Thursday, March 31, 2011

Traveling for Business With The iPad


I have read numerous articles about folks leaving their laptop behind and going just iPad on a business trip. Until recently, I have only traveled on vacation with the iPad, and I always took a laptop for "product creation" (photos, movie slideshows, etc.) in case I needed it. I have noticed that I rarely pull out the laptop anymore. It is just much simpler, and enjoyable, to grab the iPad.

As mentioned, I recently took a one-day business trip and decided to leave the laptop and go solo with the iPad. I noticed a number of things, some obvious and some surprising. In no particular order, here are some observations:

  1. Packing and airline check-in process. It felt weird to pack my luggage and not include the weight of a laptop! It has been over 10 years (prior to traveling with laptops) since I have experienced that. It is very liberating. Going through check-in and security and not having to tear my bag apart and through the computer in a tray almost felt wrong (everyone else was stepping through the drill). Not me and I enjoyed it.
    In addition to not packing a computer, I did not pack ANY paper or files to take with me. All of my content was pre-loaded on my iPad (or accessible remotely). In fairness, I did pack information and client handouts, but that was for other attendees at the meeting. All of my materials reference was done on the iPad.
  2. Airport waiting. In both airports I was in, wi-fi was available and it was free. I don't know how long it has been this way, but it's about time. Clearly, airports have come to realize, like restaurants, coffee houses, and just about any other retail establishment, that free wi-fi is necessary to not lose customers. While walking through the airports, I paid particular attention to how many laptops or mobile devices I saw in use. Nothing scientific, of course, but I saw a lot of cell phones, a noticeable amount of laptops in use – 25 or so, and a total of 5-6 tablets (all iPads I believe). Regarding the laptops, I noticed that the majority of folks were reading email or surfing the web. Of course, that is much easier on a tablet device. No question about that.
  3. Rental car check-in. Rental car agencies still offer to rent GPS navigation systems and satellite radio units. I have these resources on the iPad (navigation and Internet radio apps), so I saw no need for either of these. In fact, I was able to look up the navigation app, search for hotel directions and have them in front of me before the check-in was completed. It was surprisingly easy and fast. Of course, using the tablet in the car requires 3G access, which I have. The smartphone could also have served the same function.
  4. Productive moments I noticed. While sitting in the airport, on the plane, or elsewhere, it was very easy to pull out the iPad and get 3-5 minutes of work done, even if it was just 3-5 minutes. That was noticeably huge to me. I typically would read magazines or some other material that I had brought along to fill the down time. So what did I work on and accomplish:
    1. Picture editing for a family collage I am planning
    2. Roughing out of a collage format in the KeyNote app
    3. Progress made on an iMovie project I am also working on
    4. Accessed pictures from my home computer (remotely) and downloaded to my iPad (for the above projects)
    5. Responded to work emails (a lot more effectively than from my phone)
    6. Delivered a powerpoint file to a client…by accessing the file from my office remotely, downloading it to my iPad and emailing directly to client
    7. Accessed the local public library and "borrowed" an ebook (Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October"). Downloaded to my iPad in the OverDrive app.
  5. Hotel room. Two things – the TV never went on and there was no real "set up" required. The hotel offered both Ethernet and wireless access. I believe that wi-fi will become the dominant form of internet access before too long, since the iPad and other tablets do not connect over an Ethernet cable.
  6. Client meeting improvements. During the client meeting, all work was done from the iPad. Presentations were broadcast through a projector seamlessly, including some GoodReader app documents that I was surprised worked. Some other ideas on this front were less effective, but overall, I was fairly impressed with how well it worked.
Overall, it was a noticeably pleasant experience traveling this way. I had no thoughts about needing a laptop at any point during the trip.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Browser Alternatives on iPad

As more time is spent on the iPad and it becomes the primary tool to access the internet  and surf the web, it soon becomes evident that the Safari browser has a number of shortcomings compared with the usual PC web browsing experience.

The most obvious shortcomings, in my mind, include a lack of tabbed browsing, the inability to set default home pages and lack of full screen browsing capabilities (especially noticeable because of the iPad screen size).  The browser alternatives I mention here all provide those capabilities, among others.  The cost of each browser app is nominal, and definitely worth having one or two installed on the ipad as an option.

I find that each serves a distinct use for me, but i primarily prefer the Atomic Web Browser.  For sure, there are many more options than the ones I highlight below, but in order of my preference, here are five worth considering:

App
iTunes App Description
Atomic Web Browser
Atomic Web Browser is the most advanced and customizable fullscreen web browser to date. Experience desktop features including Adblock, Tabs, MultiTouch Gestures, User Agent Switcher, Passcode Lock, Facebook/Twitter integration, Save Page, Downloads, and much more.
Mercury Browser
Mercury is the the most advanced and elegant web browser for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The rich feature set includes themes, downloading, printing, full screen browsing, file sharing, adblock, tabs, multi touch geatures, user agent switcher, private browsing, passcode lock, save page, Facebook/Twitter integration and a lot more.
Cyberspace
Cyberspace is a universal web browser for the iPhone and iPad, optimized specifically for the purpose of discovering, reading and sharing.
Terra Browser
Terra is a fast web browser with tabs, full screen and other functions. It's better than Safari and has unbelievable price - it's FREE!
LastPass Browser
LastPass Tab Browser combines a full featured tab browser for the iPad with LastPass integration allowing you to use your existing accounts or create new ones with ease.

