The Apple iPad is undoubtedly a good machine to consume content on, but how good it is for business applications? I’ve spent a good deal of time trying this out lately, and found a lot of limitations, but also a lot to like.
First, using any device as a work computer depends a lot on what applications you actually want to use. My guess is that nearly every purchaser of an iPad already owns a personal computer (Windows or Mac), and the iPad makes no pretense of trying to be a replacement for those machines: It doesn’t try to run Mac OS applications, for instance. If you expect that kind of computing, you’ll be disappointed.
Rather, the iPad is designed for lighter-weight applications and, to some extent, for applications where the information is stored “in the cloud.” As such, even the people who want to use the iPad as a work machine are likely to use it as a companion to more powerful applications, either online or on PCs.
Virtually all of the applications that are available for the iPad take that perspective. Often they are scaled-back versions of things developed for Mac or PC such as the iPad versions of the iWork suite, which consists of the Pages word processor, Numbers spreadsheet, and Keynote presentation apps; or tools like Bento or Mariner Calc. Others are really expanded versions of iPhone applications. As time goes on, I expect we’ll see more things that really take advantage of the platform.
Most of the applications aren’t meant to be the same as the versions available for the Macintosh; rather, they are versions that are meant to bring basic functionality to the tablet, letting you do basic editing and creation while on the road. And being on the iPad brings some advantages and disadvantages.
The disadvantages are quite clear. The onscreen keyboard is usable for short things, but most of us are just not going to be happy writing long documents or spending a lot of time entering data on an on-screen keyboard that is relatively small, completely flat, and has no feedback. External keyboards are a choice, but they are still awkward.
The process of getting documents on and off the machine is also convoluted. For almost any of the applications, you can e-mail the documents back and forth between machines. That’s mostly what I did, and it worked, but it’s hardly an elegant solution. For Apple’s iWork applications, you can also use the iWork.com site, or use the File Sharing option in iTunes. In addition, of course, there’s no easy way to print directly from the iPad.
In addition, the lack of multitasking–or really fast application switching–is a notable drawback in a number of ways. To begin with, that plus the decision in the iWork applications to put help on a Web page created some awkward moments for me. Obviously, when I was using the machine when it wasn’t connected to the Internet, I couldn’t get help at all. But even when connected, bringing up help means moving to the browser, seeing what you need to do, then going back to the home page, clicking on the application again, and waiting for it to load your document. That takes time, and it can be annoying.
On the other hand, you never worry about saving files, because the programs save continuously, and there isn’t even a Save command. When you switch to another application, then go back to a program, you just resume where you left off.
Perhaps more important, by stripping the programs down to their essentials, they generally do become quite easy to use. Sure, there were times I missed specific commands and functions; and plenty of times I went back to a Windows PC or a Mac to do more editing or to perform functions that just aren’t available on the iPad. But for the basics of things such as entering notes or just reading documents, it works surprisingly well. The stripped-down applications mean that what’s left should be very simple, and it often is.
When I’m on the road and doing serious writing, taking and editing pictures, and uploading blog posts, at the moment there’s no contest: I’ll use a real notebook. I don’t have the tools yet for the iPad to even consider it as a replacement. I’d need multitasking and a VPN client, and I would love a less clunky way of moving photos from my camera to the device. And many of the applications would need more features.
When I’m commuting daily, though, I often find myself taking just the iPad, doing some reading on the device, making notes, and doing some light editing. It’s not a notebook replacement, but it is a good complement.
source : yahoo news
Shortcut to useful tips about playstation 3 cheap prices – study this site. The times have come when concise info is truly only one click of your mouse, use this opportunity.
Popularity: 7% [?]
