iPad at Work

April 12th, 2011

Some of the comments about Apple’s iPad, now in its second release, sound a bit like what people were saying 25+ years ago about the Macintosh. “Not ready for the office,” say some. “A toy,” others chime in. We’re here to tell you that iPad rentals are not just big iPods – they are ready to help you work, right now, if you know your way around the device. Here’s a good place start…

Already ready to rock in business

Businesses have adopted e-readers quickly, and the iPad is an e-reader on steroids. If only for its ability to offer up reading materials such as magazines, books, newspapers, manuals and other information, it’s a must-have. At least some of the field personnel that once had to tote heavier tablet PC rentals or even full-size laptops (which still have their important uses)  can now carry service libraries, support materials, special apps and even video tutorials on a much lighter iPad.

Creating, revising and then making presentations is a core business activity, and marketing mavens and sales pros already love the iPad. With a simple adapter or even wireless protocols you can stream your iPad materials to LCD monitor rentals at meetings or conferences. You also have a “portable presentation” right on the iPad for presenting to individuals or small groups  and, yes, the speaker is loud enough for everyone to hear.

Good tools now, great ones coming

Apple has already released a version of its productivity suite, iWork, for the iPad. It is a challenge to create your best work on a 9.2 inch screen, but you can easily edit and display documents created in iWork’s modules (Numbers for spreadsheets, Pages for word processing, Keynote for presentations). There are tens of thousands of other apps, too, among which are a growing number of solid business programs. However, there is not yet a “killer app” for note-taking, and Apple did not build handwriting recognition into the iPad.

Whether or not software alone will bring handwriting recognition to the device remains to be seen, but there are already plenty of note-taking apps, even some “blank page” apps allowing on-screen drawing and writing. You are advised to get a stylus with a fine point if you intend to use your iPad this way, as “fingertip script” is big, clunky and hard to read. You can get voice-memo recording apps, too, but if you intend to do a lot of audio recording, CRE’s digital recorder rentals will help you reserve iPad storage for other important things.

Video calling, first-rate GPS, handwriting recognition, versions of leading office programs – the future is looking bright for the iPad, even before the release of the iPad 3 in another year or so. Call or e-mail an expert Account Executive and find out how the iPad can integrate into your unique workflow. If you know what you need, iPad or otherwise, use our handy Quick Rental Quote form.

One Response to “iPad at Work”

1. Anonymous Says:
   April 12th, 2011 at 6:39 pm

   I think iPad can be considered a very good assistant’s equipment for business presentations. Businessmen look more professional and flexible with iPad for “on the way” works. However, for me, I prefer Macbooks as it’s also small but more powerful.Thanks

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