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iPad Quick Reference GuideCheck out the iPad's features and functions at a glance in the quick reference guide below, assembled by our Chief Technology Officer, Michael Vitiello.
iPant
Like every true techie, our CTO loves gadgets. As a recent convert to Apple, Mike was eager to get his hands on the fourth screen - the other three being iPod, iPhone and the iMac. He ordered the iPad online the minute it hit the market, but the device just can't get delivered fast enough. So, Mike pushed his way through the crowd at the local Apple retail outlet and got his hands on iPad. What follows is his first-person account of the experience. "I ordered my iPad WiFi-3G (64GB) device last night, sight unseen. As I entered the Apple store today at Menlo Park Mall in Edison, NJ, I could barely get past the front door. After waiting about 10 minutes and listening to the sales associate trying to explain to a consumer the WiFi and 3G wireless, I finally got my hands on it. "The shape of the device is exactly the same as an iPhone or iTouch, but bigger and with a brighter screen. The ability to just tap and swipe your finger across the screen is really neat and simple. Most of the functions are easy and intuitive to use except for some of the new iWork applications such as Pages (Word Processing).Though I was able to launch the app, I could not figure out how to create a new document. With Numbers (Spreadsheet) and Keynote (Presentations), it was a bit easier. At this point I cannot comment if these applications will interface with MS Office products or Google docs. All documentation on apple.com states it is MS compatible. We’ll see! "Email, Calendar and Contacts all look and function much better on the iPad compared to the iPhone or iPod Touch. The Safari browser works flawlessly although it does not have the ability to run Flash. It ran streaming videos from Web sites like CNN without a problem. "Now the real intention of this device -- iBooks and videos. I ran a few demo videos on the device and they are crystal clear. The iBooks application is amazing -- it's easy to read books on the large screen -- and will most likely cause Kindle as we know it to sunset. "Note: as I worked with iPad, I noticed that my head and neck began to ache from the strain of looking down at the screen. Laptop users are used to looking straight ahead. If you put the device on a table and try to tap and type, it bounces around because the back of the unit is curved like an iPod. Not surprising that Apple and the aftermarket makes devices to complement the iPad experience, including a case or stand and a keyboard. "Loading apps onto iPad and performing back-ups are done through a connection via the USB cable to your Mac or PC to iTunes, which syncs the device. Books, documents, pictures on your PC, sync easily with your iPad. Once they are on your PC, you can do a backup to a USB or network drive, or you can use MobileMe directly from your iPad or computer. "Even though the device does not come with a camera, you can import or sync your photos and videos via iTunes from you computer or the Camera Kit, which provides two devices that connect to the iPad for either USB connection to your camera or an SD card reader. With an iPad in the palm of my hand, it's difficult to leave the store and wait another two weeks for delivery. Patience. I wonder if there's an app for that." Business Leaders Ponder iPadBusiness Development Institute hosted a free Webinar on April 7 for business communicators interested in learning about iPad. You can download the recording of the hour-long session and listen to it on your iPod at your convenience. Here's the bullet: Consumers (i.e. employees) will buy their own iPads and use them to manage their professional and personal lives through a blend of apps stored on the device and saved to the "cloud." As the price of the device drops, they'll become as ubiquitous as cell phones. Businesses need to prepare sensible responses from the IT and intellectual property perspectives. Following are some key take-aways from the three speakers: Steve Rubel, SVP, Director of Insights, Edelman Digital says iPad will accelerate three trends, which are:
Frank Weiler, Head of Business Development, Germany, KIT Digital, Inc. believes iPad will attract users of all ages who will make the mobile device as ever-present as cell phones. While it's not the perfect device for people who spend all day writing email messages, it offers easy to use apps that provide one-click entry into the tools people use most frequently. Weiler reported that more apps had been developed for iPad before it was released than all the apps written for Android and Blackberry combined. iPad's big, clear screen makes it ideal for watching video, which he says is a leading driver in business communications. Chris Hazelton, Research Director, Mobile & Wireless, The 451 Group agrees that the consumerism of IT -- the use of consumer technology by employees to improve their own communications and productivity -- has blazed the path for iPad in the organization. If IT supports iPhone, there is no reason not to support iPad, he says. Just as telecommunications carriers have subsidized iPhone, he expects they will subsidize iPad and drive device and use costs down, making them accessible to consumers.
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