping over exactly?
If you don’t use a dictionary several times a day then you’re either not reading for full comprehension, or hardly reading at all.
The concept is good, but the device as it is will still be too limited for usefulness in the medical field until they can sort out the compatibility issues with existing electronic medical records and archives – the most daunting of which is the security issue (having to use a browser that allows VPN, activeX, or other smart tunnel creation while also running the viewing program, at least as most medical systems are designed today), without making it so cumbersome that no one can afford the time/hassle of making the connection. This has been one of the advantages of the full-OS laptop, tablet and netbook options that have been used so far.
DX, seriously? A dictionary several times a day? Do you jest? Or is your reading composed primarily of William F. Buckley-influenced former Young Republicans that like to use archaic words for show? Sure, I’ve had to look something up in Black’s once and while; however, except for the rare showy adjective I haven’t had to use a dictionary for normal reading since elementary school.
@Grrrilla
There is already a bunch that work with the iPhone.
Doctors were some of the fastest adopters of the iPhone and once many of them had the iPhone they started asking how to view all kinds of medical info on them.
I’m really curious about how people will be typing on the iPad’s virtual keyboard.
Sometimes you might want to type on an iPad which is lying flat on a table or desk, or propped up at an angle using its fold-a-matic case. In those situations you can type ‘normally’, although you’ll have to adjust to the slightly smaller size relative to a laptop’s real keyboard.
However, I’m particularly interested in the best way to type while carrying an iPad around in your hands.
In the demos I’ve seen so far, some people were thumb-typing and some were one-hand typing.
Since an iPad’s virtual keyboard is substantially larger than the one on an iPhone/iPod Touch or the real buttons on cellphones, it seems too big to thumb-type on comfortably, and the demos seemed to show that. And anyway, I find I can’t thumb-type on a virtual keyboard (on my wife’s iPhone) because of mild tremors in my hands (a condition I’ve had all my life but one that’s gotten more bothersome now that I’m over 60).
So I’m assuming that I’ll be one-hand typing when I get my iPad (someday soon, I hope!).
Typing training for two hands goes back for what, a century? But what about one-hand typing? If there isn’t a typing training system already out there for one-handers, I’m betting we can expect a whole raft of them pretty soon. Think of the courses, the online training apps, the books, videos, and training courses. I think we got ourselves a real new goldmine here!
“Keyboarding for Power Walkers” anyone?
I think this guy is spot on. I know my mother in law has not purchased a computer because she believes they are very complex devices. This iPad might be her ticket to getting online and doing all sort of things that a computer might have intimidated her to do. Not everybody is into technology and a lot of folks are extremely hesitant. Windows pervasive presence has not made this easer. The iPad will change this. It will leave everybody, except probably Google with there pants down.