iPad Mini: Review: iPad mini as a business tablet..

[bigboar]

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-te...-tablet-206314

[palpatine]

Originally Posted by bigboar

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-te...-tablet-206314

Did you have a thought on this article, or did you just swallow their option whole? Here is one paragraph from it:

"Yes, it's a far superior media tablet than the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7 -- as Apple products tend to be when they enter an established market. And the iPad Mini outclasses both the 7-inch Nexus 7 and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 7 as business tablets. But the iPad Mini is also every bit as good as a full-size iPad as a "regular" business tablet, at least if your apps are readable on it, as so many are. That surprised me. For people in highly portable field jobs, the Mini could make the regular iPad look as excessively bulky as the iPad compared to a laptop."

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the form factor for productivity tasks, because I find the iPad or full-size Android tablets to be better suited with their large screens. More importantly, though, I think you have to clarify (for yourself, at least) what "business" means. For my work, the iPad is easily used for maybe 90% of my content creation and consumption. For other people, it is totally incapable of doing serious content creation. It's here that these fluff pieces kind of fall apart. They lack the kind of specifics that would enable people to make an informed decision.

Too bad, because I bet a lot of "business" people out there are wondering if they can make use of the Mini.

[bigboar]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Did you have a thought on this article, or did you just swallow their option whole? Here is one paragraph from it:

"Yes, it's a far superior media tablet than the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7 -- as Apple products tend to be when they enter an established market. And the iPad Mini outclasses both the 7-inch Nexus 7 and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 7 as business tablets. But the iPad Mini is also every bit as good as a full-size iPad as a "regular" business tablet, at least if your apps are readable on it, as so many are. That surprised me. For people in highly portable field jobs, the Mini could make the regular iPad look as excessively bulky as the iPad compared to a laptop."

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the form factor for productivity tasks, because I find the iPad or full-size Android tablets to be better suited with their large screens. More importantly, though, I think you have to clarify (for yourself, at least) what "business" means. For my work, the iPad is easily used for maybe 90% of my content creation and consumption. For other people, it is totally incapable of doing serious content creation. It's here that these fluff pieces kind of fall apart. They lack the kind of specifics that would enable people to make an informed decision.

Too bad, because I bet a lot of "business" people out there are wondering if they can make use of the Mini.

actually, I just posted it so anyone thinking about using it for business could see someone elses take on it...It is nothing but an opinion, no need to get defensive....

[palpatine]

Good point. Not defensive so much as easily annoyed on forums with posts that have nothing but links. In other words, I'm lazy

Anyhow, I look forward to hearing more from people about what kind of productivity use cases work best for the Mini.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Did you have a thought on this article, or did you just swallow their option whole? Here is one paragraph from it:

"Yes, it's a far superior media tablet than the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7 -- as Apple products tend to be when they enter an established market. And the iPad Mini outclasses both the 7-inch Nexus 7 and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 7 as business tablets. But the iPad Mini is also every bit as good as a full-size iPad as a "regular" business tablet, at least if your apps are readable on it, as so many are. That surprised me.
For people in highly portable field jobs, the Mini could make the regular iPad look as excessively bulky as the iPad compared to a laptop."

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the form factor for productivity tasks, because I find the iPad or full-size Android tablets to be better suited with their large screens. More importantly, though, I think you have to clarify (for yourself, at least) what "business" means. For my work, the iPad is easily used for maybe 90% of my content creation and consumption. For other people, it is totally incapable of doing serious content creation. It's here that these fluff pieces kind of fall apart. They lack the kind of specifics that would enable people to make an informed decision.

Too bad, because I bet a lot of "business" people out there are wondering if they can make use of the Mini.

Perhaps you work at a desk?

I thought the article was pretty reasonable overall. You might try reading it again, and think about people doing things that don't involve sitting at a desk.

[HowardSmith]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Good point. Not defensive so much as easily annoyed on forums with posts that have nothing but links. In other words, I'm lazy

Anyhow, I look forward to hearing more from people about what kind of productivity use cases work best for the Mini.

The OP just posted a URL for everyone to read.

You DID get defensive.

[palpatine]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Perhaps you work at a desk?

I thought the article was pretty reasonable overall. You might try reading it again, and think about people doing things that don't involve sitting at a desk.

Nope. I work on the move. I find the iPad to be perfect for my needs, and the smaller form factor to be inadequate. BUT, that is just for the productivity use case I have. I wonder if other business people will find the Mini to be a better device than the iPad for work, or for that matter, better than the MBA.

