Jan 29, 2011 12:00 PM EDT by K. T. Bradford
The iPad changed everything. With at least 15 million units sold so far, Apple clearly dominates the growing tablet market. And all the hype has definitely got the attention of businesses and executives, particularly thanks to Apple ads touting the iPad as a productivity tool. In fact, in a recent ChangeWave survey, 7 percent of business IT buyers said they currently provide employees with tablets, with another 14 percent reporting purchases of slates to be imminent.
Of those 7 percent currently using tablets for work, 38 percent are using them to replace their laptop and 69 percent are very satisfied with the iPad.
The numbers make a pretty compelling argument for trading in your laptop for an iPad, but how well does the tablet handle day-to-day computing tasks? I set out on an experiment, using the iPad to do nearly all of my work for one week. Find out how I fared.
January 29th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
This guy is missing the most important thing that should be discussed…the office suite programs. The biggest brick wall I hit using the iPad is in using spreadsheets. The apps that currently exist to handle spreadsheets are laughable at best. They are a hassle to work the functions that they have and the available functions are minimal. They’ve really got to work on this issue because it’s very important if they want to be a major player in the business world.
January 29th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Genius idea for an article, and definitely helpful although my expectations were rather low to begin with. I bet my mother would be ok using one of these as her PC, but she’d definitely want a keyboard so that adds to the cost and sort of defeats the point cost and size-wise. I’m surprised about the lack of an iMovie for iPad app still. To justify the price, I still feel the way I did when this thig was announced: base it’s OS on Leopard and we’ll talk. Otherwise it’s just a really, really expensive toy.
January 29th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
The price of the device has also been completely ignored, the final verdict states that
‘the iPad can handle many of the same tasks as a netbook or even a pricier laptop. And with the addition of a few accessories, it can be a decent productivity tool.’
The accessories used in this review cost over $100 (the keyboard alone was $99.99) which in fact takes the price of the iPad well above that of a netbook and even into the price range of some fairly decent laptops meaning the iPad really isn’t that good considering price to performance.
Overall though the review was good and seemed fairly unbiased, the iPad does do well with simple tasks but for now I think it remains as a peripheral device.
January 29th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Man, creating/typing a blog or document on an iPad is even more terrible than composing an SMS in a Cellphone with a numerical keypad.
January 29th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
With the iPad, you’re starting with a fun, casual computing device, then seeing how far you can push it in the direction of a workstation. And why wouldn’t you want to? Its battery life, form factor, UI, etc. is a dream, but it’s lacking the apps right now (like a great wordpress app) to take it there for serious workers. Will that likely change in 2011? I don’t see why not. Plus, there’s always jailbreaking for more control.
Also, when we talk about the iPad replacing the PC, I do think some people lose the context of the comparison. The iPad (in its current incarnation) will always have just a 9.7″ screen and no mouse or keyboard. It’s like buying a motorbike and complaining that you can’t drive your family around.
January 30th, 2011 at 12:13 am
I travel about once a month and bought the ipad to use on those out of town trips. I loved the iPad when I first got it but I have become more and more frustrated with it’s performance. I spend a lot of my day on the internet, composing and editing documents, spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations. When I use my iPad at home or on the road, the lack of flash is a real handicap; many sites are unusable. I can’t access Microsoft’s “cloud”. As for office productivity, I don’t have the time to screw around with it – I have paid for three office suites and two PDF apps in the hopes that one would be reasonably easy, but not one is. The iPad is great for email, games, music, casual reading and fun apps; there are several good calendar and task apps that sync with Google and my office. It is a very expensive toy. I’ve started taking my ipad and my net book on trips -together they work well. I’m waiting for some of the new Android tablets. I will probably switch just to have a better Internet experience.
January 30th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
it depends on what you definition of YOUR ONLY PC and what you DO on your only PC. on my MAIN pc, i use WORD, EXCEL, the internet, my email account (yahoo), facebook, itunes, etc. in that respect, i find the ipad quite limited. for example, the itunes has limited applications on the ipad. also, you CANNOT view ANYTHING that uses FLASH (ADOBE).
on its own, i find the keyboard too tight. i know you can use a wireless keyboard, but i did not get the ipad to complicate my life, but to simplify or at least to help it.
in terms of language, i am trilingual and i often switch from french to english to spanish when i type. i know you can change the keyboard from one language to another, but it is NOT a regular keyboard with the accents. i therefore do NOT use the accents / special characters when i type in another language OR i do it on my REAL pc when i get home.
SO, for all those reasons (and a few others), the IPAD is NOT my main PC, but i love it just the same. for me a MAIN PC stays at home. the ipad was a compromise between a laptop and my blackberry.
January 30th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
The i[Pad is like you say limited,yet millions have been sold.I do not own an iPad.
January 30th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
The lack of a true file system on the iPad makes it impossible to use for true productivity in my humble opinion. Maybe when we get to true cloud computing in a few years.
January 30th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
From my experience the iPad could not replace my computer. I owned it and then sold it.
With an iPad I cannot run Photoshop CS4, or Sony Vegas to edit 1080p HD video, how about file management? nope.
I don’t think the iPad was meant to be a PC replacement… but they do cross over in certain functions.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:11 am
You compare a pc with a decade of apps development to a device/os less than a year young.
The lack of keyboard is by essence a feature of an only touch device.
I agree for the files system, it’s ok on the iphone but it’s frustrating on the ipad, we would like to do more.
But you mainly complain about limited apps like WP, it’ll come with the proven success of the ipad, developpers will grab this new platform and its new gestures.
The same question next year ?
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Checklist of what I do at work :
- Eclipse / Visual studio development : No apps will ever do that
- Reading, writing, printing of docs with several thousands pages : ipad will probably die
- ethernet-only network : ipad fails
- UML modeling with code generation : any app ?
- Subversion source control client : any app ?
- complex excel sheets with lots of macro : would it work ?
So, PC replacement ? Very far from it.
February 5th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Great review. there is much I like about the iPad, but in terms of productivity it falls short. You would expect that you should at least be able to take notes. There are good apps, but try finding a really good stylus. Interesting that Apple patented one in 2008,but has not manufactured it. This leads me to believe they don’t really want customers to make this into a productivity tool.
Also, I can’t stand the need to connect to itunes through my computer to do the simplest things – like setting up albums, backing up files. Haven’t tried printing yet, but even with AirPrint, it looks like it is a mess.“
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:07 am
The iPad or any other tablet for that matter is great for consuming media and single application use. For instance its great for e-mailing, browsing the web and watching videos and music. But for productivity the big handicap is the lack of a keyboard. If ones PC use is limited to the former then great otherwise it is limiting. I don’t see tablets replacing a desktop PC at the moment but converge into a hybid device that will replace the laptop. As the network infrastructure gets better and more cloud based applications are offered then it will perhaps replace the desktop PC.
March 27th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
It’s not reasonable to think the iPad could ever replace a desktop or laptop for heavy duty PC users. You could also argue that most laptops wouldn’t cut it for high end user’s either (unless you want to lug around a 15lb behemoth which kinda defeats the purpose). We should recognize the iPad or the Xoom for it’s place … somewhere when you need something more than your smartphone but less than your desktop/laptop.
December 4th, 2011 at 12:05 am
This was a good read for those of us who don’t have iPads. I haven’t needed one thus far. With long battery life being the only exception, my subnotebook still does everything i wanted it to do.
On the other hand, i can easily see this device as ‘the pc’ for non tech savvy people. The flash issue is a problem today, but as the web transition to flash-less media streams, it won’t be as big of an issue.