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Sent from my iPad in email signature?

  • Professional?

    Votes: 40 20.9%
  • Unprofessional?

    Votes: 110 57.6%
  • No opinion either way?

    Votes: 41 21.5%

  • Total voters
    191
  • Poll closed .
I don't think it's an issue of being professional or unprofessional, but it helps convey to your coworkers and clients that you're on a mobile device. That can be helpful when someone wonders why you sent a short email or misspelled a word. At my "white shoe" law firm in New York, many partners and associates have iPads and it's very common for them to keep the "Sent from iPad" signature. The same goes for Blackberries and iPhones.

Yep, pretty much. I'm not sure how or why some think it is unprofessional. What image does it convey, other than the fact that you responded with your mobile device? Like you said, it's often important for the others to know that you are emailing from a mobile device. I've seen emails from law firm partners, CEOs and presidents on down send emails with the "sent from iPad" signature. The "Sent from my Blackberry Wireless Device" seems to have been around for years and years and is pretty well accepted in the business world.
 
I use "please excuse any typos - sent from a mobile device."

I'm not advertising for anyone's product - simply building in an excuse for typos so I don't look like an idiot.
 
<snip> A way of showing the clients not only we are technologically advanced, <snip>

technology advanced??? hahahahahahaha
get real, everyone including 12 year olds and grandmas use the iPad. who would assume for a second that using an iPad makes you more advanced then regular folks?

thanks for the laugh
 
I use "please excuse any typos - sent from a mobile device."

I'm not advertising for anyone's product - simply building in an excuse for typos so I don't look like an idiot.

This is the reason to have it, and why when I had a blackberry I used to have sent from my blackberry. But no one ever would think that is cool. So sending from the iPad/iPhone can be seen as the same, in my view.

I don't put it on, personally, because I don't want people to necessarily know just by my response whether I'm in or out of the office.
 
technology advanced??? hahahahahahaha
get real, everyone including 12 year olds and grandmas use the iPad. who would assume for a second that using an iPad makes you more advanced then regular folks?

thanks for the laugh

Glad your amused. Your point is taken, but only to a certain extent. I'm pretty sure my thread specifies that I was asking from a business standpoint. Not everyone who uses an iPad is squandering away their day playing Angry Birds. It is capable of some pretty amazing stuff in multiple fields like medicine, finance, business and education that I am sure your grandmother and 12 year old could hardly utilize, let alone understand. I was somewhat vague on purpose, so it is my fault for not specifying that our clientele are not drooling grandmothers, nor 12 year olds getting their Call of Duty fix. Although I gather from your response that owning an iPad also means one is incapable of being more tech savvy than "regular" folk like said 12 year old and grandmother, I would beg to differ. However, that would be pointless and I'm sure you would simply amuse yourself further with some puerile retort adding nothing beneficial to the conversation. The topic posed was intended as a serious question of perception on an subject seen almost daily by anyone with an email account. So to you "regular" folks that Avalantor refers to, forgive my slight it was unintended. Concurrently I appreciate the feedback of those
providing useful insight.
 
Glad your amused. Your point is taken, but only to a certain extent. I'm pretty sure my thread specifies that I was asking from a business standpoint. Not everyone who uses an iPad is squandering away their day playing Angry Birds. It is capable of some pretty amazing stuff in multiple fields like medicine, finance, business and education that I am sure your grandmother and 12 year old could hardly utilize, let alone understand. I was somewhat vague on purpose, so it is my fault for not specifying that our clientele are not drooling grandmothers, nor 12 year olds getting their Call of Duty fix. Although I gather from your response that owning an iPad also means one is incapable of being more tech savvy than "regular" folk like said 12 year old and grandmother, I would beg to differ. However, that would be pointless and I'm sure you would simply amuse yourself further with some puerile retort adding nothing beneficial to the conversation. The topic posed was intended as a serious question of perception on an subject seen almost daily by anyone with an email account. So to you "regular" folks that Avalantor refers to, forgive my slight it was unintended. Concurrently I appreciate the feedback of those
providing useful insight.

nvm
 
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I think its unprofessional.
And I think its worst if you change your signature but dont remove the "sent from my device" thing because then it looks like you are trying to show it off rather than 'just forgetting to take it off'
 
I guess it depends on what business you're in. Personally I don't care what signature you have.

In my case I have Sent From My iPhone and Sent From My iPad as the signatures but in my job I do support for Mac and iOS devs and it is helpful for the people I work with to know which device I have with me at the moment. If there's a situation where I think the signature might be taken the wrong way or I don't want people to know that I'm on an iDevice I simply delete the signature.
 
Unprofessional to some, fine to others. How could there ever be a concise black and white answer to this?
 
I end all of my emails with:

- Sent from my white iPhone 4 32GB.
PowerMac G4 2x867, 1.25gb ram, 160GB HD, PowerMac G5 2x2GHz, 3.5gb ram, 80gb HD, PowerBook G4, Sony Vaio F, Studio RTA Desks, Office Depot Chair, I am wearing Nike shorts and a Hot Topic shirt. Also, I just spent $5 on a Ventii Frappachino with soy and organic sugar at Starbucks.
*Insert snarky 1 liner here with "**************************" as a link at the end*

...

