As I sit in a Starbucks working on my Macbook Air, waiting for a call from my mechanic on my iPhone, it should come as no surprise that I'm already drooling over the new Apple tablet, the iPad. Yes, unfortunate naming...they could really have thought harder about that one but all in all, it looks like a great internet appliance that would fit in perfectly with my increasingly Apple heavy technology.
In case you are living under a rock, yesterday Apple announced their new iPad - a tablet device based on the iPhone operating system. In a lot of ways it is like a giant iTouch (the iphone without the phone part). It appears to be about the same size as the larger kindle but with a yummy color display.
As I watched the live feed from engadget yesterday, I was thinking about how fun this little item would be. Here are a few ways...
- Showing client slideshows and videos on a device they can hold in their hand!!! Since the iPad will run any of the iPhone apps, it seems that the Animoto iPhone app would work on it which means I could show any of my Animoto videos on it. I love how they look on the iPhone and seeing them bigger but still in a hand held device would be really appealing.
- Reviewing client images! Load up their gallery on there and be able to meet them anywhere...Starbucks, their home, a park, and show them their gallery without requiring any additional equipment. And sliding through a gallery is way more fun than using a mouse, right?
- Help with ordering-Since the device is wifi enabled you would be able to connect to your online gallery system and help them place their order. I know I have a few clients that just can't seem to place their order themselves but I like to get all my orders in the same way to make sure the go through the workflow. With this it would be even easier to meet them for a quick ordering session.
- It is small enough to fit into your bag to carry with you to shoots so you can browse while you wait for your client, and also have access to review online information such as your policies or package pricing. Also, I imagine it won't be long before there is an application that allows you to create contracts that can be signed using a stylus on the iPad directly (a paperless contract!!!). There are already applications that allow you to sign for credit card transactions on an iPhone and this seems like it would be very close to that. How great would that be for contracts, model releases, policy acceptance?
- With Keynote, the Apple presentation software, you could just prop that baby up and show a presentation. I am thinking about trying Keynote out for my talk at the Workshop on the Waterfront and possibly re-writing my class for moms using Keynote so I could see it being handy to have a portable version other than on my laptop that could be handy for more one-on-one teaching.
- And on the non-client side, being able to browse email, read blog posts, and catch up on facebook without using my laptop seems like a bonus. Using the touch screen instead of a traditional keyboard seems like a great solution to someone like me that likes to scan online content while I watch TV at night.
- With a camera connector kit option it seems possible that you could review pictures with clients in almost real time to make sure you got THE SHOT that they are looking for. If that is your thing. Not mine...I like to go home and live with my pictures a bit and edit them before showing a client. But I could see this being a great feature for commercial photographers.
- There are mini-projectors out now that work with the iPhone so surely those types of things will come out for use with the iPad too! And with optional components it can be connected to your TV or projector for presentations on the go!
- And that is before the applications designed just for the iPad start showing up! I can't wait to see what those look like!!
The negatives that stood out to me...
- I am surprised it didn't come with a camera but with my iPhone and my laptop both sporting them (in addition to when I carry my big mama camera around) that isn't really that important to me!
- No support for flash on website. While I kinda understand not supporting flash on an iPhone, it seems that on something bigger like the iPad that is designed to be an internet device that they wouldn't build in support for flash.
- No multitasking. Which means I can't be checking on my Facebook status via the Facebook app and reading tweets via my Twitter app at the same time. Just like on my iPhone when one opens the other closes.
- Right now the iPhone version of google docs is read only. I wonder if with more screen real estate they would make it read/edit. That would be sweet!
The pricing is a little confusing. The base 16 GB model with wifi but no 3G is $499. But is is $130 more for the 3G version (which will connect to ATTs wireless network) which seems like a big jump. I'm actually wondering how much I would use 3G (don't forget you'd need to add monthly service). I also wonder if there is any kind of service discount if you are already an ATT customer (which I am with my iPhone). Or if I can tether it to my iPhone in those cases where I'm working somewhere without wifi.
In the end, I think the form factor is handy. I do worry about my Macbook Air screen getting bent or something spilling on the keys. I could definitely see room in my world for all three (the Macbook Air, iPad, and iPhone). But I'm a little more gadget obsessed than most people.
What about you? Are you drooling over this new device? Do you have other thoughts as to how it could be useful with your business?
Download TWEETDECK for your iPhone and computer and you can check and post to FB and Twitter at the same time :) But I get what you're saying.
Also - with 3G you don't have to seek out free WiFi; appealing in places where WiFi isn't as common.
Flash will be a thing of the past soon enough...not yet, but soon. HTML5 will take over. You'll see.
I hadn't thought about the paperless contract thing! GENIUS! Love it.
I wonder if you pulled up Google Docs on the browser instead (not iPhone version) if you could edit...curious to try!
I can't wait either...all-around wonderful for our line of work!
Posted by: Aviva | January 28, 2010 at 06:22 PM
Well, we can't forget that this is mainly a reader-- meant to knock Kindle and Nook out of the park :) The publishing industry is all abuzz about the iPad. I think that the next version will probably have more of the kinks worked out... I've heard you should never buy anything first generation of Apple's :) But it DOES look fun!
Posted by: Courtney | January 28, 2010 at 11:02 PM
Oh I totally agree with you! I am drooling and thinking I need to let my family know this would make a great early mother's day gift. ;o)
Great idea about contracts!!!! Love it!!!
Posted by: Coleen | January 29, 2010 at 09:10 AM
About the paperless contract... I'm not sure what studio management software you are using, but I use Tave (http://www.tave.com) and that's one of my favorite features. You create your contract and add it to a customer profile. The customer logs in with a unique password, signs the contract electronically, and can then be directed to your payment portal to pay the session fee. Best of all, you can brand it to match your website. I have a Bludomain site and I set up a reservations page that links to it. It looks seamless from the client end. Just thought I might offer that up if you're interested!
Posted by: Gina Sanders | January 31, 2010 at 03:08 PM