Why I Chose the iPad for My Small Business

Posted by Jim Van on October 7, 2011 under entrepreneur, eOffice, mobility, portability, small business | Be the First to Comment

Since the original iPad was released in spring of 2010, many of us have discussed its potential as a business tool. Originally released as a ‘rich man’s toy’, most people considered it more of a large-screen iPhone at the beginning. But, as with most things on this platform, applications have made a difference.

The platform is the key

One of the beauties of owning an iOS (apples’ mobile device operating system) powered device is the availability of apps of every type, and the imagination of users. About a year after the iPhone was first released, for example, there were over 70,000 apps, tiny programs that enable a user to perform tasks ranging from chats, reading news, to communicating and exchanging data with computers, in its App Store. Currently, or at least at last count, there were over a quarter-million Apps, with several thousand added every day.

Apple apps are more secure

While other operating systems, most notably Google’s Android operating system, currently the world’s most popular in terms of number of devices in use, have App stores, Apple retains very rigid control over what Apps are available through their store. Each app must meet a set of very rigid standards, particularly from a security perspective. Call it anal-retentive, controlling, greedy, or whatever you wish, but to date, I haven’t heard of any cases of Apple devices getting hacked by Apps who have back doors written in to their code that allow unauthorized users to access core components of the users device, unlike those of Android, WebOS and others. And this is one of the major reasons we standardized on the iPad.

A no-brainer to use

The second reason, and one equally important, is the ease with which the device can be used. There’s a small learning curve at best, and one that is well documented in not only the basic documentation that comes on the iPad, but also that which is available through the Apple book store at no charge. Add to that an incredibly robust user community, both the official Apple forums, and ones hosted by the likes of CNET, ZDnet, and many other reputable sites, and one can always receive help and advice from experts as well as fellow users.

While I’m not extolling the virtues of all things Apple (I’m less a fan of their OSX-powered laptop and workstation devices), I believe they are spot on with their mobile devices. Before settling on the iPad, I played with the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet device. It’s an excellent device, with a great, albeit smaller, display, and is well-powered. It has some advantages over the iPad, such as a USB and SD port, that allow for external storage and a whole range of possibilities with respect to devices that will be able to connect directly to it, but it’s Android-powered, which, after really evaluating the operating system, app quality and availability, and overall security, was a show-stopper for me.

One note: as of this writing, Amazon has just released the Fire for $199. The device, which remains primarily a reader, has huge potential to take a bite out of Apple’s iPad market share. Android-powered, but tightly controlled by Amazon, its future will largely depend on availability of apps going forward. Given that the $199 purchase price is less than half the cost of the basic Wi-Fi iPad model, and that the Fire includes 3G (cellular) connectivity at no additional cost, it iPad may see its first serious challenge. More on this in future posts.

For now, we feel that, given its maturity, the iPad is a valuable business tool for our service-oriented business, and is worth spending some time at your local Apple store checking it out.