What? I see sigs like that all the time here! I thought it was cool.
 
I think it's unnecessary. If you want your clients to know how accessible or technologically advanced you are, just prove it by responding to e-mails quickly.

For each person who reads it and thinks "wow, a progressive business", there is probably another who thinks "my grandmother uses an iPad because she can't figure out how to use a real computer" or something like that.

A "Sent via mobile device" is reasonable as it alerts the reader that short responses are because you are on the go and can't type a long e-mail. I think if you are able to hold an iPad and respond to an e-mail, you should have enough time to complete a fully composed e-mail.

Personally I have "Sent via mobile" on my iPhone. Often I will respond saying I got an e-mail, answer any brief questions, but say that I will get back to them with more details when possible so that it doesn't seem like they are not worthy of a sit-down e-mail. (I think of the Seinfeld episode where they said Elaine made a bad move by calling to ask how someone is from a pay phone).
 
Unprofessional to some, fine to others. How could there ever be a concise black and white answer to this?

Easy. Some people think it's fine, but not impressive. Others think it's unprofessional. So at best it's neutral, at worst a negative. There's no gain to including it and potentially some harm. Thus, no sig.
 
Sent from a mobile device: could be from an iPod touch or iPad with no constant access to Internet, could be from an old Blackberry with limited functionality, etc.

vs.

Sent from my iPhone: Always connected device, possible to have access to documents and work files


It might not be important for some of you guys but it does make a difference which device you are on and it can make a difference to other people to know which device you're on.


In my case I'm currently without a computer so all I have is my iPad and iPhone. If my coworkers get an email from me they know that:

Sent from my iPhone: currently on the go but available for questions and emergencies

Sent from my iPad: currently working
 
If you are going to respond "in full" momentarily, why crowd someone's inbox even more with useless messages?

I'm guessing its because the poster, like my wife, works with impatient bastards who will either go ahead and do something stupid that will cause her more work later or will just keep sending emails until she responds. If you are sending out emails to groups, things can sprial out of control very quickly as people toss out ideas that can't actually be done for some reason or the other but since its out there its hard to bring it back. Letting people know you are working on it or will be soon tends to quash it.
 
My iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch all apply a mail signature that says

"Please pardon typos and brevity. Sent from a mobile device."

The reason for saying that should be obvious to all, and I don't think there is anything unprofessional about it. Naming the device, however, always seemed a little tacky to me.
 
I'm guessing its because the poster, like my wife, works with impatient bastards who will either go ahead and do something stupid that will cause her more work later or will just keep sending emails until she responds. If you are sending out emails to groups, things can sprial out of control very quickly as people toss out ideas that can't actually be done for some reason or the other but since its out there its hard to bring it back. Letting people know you are working on it or will be soon tends to quash it.

BINGO! You're exactly right, as far as my business as well. When people are paying you money of any kind, they want instant gratification. Although we live in an amazing age, the technology has created a "now" mentality. I equate to purchasing stuff online. Overnight shipping isn't fast enough anymore! If people could, they'd want an item they bought online teleported Star Trek style. Some of us are just in fields where a quick response is expected and it is better to send something, rather than nothing. Otherwise, the client will find someone who will.
 
Unprofessional. I'm already annoyed by those "Sent from iPhone" or "Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry" signatures from Kijiji emails. I feel like they're bragging about their device. But that signature can make up for the typos and short response.
 
Extremely unprofessional, no matter what type of business or situation (busy, on the move) you're in. That's just my opinion.

Beyond being unprofessional, it reeks of just plain douchebaggery. Who gives a flip on what platform you're replying to me. Just reply with a concise answer to my question or concern, or acknowledge my e-mail and end it that.

The worst signature I've seen was a dopey "Sent from my iPhone because I'm AFK." :rolleyes:

Worst part? This was from a higher-up at my workplace. Silly fool!

absolutely right on. in terms of JPD (just plain douchebaggery), its a move that can be off-putting to the receiver. mandatory signatures with disclaimers are also annoying, esp. with internal emails. No need for them.
 
I think this depends on what the usage is. In the OP's case, it is entirely unprofessional to see that signature in business emails. However, for personal emails it is fine.
 
Unprofessional to some, fine to others. How could there ever be a concise black and white answer to this?

Reading through this this thread, I am starting to agree with you. There are a lot of pro's and con's it appears depending on your stance. It also shows how different everyone is in their perception of things like this. One person might think it is perfectly in line with today's world where someone else might view it, as someone else posted, that it reeks of doucebaggery. Looks like the issue is far from easy to dissect into a pure right or wrong view.
 
What message are you trying to convey by having this on your signature block? I work with Information Management Systems and I use it but only to clients to expand their understanding of how I can help them with their systems across multiple platforms. But for other business I don't think anyone really cares or takes notice.
 
I think that these types of signatures are very useful. For example, it often provides context for why your email is shorter than usual or has typos. Ever seen all the hilarious autocorrect texts? Well, an embarrassing typo in an email is instantly explained with a "Sent from my iPad/iPhone" signature.
 
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