LastPass is the last password you'll have to remember. It provides a safe and convenient method of storing your passwords while ensuring you can access them on any device anywhere. A form filler is also provided allowing you to easily shop directly from your iPad!
Links to reviews of a few of the different apps are provided below:

Atomic Web (Gizmofusion.com)




It should be noted that Safari is the default browser on the iPad, and that cannot be changed.  However, having options to substantially improve the browsing experience and increase your flexibility is definitely worth the investment, in my opinion. 

In addition to the various web browsers discussed above, the web browsing experience can also be simplified by using bookmarklets (on Safari, as well as all the other browsers mentioned above).  Finally, getting access to ALL of your PC bookmarks (or “Favorites”) right on the ipad, is possible as well. 

I will address these in future posts.  

Monday, March 14, 2011

iMovie on the iPad

Ok, a non-business post related to the iPad (I couldn't resist after spending time with this app over the weekend).  With the release of the iPad 2, Apple has unveiled the iMovie app.  iMovie, just as it sounds, makes it simple (REALLY simple) to create movies right on the iPad.  It provides easy access to your content (photos, video and music), which can be easily manipulated and output to a movie file.

In about 30-45 minutes, I was able to create a 4 minute video using pictures of my kids and stream it to my LCD TV (using AirPlay and the AppleTV).

Although designed for the iPad 2, it is possible to put the iMovie app on the first-generation iPad (Wired.com provides an excellent overview of how), which is what I did.  Granted, this is not a real straight forward process, but it does work and is worth the effort to figure it out.

The downside of iMovie?  You need to have the content you want to use stored locally on your device, meaning pictures, video and the music library.  This can take up a significant amount of space, depending on the amount of content you have.

Apple iPad Guide - iOS 4.3

Last week, I pre-ordered Apple's iPad User Guide (iOS 4.3 version) and I "received it" over the weekend.   This is a FREE iBooks download that is currently available through the Apple bookstore.  It is a 451 page user guide that is certainly worth having resident locally on your iPad.

Enjoy!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Apple Releases iOS 4.3

Apple released it's new iOS software on March 9, 2 days in advance of the release of iPad 2.  Although nothing huge in changes has been made, it is worth getting the update on the iPad as soon as possible.  Here is a useful article summarizing the enhancements in the new update.

AirVideo, which is a video streaming app for the iPad that works with media content on your Mac or PC, especially has some nice improvements.  The ability to use AirPlay to stream your content to a TV through the AppleTV device has been added.  What does that mean?  If you are at a friend's house and they have an Apple TV, you can stream content from your home media content to the iPad and display it on your friend's TV.  Pretty slick!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What are the real business uses of the ipad in the corporate world?

This question was posed on Quora today.  Additional comments to the question included:

"Yes, it's fun, and great for consuming content, but what are the uses that bring value to a manager in a large enterprise?"

I decided to post here since I think a lot of iPad users, certainly new ones, may wonder about this.  I replied on the Quora site and here is the link.  I expect that other comments will be received, so come back to it occasionally if this is a question you are curious about.

Also, if you have not tried out Quora.com, check it out.  It really gets some good questions and insight.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Finding Easy Wins

Identifying Easy Wins

As soon as you acquire an iPad, the common thought is “what can I do with this?” Although the iPad is a fantastic device, it is not necessarily simple to implement in the business environment. There are thousands of apps, many with the same, or similar, capabilities.

Our suggestion to any business executive new to the iPad is to play with it and identify some “easy win” type of items that can be implemented quickly to gain Company buy-in and momentum towards iPad integration.

Here are a couple of ideas that we have found successful in moving forward quickly:

  • Create a basic “Document Library”. The iPad can literally hold a library of content, which is readily accessible at all times. Content typically includes anything an executive might want access to – marketing materials, technical reference documents, books, peer information, and relevant industry information, among others. This can be implemented quickly, is easy to maintain, and requires no executive interaction (other than using it) once the process is set in place. An excellent article published at iPadCTO.com specifically regarding this topic can be found here.


  • News Management. Get your favorite news apps loaded and start using the iPad for all news review. It will quickly come to be your favorite way to digest news, simply because of the convenience and touch-screen interface. Also consider “read-later” apps such as Instapaper and Read It Later. These provide incredible flexibility to accumulate things for later reading.

More ideas later…

Thornhill kicks off "All Things iPad" Blog

Since the launch of the iPad in April 2010, Thornhill has been working with companies and executives to understand and better integrate the iPad into their work flow processes. In addition to education through various seminars we have conducted, we have also developed unique business solutions to facilitate streamlining certain processes using iPad’s capabilities.

The one common request that we have received is provide input regarding specific business related apps and best practice considerations based on our research and experience. As a result, we have started this blog and will attempt to provide timely, interesting and, hopefully, occasional original thought on topics our client and friends may find useful as the venture down the tablet integration road.

So, welcome to our blog! We hope you find it useful and visit us often.