Originally Posted by HowardSmith

The OP just posted a URL for everyone to read.

You DID get defensive.

SORRY Many apologies for my defensiveness.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Nope. I work on the move. I find the iPad to be perfect for my needs, and the smaller form factor to be inadequate. BUT, that is just for the productivity use case I have. I wonder if other business people will find the Mini to be a better device than the iPad for work, or for that matter, better than the MBA.

When you use your iPad, are you mostly sitting down?

I wouldn't consider the mini to be something to compare to the MBA -- the regular iPad seem to be in that category. I'd consider the mini to be a more productive alternative to the iPhone or Touch.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see how the mini winds up being used -- it's a fairy personal choice.

[palpatine]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

When you use your iPad, are you mostly sitting down?

I wouldn't consider the mini to be something to compare to the MBA -- the regular iPad seem to be in that category. I'd consider the mini to be a more productive alternative to the iPhone or Touch.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see how the mini winds up being used -- it's a fairy personal choice.

Usually sitting down -- coffee shops, classes, planes, trains, reclining bike in the gym, etc. I don't get much done on anything while standing up, but if that were someone's use-case, then the Mini would be far better than the iPad.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Usually sitting down -- coffee shops, classes, planes, trains, reclining bike in the gym, etc. I don't get much done on anything while standing up, but if that were someone's use-case, then the Mini would be far better than the iPad.

Or where transport weight or size it very important.

Sometimes when people pack, every ounce is critical. Also, the mini will fit into some large pockets, which can mean the difference between having your hands free or not ... or having to deal using a pack or bag of some sort.

[glen e]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Or where transport weight or size it very important.

Sometimes when people pack, every ounce is critical. Also, the mini will fit into some large pockets, which can mean the difference between having your hands free or not ... or having to deal using a pack or bag of some sort.

Amen! When I pack ipad, speakers, projector, cables and presentation materials on a plane 3 -4 times a week, every ounce/cu ft is critical...the mini will really help doing keynote presentions in multi cities in a week...

[palpatine]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Or where transport weight or size it very important.

Sometimes when people pack, every ounce is critical. Also, the mini will fit into some large pockets, which can mean the difference between having your hands free or not ... or having to deal using a pack or bag of some sort.

Good point. I usually do presentations with the iPad or iPhone. I could see where the Mini would be nice for some use cases like that. Still, I wouldn't want to work on the Mini, so I'd probably bring my iPad for work stuff, have my iPhone with me (as usual), and leave the Mini behind.

Now, if the Mini (or better yet, the iPad) worked as a phone, then I'd be very interested. I don't make many calls, and when I do, I almost always use Bluetooth. I can't remember the last time I held a phone to my face. It must have been weeks or months ago.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Good point. I usually do presentations with the iPad or iPhone. I could see where the Mini would be nice for some use cases like that. Still, I wouldn't want to work on the Mini, so I'd probably bring my iPad for work stuff, have my iPhone with me (as usual), and leave the Mini behind.

Now, if the Mini (or better yet, the iPad) worked as a phone, then I'd be very interested. I don't make many calls, and when I do, I almost always use Bluetooth. I can't remember the last time I held a phone to my face. It must have been weeks or months ago.

I'm also a fan of using the biggest screen possible for the circumstances. I'm posting this on my iPad, but would much rather be doing it on my MBA which is right next to it, but is having wifi problems...

Check out Talkatone on your iPad. I make over 90% of my calls on my iPad.

[palpatine]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

I'm also a fan of using the biggest screen possible for the circumstances. I'm posting this on my iPad, but would much rather be doing it on my MBA which is right next to it, but is having wifi problems...

Check out Talkatone on your iPad. I make over 90% of my calls on my iPad.

Cool. I'll give it a think. If it works out for me, I just might think of getting a data plan for my iPad and ditching my phone. Would such a thing be possible?

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by palpatine

Cool. I'll give it a think. If it works out for me, I just might think of getting a data plan for my iPad and ditching my phone. Would such a thing be possible?

If you have a landline phone #, it should work -- you need an established # to use GoogleVoice. I just use a cheap dumbphone with a prepaid T-mobile account for my #.

You might also want to check out the Vonage app. That doesn't require GoogleVoice.

[jonfarr]

Using the ipad for my job requires me to carry it for hours on end while walking and trying to type notes, email, etc... Need portability as I am constantly on my feet, hardly ever at a desk (when I am, I am on my laptop anyways).

I had an iPad 3 with LTE which was convent, but I would always find my self having to set it down due to strain and also not having a spot on my person to store it.

