Only for presentations. Whether at a conference or a meeting, these iPads are useful if you want to show (potential) clients the core of your business or product. It's a great supplement to a sales pitch when you're talking directly with that person.

Edit: damn sean. said the exact same thing.

 

Gobbles is helping to make the case for this thing for me personally.

When I travel, it is typically to present and generally shake hands. The heavy crunching is done at my office on my laptop, or if it is really intensive drawings, on my home built monster PC.

And an iPad will run Office for Mac.
Lets see... connects to a projector. I can connect external storage via USB.

I just saw a case that has a blue tooth keyboard built into it.

Hmmm...

 

Only really using it for presentations for work. Great around a boardroom table and passing it around so clients can play with the app/site/etc.

Also great for brainstorming and showing colleagues sites during a meeting. Load up a website then demo what you like etc.

Typing is just SO much faster on a proper keyboard, so I'll use the macbook.

At home I don't use it as much. Wifey uses is all the freaking time though. I find I use my iPhone more often for a quick google search, IMDB lookup etc.

 

If it's the Kensington case don't bother. The keyboard is decent (though spacing is tight) but the stand portion makes the screen stand too vertically (for me at least.) I can show it to you when I see you next week.

If you are using it for business just keep a cloth handy so you don't hand it to your client with a bazillion grubby fingerprints all over the screen.

 

I bought one for work because of the 3G so I could be connected anywhere. Also, I bought it because of how portable it is. I didn't want to have one of those USB devices sticking out of a laptop. In retrospect though, I should have bought a MacBook pro or maybe even waited for the Air.

If you want to talk presentations, hook up your laptop to the projector and download an app to your phone that controls PowerPoint or Keynote via wifi.

 

I've had my iPad for a few months and I use it mainly for business. I'm an art director and I use an iMac to do most of my graphic designs. Before I got the iPad, I used to carry around a big notebook/binder combo. . . In meetings I would fill 1/3rd of the notebook with notes, scribbles, links, numbers, etc. . . After I filled my 5th notebook I was becoming overwhelmed and started to look at digital solutions.

I have a smartphone but find it difficult to use the calendar, the keyboard, the Internet, and note taking apps, pretty much the most important aspects of smartphone for me beyond making calls. I wanted a laptop but couldn't justify spending another 1300+ after I just spent almost 3grand on my iMac and accessories. Also, I wanted a device that could function as a Laptop but could also be used for creative purposes (not easy on a track pad) and everyday chores ( not easy to whip out a laptop at the grocery store and browse recipes).

So I ended up getting a 32gig wifi ipad. I got it at best buy on a credit card with 0 interest for 18 months. Also got a great leather case at Brookstone which has a zipper (so ppl can't tell its iPad when I'm walking through north Philly at midnight), spaces for business cards, a suede inner liner, and it converts into 3 different viewing configurations - perfect for presentations with 5-10 people or sitting it on my lap at home (sucks doing that with a laptop). I use a number of apps for business and pleasure:


Business:
- "manage" is a note taking app that let's you setup multiple notepads. In each pad, you can add items to a list, assign them due dates and subtasks, use virtual highlighters to label notes by priority, and send lists to yourself or other ppl through email.
- "screens" lets me log into my desktop from anywhere and use it as if I were sitting in front of it.
- "touchpad" is basically a huge trackpad and wireless keyboard for my Mac. . .I can give presentations using the imac as a remote controlled screen, and I can review notes, scripts, and resources from my iPad while people are reviewing the presentation (multitasking)
- a couple different drawing and portfolio sharing apps - there's nothing more personal than holding a screen in arms like a book - you can create and share products like never before.
- calendar - I set the iPad ip next to my iMac and use it as an interactive calendar so i can see where I'm at throughout the day, then when I go to a meeting I just fold it up and start walking.


Personal/pleasure
- "pulse" reader - an rss feed aggregator basically combines all of the latest updates from your favorite websites into 1 interface. I can read all the news and daily stories from my favorite spots across the web in 1/10th the time it takes to sift through each website
- tons of food and wine apps - I used the ipad at the grocery store for the first time the other day and it was awesome. Besides being a conversation starter, I could look up recipes, save ingredients to a list, check off items I get and pair drinks with food
- FIOS - so sweet - from the iPad you can record shows from anywhere, control Dvr, control on demand without leaving a channel, and browse channels and descriptions without losing screen space on the tv ( without pissing other people off)
- ambient sleeping sounds - yea
- e trade app is super-robust
- "awe" is a really cool music discovery app you can't experience on any other kind of device


There are some disadvantages, like the lack of flash and no sd card slots. If you're on the fence about getting one, I'd wait a few weeks since the iPad2, 10" samsung tab and tons of other tablets are coming out. I got it for my own organizational purposes but also because I'm n the digital media field and having an iPad is a great form of research and inspiration for my company. hope this helps anyone in the market for one.

 

RIM plans two more PlayBooks for 2011 | Mobile World Congress - CNET Reviews


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