by myoung » Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:53 am
Well, at least until they create something entirely new and unexpected.
I guess you'd call me an Apple fanboy. We currently own Apple stock, a 17-inch PowerBook G4, a 15-inch MacBook Pro, a 24-inch iMac, Apple TV, an iPhone 3GS, an iPhone 4, an iPad, an Apple router and repeater, 3 iPods, 2 iPod Shuffles, and iPod Touch, 2 iPod Nanos, and an Apple BoomBox.
We bought the Mac back in 1984 and have owned about 5 or 6 other models over the years. I bought my first Wang 2200 mini computer in 1976 and wrote my first computer programs in CORC and CUPL back in 1963. Did I also mention that I'm old?
I've had a software company and retired as CIO of a subsidiary of a major bank five years ago. With all this history, I believe that I can say that the iPad is the finest product Apple has every delivered. Heck, its the finest computer ever.
There are many reasons for my claim, but let me just cite two that speak to the greater Apple ecosystem. First, as others have mentioned, all our mobile and desktop devices are synchronized via MobileMe. Email, calendar, address book, and bookmarks are updated almost immediately and wirelessly from any device. With the iPad and the iPhone 4, I jump back and forth reading books on both devices. Much to my delight and amazement, the iPad and the iPhone 4 books are synchronized too. I never have to bookmark or otherwise have to keep track of where I left off.
Second, the iPad starts instantaneously, which makes it especially handy to carry around relative to the laptop. I know that people say that this will never replace the laptop, but don't bet your retirement savings on that statement. With inexpensive software, you can access and control your desktop computer from almost anywhere in the world. I have a friend who needed some files from his office computer in New York while at a business meeting in Germany recently. Right from the meeting he opened the iPad, connected to his office computer, and controlled the computer to get the files he needed. Certainly, you could do this with a laptop, but with this 1.5 pound marvel the task is quick, easy, and even fun.
Tomorrow, I will even use my iPad to deliver a lecture at ASU created on both my iMac, my MacBook Pro, and my iPad all using Apple's Keynote software. Clearly, the iPad is business-ready right out of the box.