Tempted to get an iPad but wondering if you really can justify it for business? They are cool, your kids want one, (actually you want one…) Is the iPad just another gadget or is it a game changer? The new iPad 3 is now out and with that, a reduction in the price of the iPad 2 in New Zealand.
For most of you, we can’t see any real business advantage of getting the new iPad 3 and presently there are some great bargains to be had on iPad 2’s. The iPad 3 has new features but our view is only people who have had an iPad2 already would appreciate them.
Reading Apple’s iPad marketing makes it all sound very tempting.
As a business tool, you definitely want to “Streamline your daily business tasks with apps that eliminate paper-based processes, give you real‑time information, and improve efficiency of common office activities. Explore the tasks below to learn how iPad can change the way you work”. Which, so far for us at Get IT Here, it has.
At The Connector we think you should consider an iPad for business use if you:
- Travel for work and take material to read
- Need to present portfolios over coffee.
- If you don’t already have a smart phone and need to be able check your mail, calendar, contacts. The iPad easily syncs your email, contacts and calendars in real time (that means right now, over 3G)
- Have a desktop but no laptop
- Have to show customers products on-line - printed presentations will be a thing of the past, saving paper, ink and ultimately money.
- Have a new shop, and need a till for eftpos transactions and inventory.
- Find lugging around a laptop cumbersome and heavy.
- You take notes at meetings and conferences.
- If your company brand is about innovation.
- Like to use Skype but hate being chained to the chair.
- Attend online meeting but hate being chained to the chair.
- Need a quick way to translate text between languages when travelling.
Why not just use my laptop and smart phone?
- Long battery life
- Light, portable, easy to have with you all the time
- iPad makes text easier to read than with a smart phone. If you have poor eye site the beautiful backlit screen an ease of making text larger will not having you struggling to see
- Go paperless – Reading documents on the iPad is pleasant and not awkward like on a laptop
- Multipurpose – kids, home, work but that’s another story.
- Your laptop doesn’t make you look cool when you pull it out in a cafe.
Finally, if you’re not completely sold on your tablet being an iPad, you can save a lot of money buying other brands. There are now excellent and affordable competitors at the high end. If you’re looking for a tablet that can be used for e-mail, Web browsing, and can do without the Apple logo there are plenty of other options.
