FMYI | For My Innovation

So I’ve been exploring whether I can use the iPad for work. After I set up my iPad, my first experiment was to see if I could leave my laptop behind at the office for a week. The iPad served as my email, web, calendar, and presentation device at home, in between meetings, and during client visits.

How did it do? Remarkably well. The form factor made running around town a breeze. Not only did I save my back a little because of how much lighter the iPad is than a regular laptop, but I was also able to carry a smaller (man)bag. The simple iOS interface made quick tasks easy like checking email, the weather forecast, tweaking a slide, and finding the best route to my next meeting. A full desktop OS soon felt clunky. And the extra screen real estate is a big benefit over a small smartphone for extended work.

1. Pros

• The touchscreen interface is a revelation for web browsing. By touching the screen directly to navigate links, the experience is so much faster and fun than using an intermediary input device like a mouse or trackpad. The downside is the time your spend browsing aimlessly goes way up!
• It’s a pleasure to read PDFs, books, and presentations. You’ll find yourself curling up with the iPad going through all those work documents you haven’t scanned.
• The speed is outstanding. Combine the fast processor with the simple iOS interface, and you have a winner. Startup takes seconds, as does going from app to app.

2. Cons

• The lack of Flash makes it hard to watch embedded videos that haven’t been converted to HTML5. And company websites using Flash for navigation are worthless on the iPad. You can get around this using one of the tricks I mention below.
• Content creation isn’t ideal as we all know. There’s no multiple undo. You can’t upload files to websites using the Safari browser. Keynote is very limited for presentations. The touchscreen keyboard is a pain for typing more than a few sentences at a time and is missing numerous characters like a bullet (•). Either you have to keep things simple with your presentations, or you’ll need to do them on your laptop/desktop computer.
• Of course, being an early adopter means the device is a little rough around the edges. I had to return mine after some mysterious problems with the iPad restarting on its own without me touching it. Fortunately, Apple’s legendary customer service was a joy to deal with, and they replaced my unit with a new one. I also had some problems with syncing the iPad and having my apps deleted, meaning I had to reinstall them and set up the preferences all over again.

3. Tricks

• One of the coolest things you can set up is a VNC client like iTeleport. This allows you to access your work computer remotely from your iPad. You’ll be able to view Flash sites, email yourself a file, or run an application you don’t have on your iPad. Definitely a must have.
• Definitely get a case of some sort. The iPad is slippery and you’ll want one to prevent it from sliding off a table, and it’s a bonus to have it angled for typing.

My conclusion? The iPad is ideally suited for mobile work. You can confidently keep your laptop at the office. Having an iPad makes those long hours on the road or burning the midnight oil at home almost enjoyable. And it helps that you’ll never be far from music, videos, and books when you need a break.

Next: keeping the work computer off for a week and using only the iPad for work!

-Justin