The Apple iPad

First off, let’s clear the air. The name “iPad” is terrible. Really, really bad. I’m looking at you, Steve, and I’m disappointed.

That said, the iPad is a pretty neat device. It didn’t fulfill the pie-in-the-sky fantasies of the Mac fanboys (but nothing ever does) but I think it’s more useful than we realize. It may take a year to fully hit its stride (as did the iPhone) but it definitely represents a step in the evolution of computing devices.

The real value of the iPad rests on the application developers. It’s a beautiful platform to start with–large, sharp display, multi touch interface, 10 hrs battery life–but we don’t yet know where it leads. The few teaser applications they showed us were just that. Software always lags behind hardware as computers evolve, so we don’t yet know what the iPad will become.

Here’s a few of my ideas:

  • Doctors & Nurses – This seems like the perfect computer to view and manage electronic medical records. I would be shocked if we don’t see some aggressive iPad development from EMR software vendors.
  • Warehouse Managers – With the infinitely configurable interface (via custom application development) each company can give their warehouse managers the ideal device to carry. Throw in a RFID/Barcode reader and you’ve got it made.
  • Performers – I could imagine some very cool applications to mix and control an audio/visual show using the touch interface. For $1000 you could lay down two of the 10″ screens, network them via bluetooth, and go nuts.
  • Military – I’m sure they would require some extra beefy cases, but I could see this as an ideal information tablet for soldiers in the field. Pilots could strap one to their leg and have dynamic maps and status feed. Drones could send a video feed back to ground units. With the accelerometers, you could even fly the drone remotely.

The key point here is that the iPad is still a blank slate. As application developers start to dream and experiment, we’re going to see some really neat apps coming our way.

Probably.

Filed under technology : Comments (1) : Jan 28th, 2010 by tadfad

One Response to “The Apple iPad”

  1. Shane Says:
    January 29th, 2010 at 11:19

    Add to that list:
    Teachers-
    It could be used as a grade book and attendance taker integrated with my room’s seating chart. And with a press of a button it could control my smart board or projector. And since our public school system is so well funded, I’m sure I’ll be getting mine when they com out in March. (A guy can dream, can’t he?)

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