The true impact of the iPad
Apple’s iPad® was the most anticipated gadget of 2010. Featuring incomparable technical specifications, including 9.7-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with IPS technology, 1024 x 768 screen resolution, 10 hours of battery life and excellent design, as well as more than 350,000 apps, the iPad tablet can hardly be overlooked. It sold 17 million units in 2010, and technology researcher Gartner estimates that 54.8 million iPad units will be sold in 2011 and 208 million units by 2014.
The iPad’s contribution in business, media, health care and gaming is really remarkable.
In particular:
1. Business
Unlike CEOs’ usual practices, Apple’s iPad has managed to directly involve business leaders in technology. Evaluating iPad’s enormous potential to change the existing business models, CEOs have integrated iPad technology in their organizations.
The iPad offers a wide variety of business applications that address the needs of the most demanding professionals. Flipboard is a personalized social magazine that integrates content from selected publishers, including ABC News, CNN and the Washington Post Magazine, but also Facebook®, Twitter® and Google Reader™ streams.
GoToMeeting is a Web conferencing tool that enables business professionals to organize online meetings with up to 15 participants using real-time connection via phone, e-mail or instant messaging on their iPad. This iPad application is offered for a flat monthly fee of $49 or a yearly fee of $468.
The iPad has also altered the retail sector. Sales representatives can use the iPad for taking orders, checking the inventory and retrieving the product catalog for product demos in the field.
2. Media
Book publishers, newspaper and magazine publishers, music producers, movie producers and TV studios capitalize on the iPad’s features, experiencing a shift in the media industry.
Technological advancements and the paradigm shift from traditional media toward digital journalism have transformed the relationships between news organizations, journalists and their audience. The iPad creates enormous possibilities for newspaper and magazine publishers by allowing them to feature a paid application, which readers can download by paying a minor subscription fee. Similarly, book publishers can integrate their e-books on iPad and directly compete with Amazon’s Kindle®.
For music producers, the iPad integrates iTunes® LP format, a deluxe, extras-laden package that includes more than 11 million songs with artists’ photos, videos, animated lyrics and liner notes. Similarly, for cable- and satellite-television providers, the iPad offers HD-video support that has enhanced iTunes video downloads and sales.
3. Health care
Ipad’s contribution to health care is immense. Its large 9.7-inch LED-backlit widescreen display facilitates the analysis of patient records and medical images. Besides, its everlasting battery, with more than 10 hours of life per charge, allows medical professionals to work on a reliable device during their long-hour shifts. Also, clinicians can stay connected 24/7 through iPad’s Wi-Fi and 3G wireless connectivity feature, taking advantage of EMR (electronic medical record) application and practice management software suites.
4. Gaming
The iPad introduced an incredible gaming experience. Featuring multi-touch on a 9.7-inch screen is more than innovative and opens up new opportunities for gaming interaction. Currently, Apple’s iPad features 350,000 applications, out of which many are video games with enhanced 3D graphics. The iPad supports all enhanced versions of video games and has attracted casual gamers who value new ways of interacting.
On the other hand, experienced gamers possibly view the iPad as an inferior gaming platform and are not satisfied with its 3D graphics and tactile controls. IPad’s developers consider that there is room for improvement in graphics and game speed, particularly in racing games, real-time strategy games and first-person shooters.
Conclusively, there is no doubt that the iPad features excellent build quality and innovative technical specifications. It is light, pretty, reliable and features thousands of applications that can meet the needs of the most demanding user. It has also altered the way professionals interact and do business in many areas and business fields. However, the iPad has also a cost of $499 (16GB), which requires users to make a well-informed decision before actually buying it.
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