We started our company in 1985 with a print newsletter about the new 9 pound HP 110 Portable PC. It was the first clamshell DOS laptop. It featured solid state memory, storage, and built-in software (no mechanical hard drive). It was instant on, had long battery life, and at the time light-weight (if you remember the Compaq luggable).
In the 1990's HP produced the HP 200LX Palmtop, about which we published a magazine. It was the first and only DOS clamshell palmtop. It had a niche but incredibly loyal following -- so much so that we still buy, sell and repair them. A number of us wanted HP to “blow it up” – make it bigger in order to have a functional, light-weight, long lasting laptop on the road.
In the meantime we've seen a lot of laptops come and go with full O.S. and mechanical hard drive. From my side they are all too heavy, too slow especially to boot up, and have too short a battery life. In 1999 I almost got what I wanted with the Windows CE based HP 820 Jornada and NEC 900. They both featured a solid state storage, long battery life, instant on, decent-sized screens and their touch-typable keyboards. However, they lacked software and they used the awkard stylus rather than straight touch.
Now things have finally come full circle. If the iPad is what I think it will be, no more laptops on my travels. I will use the LogMein app and remotely use my work PC from the iPad. $15/month (250MB) for AT&T connectivity should be plenty for native E-mail and remote connectivity anywhere. The keyboard accessory will maximize my efficiency.
And that’s before using it as an entertainment (games, video, photos, ebooks) and as a web access device. Heck I will even be able to read iPhone Life on it through the Zinio App!
Exactly! I'm getting one and
Exactly! I'm getting one and going to ditch my MacBook all together, in some ways I'll miss needing my Booq bag (these things are some rugged, had mine since they first came our for MacBook), iPad fills a clear niche.
There are certainly people who will always need a laptop because of what they're doing with it. I certainly will keep my iMac for "heavy lifting" and my Mac Mini which runs my homes media/communications, but for my type of administrative work which is a mix of following the media (changes in state Medicaid rules, state ASO reports, etc), following internal communications (e-mails, and client reports etc as they're generated), as well as write my own memos or edit memo's and some spread sheets from others, and of course - the thing is basically always on like the iPhone, I just see this as an important management tool.
Of course the potential for use in medical and education settings is off the chart with the iPad. I use Epocrates and a few other apps for behavioral health regularly on my iPhone, the iPad will just make all that aspect of my work so much easier with that size screen and processor speed.
I can't believe some of the wacky "ho-hums" I'm reading in the media. It reminds me of all the "really smart" tech wonks who thought the iPod wasn't much of a big deal.. yeah right, or that Twitter and Facebook were fads - last year they nailed the election of the leader of the free world... some fad!
Yep. And the neat thing about
Hi Hal, I agree with some of
Hi Hal,
I agree with some of your points, however I think the iPad is too expensive in some respects. Just to use your PC remotely, you have to spend $700 on an iPad, $30 a month for a data plan, plus the monthly expense of $20 for a GoToMyPC plan. That could set back a user $1300 for the first year and $600 a year after that.
From what I have seen from CES, we should be able to pick up iPad-like devices running a full Windows 7 OS for less money and be able to do more with it. Of course, the data plan charges remain but I'd rather have a full OS to run over a PDA OS. That said, I realize that instant-on may be problematic and it won't run as tightly as a PDA OS, but with SSD's becoming so cheap it may not matter.
Honestly though, I'd rather just buy a laptop or larger netbook. I just don't see the iPad blowing the doors off after the initial rush. It's too quirky and expensive a product.
Time will tell Steve. I'm
Time will tell Steve.
I'm certain there are plenty of people who are just fine with their laptops, just like there are people who prefer a plain cell phone and are not at all interested in "smart phones".
I wouldn't get the 3G version (I'm not a 3G fan), just wifi because I'd primarily be using it in places I know to have strong wifi access. For me, with so much of the healthcare software now web based, and my organizations term server being open to me as long as I have a wifi connection - the iPad will let me "de-bulk" and still do what I need to do. And at $699 for the 64GB version, I think this is a bargain. I like the idea of lugging a 1.5lb iPad versus 4.7lb MacBook - I think a lot of people who are handling a lot of client/patient charts will prefer this over the paper charts (on their way out due to HIPAA anyway) or 5 lbs worth of laptop.
Why do I think this? For people who are doing a lot of work where they're using "sofware as a service" systems on the user end (healthcare workers, students, HR and Sr. Management), healthcare e.g. Anasazi, education e.g. Blackboard, accounting e.g. ADP, etc the iPad represents an edge over the laptop or PDA because it's right in that zone of ease of use, power and size.
I see a lot of potential in health care and educational organizations (where I'm involved) which have or are switching over to term server environments.
I'll let you and all the readers know in a couple months.
portable?
If you look at the definition of portable in these years, the change is really unblieable :)