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Friday, February 4, 2011

Apple iPad changing how business is done

Tablets have taken the US market by storm. 10 million tablet devices (e-readers like the Kindle and Nook and the Apple iPad and newly announced Google Android platformed called Honeycomb) were sold in 2010 and sales are projected at 24 million units for 2011 and 35 million for 2012.

Tablets are already impacting the way we do business. A slide show at IT Business Edge (www.itbusinessedge.com) detailed some of the ways this is happening:

Powerpoint Presentations:
Eliminate carrying your laptop if all you're doing is giving a presentation. Load your presentation on your iPad and leave the laptop at home. Buy a VGA adapter plug that allows your iPad to connect to a projector. Or if your client has a flat panel TV that you can use, eliminate the projector too. Buy a HDMI adapter cable and put your presentation on the TV.

Sales Brochure:
Eliminate catalogs and brochures. Load your PDF's or screen shots onto your tablet. The image quality is outstanding. This is now the standard sales method for professional photographers. Almost all wedding photographers have eliminated proofs and CD's and now rely on the iPad. If it's good enough for photo's it's good enough for industrial products.

Productivity Improvements:
The iPad comes with a note taking application. You can use your finger or a inexpensive ($14) stylus to write with. Upload these files to your desktop and eliminate paper.

External Monitor:
Do you wish you had Dual monitors or just more screen space? Use your tablet as an external monitor. Buy DisplayLink for $2 in the App Store and have a wireless external monitor.

E-Mail Reader:
Tired of lugging your laptop with you just so you can read and respond to email? Use your tablet to handle email instead. The instant on feature saves you from having to wait for your laptop to boot up.

Online Meetings:
Run GoToMeeting or Webex on your iPad and attend online meeting where ever you may be.

Remote PC Access:
Use special software to securely access you PC from you tablet (Apple or Android). Stop worrying if you downloaded your files onto your tablet. You can do so on the fly.

The next generation iPad and new Google Honeycomb tablets will be available shortly. Expect to see more software and capabilities developed in the months ahead.

1 comment:

Rusty Bishop said...

You are right that tablets are taking the business world by storm, well maybe its more like a siege.

One thing we have seen that has become very important is the ability to generate custom apps. For example, at the HVAC show in Las Vegas we saw custom apps made by Rheem and ITT. These were being used exclusively on their pads with no other apps running. It'll be interesting to see how corps evolve the apps for business in the coming year.

Rusty Bishop - Fatstax

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