Enter the iPad

It's very rare when a computing device comes along that has a major impact on the technology market. One such device is Apple's iPad.

I have never been much of an Apple/MAC fan; in fact, I have made fun of Apple users over the years, commenting that "some things are so easy, even a MAC user could do them." MACs are really great for graphics, publishing and such, but in my line of work, I haven't much use for them.

When the iPad was first launched, I thought "great, an iPhone on steroids". But upon further review, I have come to learn that this device is revolutionary in many ways. I now own one, and it's replaced our family laptop as the device of choice for light emailing, web browsing, and FaceBooking during TV time in the evening. It's great to have a device which goes from power-on to surfing the web in less than 10 seconds. There is no lengthy bootup process like you have with a laptop.

Many of our clients who work in a Terminal Server environment use iPads instead of laptops or tablets with great success. Besides costing around $500, as opposed to $2000 for a good tablet, the battery life will get most users through an entire day at the office (something the PC world just can't seem to do). I have at least one doctor who hasn't even turned his IBM tablet on since he got the iPad in April.

With applications like iTap and WinAdmin available to the iPad, users are able to connect to application servers (or even their desktop PC at the office) with ease. The on-screen keyboard takes a little getting used to, but once you have it down, it's much better than any on-screen keyboard I have ever used. My daughter can type faster on the iPad than I can on my PC (hey, I never took a typing course).

If you don't mind having to connect to the home or office wireless network to be able to work, the iPad WiFi will work just fine, starting at $499. If you want to be able to surf and work while you ride down the highway or lay out on the beach, you will need the 3G version, which starts at $629 (plus the cost of a separate data plan from AT&T).

Now that the "pad computer" cat is out of the bag, expect a slew of similar devices, most of them running on Google's Android operating system. Cisco, Dell, HP, Asus, and a host of others are already hot on Apple's footsteps, and you can bet that they will have some offerings which are much cheaper than the current line of iPads. Here's a great article on some of the upcoming contenders, many of which are available now.

If you would like a demo, or more information about the iPad and how it can work in your organization, just let us know.