The mini can now be held in one both in use and not, is extremely light, and can also fit in my back pocket. Makes the mini a winner for me. Screen resolution could be better, but it is not a deal breaker.

Outside of that, I use the iPad to listen to music or watch movies. Don't really play games too much. I will usually plug the ipad into a TV via hdmi. Don't usually watch movies on the device its self, unless on a plane.

[twylie]

We rolled out iPads to our Sales and Executive teams as soon as they were launched. We upgraded to the iPad 2 for the camera but haven't felt the need to upgrade to the 3 or 4 yet. Primarily it's a laptop alternative for when they are traveling or speaking with clients. Most importantly, we reworked all of our Sales and Marketing literature, images, and videos to be iPad friendly and use the built in apps for Photo galleries and Videos. For PDF's and other "printable" docs, we use Goodreader and have everything loaded so they can pull up whatever is needed and share in real time with the client, handing them the iPad to review or flip through. When done, a couple of clicks and it's emailed to the client.

With the 2nd gen iPad's camera, we take site photos and use Adobe Ideas to "draw" the proposed work and changes to real time images of the client work area. These are also mailed to the client during the visit.

Finally, we log everything in Salesforce via the iPad app to close the loop and schedule follow-ups (checking calendars and resources on the iPad).

It's been a HUGE success for us in driving new business and being viewed as a cutting edge business. For the first 6 months after the iPad was released, many people we pitched to had still not held one in their own hands, so we got lots of buy in from the clients as to how responsive and well we could understand and meet their needs. No need to say "I'll get that for you when I get back to the office" or "I can send that over later".

We will likely roll out a set for our Board meetings as well and use Idea Flight or similar to "drive" a coordinated electronic presentation and distribution of Board packages.

Now to the "mini" part of the story...

I received a 16GB mini last Friday and have been testing it to see if it will be preferred for our business usage. While it's an amazing device and form factor, for us the larger screen is where we'll stay for presentation and interactive devices. The fullsize iPads are comparable to a sheet of paper so being able to re-purpose out existing hardcopy docs (also used for trade shows and hardcopy brochures) makes the most sense. On the mini, much of our text is too small to read in fullscreen view and having to zoom and scroll works against the interactivity that we've had great success with so far.

I still may order a handful of the minis to see what other ideas people come up with, but for now, we'll continue to issue full size iPads to key staff. We have many people that rarely touch their laptop anymore so the FS iPad may be the new laptop and the mini may become the new thin light device to check email, surf, and such.

FWIW, most of our staff are in their 40s and 50s so our eyesight is far from great and small text is a bitch to read - especially through bifocals or old eyes.

We're also looking at implementing our materials into an iBook using iBA so interested clients can download an interactive, but controlled for of our content.

edit: choice of FS iPad or mini will likely be driven by needs and primary app use. I appreciate that Apple has given us a choice of form factors as it doesn't have to be a one size fits all model any longer.

[RevTEG]

My productivity really slowed today using the small keyboard on my mini. I use my iPad 3 daily. Maybe I just need to get used to the smaller keyboard. But at this point my mini (although cool) will NOT replace my iPad 3.

[xtalicious]

Originally Posted by RevTEG

My productivity really slowed today using the small keyboard on my mini. I use my iPad 3 daily. Maybe I just need to get used to the smaller keyboard. But at this point my mini (although cool) will NOT replace my iPad 3.

Have you tried using an external keyboard? I'm thinking about a mini for work-related tasks, and am concerned about the small keyboard.

[haruhiko]

Originally Posted by bigboar

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-te...-tablet-206314

I just gave a presentation using my iPad (3) with the Keynote app and the VGA adapter (well, we still have the old interface everywhere). To me it's even more "business" than my laptop.

[haruhiko]

Originally Posted by xtalicious

Have you tried using an external keyboard? I'm thinking about a mini for work-related tasks, and am concerned about the small keyboard.

I use Logitech's Ultrathin keyboard cover with my iPad when I'm in the office. It works perfectly as a laptop replacement.

[RevTEG]

Originally Posted by xtalicious

Have you tried using an external keyboard? I'm thinking about a mini for work-related tasks, and am concerned about the small keyboard.

Thanks for the help. Yes, I do have an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. I don't need it with my iPad 3. I can type fast on it and I don't like having to pack extra things like my keyboard while traveling weekly.

The iPad mini would require a keyboard (for me) to really be productive on its small keyboard.

For me my mini is more for relaxing and fun. My iPad 3 for work. I could easily make it without my mini.