My first month using the iPad for business: it’s still lacking

iPad as a business tool: the good, the bad, the annoying

I have been using my new iPad as a business tool since Interop. While it has been good in some areas, it has also been annoying in others.

I love the iPad's flexibility. I can check Web sites, Twitter, LinkedIn and files site at the touch of a button. It is nice to be able to do that when at a conference or at a customer site. I find myself using it more around the office also just to check email rather than using my iPhone. The applications for the iPad are still a bit lacking. You can use iPhone applications but some of them don’t look all that good on the new iPad.

A few of my favorite applications would be DropBox and Box.net. These are great when you need files at your figure tips. I am able to upload files I need before the day starts and have them in case my customer or I need them.

LinkedIn, on the other hand, is a disappointment at the moment as is has no iPad applications. But that’s not the worst thing I have to deal with. Apple will still not allow any "iCalendar" .ics files to be opened in e-mail. This means you cannot open any appointment sent to you in Outlook as an .ics file. This is really a problem for people who want to use the iPad as a business tool. What is the point of blocking that? Is it an ego game from Apple leadership because iCalendar is supported by Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar? If anyone at Apple is reading this, I ask you openly and plainly to do everyone a favor and fix the issue.

For now I am using Tungle's iPhone applications on my iPad as a workaround. But it is a pain, and not as good as simple native support.

I would like to see a application called Xobni get onto the iPad. Xobni is an Outlook plug-in that I love. It searches and combines information about your contacts stored in Outlook and other social networks. Come to think of it. I would also like to see a Tungle applications for the iPad. Ok, I could list many more apps I'd like to see. I am mostly surprised that so many applications on the iPhone have not made it faster to the iPad. Makes me wonder.

Another problem with the iPad is that when you rent a movie to watch on a long trip you only have 24 hours to watch it once you start the movie. This is just horrible, Apple! Maybe you would want to watch it again. Maybe you did not get to see all of it on your two-hour flight and had no time to watch it in the next 22 hours. I urge you to give people a break and make it free to watch as many times as the customer wants for a longer period -- I would like to see a rental be available for the full 30 days of the rental. Also you need to have one price for all movies like iTunes. I'd like to see a price of $2.99 for all rentals new and old. I feel as if today's pricing is almost gouging -- and that needs to change or the Android Tablet will have a way to compete with you when it comes out.

The price for accessories in the Apple Retail stores are just outrageous also (a vintage Steve Jobs ploy). I paid some $50 for a cover for my iPad; it should be $15. If you want to make some more money in your stores and not set yourself up for easy competition from competitors, lower your prices.

Overall, I do like using my iPad in a business setting from time to time. But Apple still has a long way to go before it becomes a tool a user can rely on for a full day of work.

• Cisco
• Wireless / Mobile
• Apple
• iPad
• iPad applications
• iPad for business use
• tablets