“Apple’s new iPad isn’t just a new product for consumers; the company is targeting the new device at business users with features designed to make it attractive to the enterprise market,” Prince McLean reports for AppleInsider.
With their iPhone, over time, “Apple hardened the iPhone’s security profile, added Exchange support, and created mass configuration and deployment tools for the device,” McLean reports. “For the iPad, those same corporate-friendly iPhone features will all continue to work, thanks to the iPad being build on the same software foundation. However, the iPad adds a variety of new things that business users should find very attractive.”
“For starters, Apple has ported over iWork, its Office-compatible productivity suite, while giving it a multitouch makeover,” McLean reports. “Aligned with the idea of using the iPad as a Keynote presentation tool, the iPad now supports VGA output for driving a projector directly. Users can markup slides and point with a virtual laser printer as the presentation continues.”
McLean reports, “Sources who talked to Apple’s business unit also say the company is working on some additional features that haven’t been publicly announced yet. These include support for direct network printing from iPad apps, as well as support for accessing shared files from a local file server.”
Read more in the full article here.
Can you say Newton? This pig will not fly.
It’ll take version two for the true enterprise features to come out after people get them in their hands and figure out what they need.
I’m truly surprised at the lack of an iSight, at least in the high-end model. Video calls for a truly mobile professional would seem to be important.
Doubtful that any tablet will fully replace laptops in the university or business office settings. For outdoor/moving/in-the-field/warehouse/retail/etc jobs, certainly the tablet holds promise.
In an office, the size/weight of a fully-fledged laptop is not a handicap. DVI outputs are the norm. USB memory sticks and drives are constantly being traded and moved. The iPad simply doesn’t compete in this arena.
This is just the begining of a much bigger picture yet to come. By WWDC 2010 we’ll know much, much more. Plus, I forsee the real killer iPad will be a “Pro” version as good as or better than the MacBook Air’s hardware, eventually. This will take off for sure by the holidays this year and hit warp speed by 2011.
They demoed the iPad sitting down.
If it is to be used while walking around, I think the iPad needs more texture or lumps or bumps or ridges for the fingers to grip to. Not a handle, but something to make it easier to grip and walk at the same time.
The iPad is a true game changer. It’s still a few months away from shipping so we can expect some awesome goodies added to iPad. You can see the desperate Kindle and Windows Netbook POS spamming the Internet with as much FUD as they can muster. It’s all 100 percent FEAR from these guys. They know the iPad is going to dominate the POS Netbook space and send the Kindle POS to the cheap one trick pony crap space.
@Mike
Using cloud storage such as MobileMe or the DropBox iPhone app removes the need for USB memory sticks. Most projectors and monitor still have VGA for analog input.
@deepdish
I’m sure there are plenty of companies who will be making protective sleeves that offer a better grip on the border of the device.
deepdish…
I expect numerous companies who make covers to fill this void quickly. There will be hundreds of cover choices by March I predict.
Handles molded into the cover. Things can can tie the iPad to your wrist or around your neck so even if you drop it, it doesn’t hit the ground. Lots of funky stuff of all sorts is coming.
Tommy Boy – I’m truly surprised at the lack of an iSight, at least in the high-end model. Video calls for a truly mobile professional would seem to be important.
Actually the built in cameras kept Apple products out of the last place I worked due to security reasons. Most cellphones are checked at the door or left in the car. The woman who sat next to me was escorted out and terminated for having a camera phone in her bag.
Yes, It was a paranoid financial firm, but I’ve heard the same rules at Insurance companies, banks, and government offices.
Not all are that paranoid, but between whistle blowers and corporate espionage, cameras are a no win for many corporations.
The iPad may be missing a camera in order to get past security.
Although, there is evidence that code for a camera is in the SDK, so it may be in the next version after Apple gets corps hooked on the thing.
@Mike
Lastly, there are over 140,000 apps (some specialized for vertical markets) that will be usable on the iPad and may even be updated to take full advantage of the added screen real estate and advanced multitouch capabilities to cover most of the “advantages” you feel a laptop has over the iPad. Plus with local database storage, resume from last state and notification, I’m sure the iPad will evolve to fulfill most of the wishes of the average user.
silly me.
you guys are right.
Just a thought, but could this be the wakeup call for Amazon?
They sell music, books, videos, why in the world didn’t they do this first?
Obviously the Kindle would need a massive overhaul, better screen res, better video card, improved OS, etc., but they do own the work they’ve done.
They’re in a good position to “clone” the iPad without having to access iTunes like the Pre tried.
Hey when you think about it, the tricorder has finally made it to the masses. Next will be looking towards the holodeck. LOL.
I am a professional photographer and can tell you that the majority of all photographers websites are nearly 100% flash and this includes their galleries and shopping carts. I cannot see thousands of people paying to replace their website templates and hosting services because steve jobs thinks flash should go away. I know for me personally, lack of support is a showstopper.
Fwiw
Listen people has iam a very ancient mac user i dont care if iPad can have for me i like it the way it is,for me every apple products its a very good product and i like it,my only wish its that apple could still selling the ipod hi-fi,yes it was a price flaw on the ipod hi-fi but if apple can still sell or refurbished ones that would be a good idea for studios and normal people to have such device at their homes too.
@WTFrank…
I’m with you on being surprised at the lack of iSight. I use it considerably in business conferencing. Most of the people I work with have either moved to mac, or found a windows solution to get them up and running ie… skype.
It’s just a no brainer. I’m hoping they put it in in rev 2.
One word: Medical
In his keynote (8:07) Jobs said that the iPad needed to be superior at browsing the web, e-mail, photos, video, music, games and e-books. None of those are specific to business. I would add to Jobs’ list specific applications. If you need extreme portability, you choose an iPhone or an iPod Touch. If you need data entry, computing power or high end programs, you choose a notebook/desktop. There are however, plenty of work related tasks that can be done better by small programs with low data entry requirements. Inventory and traveling sales forms come to mind, but I fear that only shows the limits of my imagination. The iPad will quickly move into the fields where it will work best – mobility, high computer interaction, low data entry and custom applications.
Flash is a pig and will soon be gone. So professional photographers that want to sell their wares can either just write off the millions and millions of iPad buyers or adjust their thinking.
Another quick thought, a lot of corporate environments RESTRICT the usage of cellphones with cameras in them. I’ve seen plenty of blackberrys with cameras disabled….
Apple isn’t going to hold back progress and open standards so the “majority of all photographers”, who are apparently also retarded, can cling to their shitty Flash websites.
Evolve or die.
Can’t tell me that while SJ was in the hospital a dozen people did’t beg him to fix electronic medical records…
Deepdish the house music guys?? Or coincidence?
A third party camera will probably be available for the iPad.
… and Flash will be history.