Gotta hand it to Apple - they know how to roll out a new product. The marketing lead up generating the excitement that gets people waiting in line for days to be the first to have the product is truly amazing. The excitement for me was the potential for the platform to be used by some of our field workers.
I have had the opportunity to play around with the iPad. All the while I have been thinking about its applicability in my environment. There are a number of very good applications that have been developed for the iPhone that either provide information to our citizens or provide a means to improve the service that government provides.
But where will the iPad fit in our organization? As of now I can think of a few uses, but unfortunately there are a number of things that will limit its use in my organization. These include:
Maybe I was expecting too much or was totally just ignoring the intended audience, but I was hopeful that this device might be the catalyst to really expand the use of applications by our field staff. Think about a police officer filling out a form in the iPad while at the same time recording his notes or taking a recorded statement from a victim and attaching that to the file and uploading it to the department's record system. Think of the time saved, the timeliness of the information, and greater accuracy and completeness. There are some very good solutions that will include the iPad as a platform, but I believe the real silver bullet lies in those applications that it will not be used for.
I like the iPad. I am sure that I will purchase one in the coming months, but I expect that the majority user will be my kids. Especially with applications such as this. For now here's to hoping that Apple can produce one of these devices that can work for our users in the field. Oh the possibilities.....
What are our thoughts on the iPad's use as an organizational tool beyond an executive organizer?
I have had the opportunity to play around with the iPad. All the while I have been thinking about its applicability in my environment. There are a number of very good applications that have been developed for the iPhone that either provide information to our citizens or provide a means to improve the service that government provides.
But where will the iPad fit in our organization? As of now I can think of a few uses, but unfortunately there are a number of things that will limit its use in my organization. These include:
- Poor input options. The on screen keypad is awful to type on. I do not have large fingers and I am a decent typist, but I cannot type two words with the on screen keypad without my fingers hitting wrong characters. The external keyboard is not much better. It is not very adjustable and whether using it sitting at a desk or with it on my lap, my fingers and wrists ached. If the iPad was intended to be used as a business tool an option for a regular, full sized keyboard is a must. Also to potentially be used as a field device some sort of pen input would make it easier to input data.
- No USB support / closed technology. These devices are not iPhones and should be more like a laptop in capability if it is to be used as a business tool. There should be at least one USB port for the transfer of files, loading of programs etc. Organizations will not want to have to load applications solely from the Apple store.
- Not hardened. As I am sure most of you are aware whether technology is used in a police cruiser, fire engine, trucks used by our transportation or water field workers, if the device is not hardened (such as a Toughbook) its life expectancy will be rated in days at best.
- Has anyone ever tried to use the device in the bright sunlight? Even in the shade of a tree it is hard to view. Maybe its just our bright Arizona sun?
- Curiously the operating temperature range listed in the specs is between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. While it does not get below 32 here in the desert southwest we spend at least 5 months out of the year with our ambient temps above 95 degrees. Even today with our temps at 80 - 85 degrees the temperatures inside a parked vehicle quickly climbs above 95 degrees.
Maybe I was expecting too much or was totally just ignoring the intended audience, but I was hopeful that this device might be the catalyst to really expand the use of applications by our field staff. Think about a police officer filling out a form in the iPad while at the same time recording his notes or taking a recorded statement from a victim and attaching that to the file and uploading it to the department's record system. Think of the time saved, the timeliness of the information, and greater accuracy and completeness. There are some very good solutions that will include the iPad as a platform, but I believe the real silver bullet lies in those applications that it will not be used for.
I like the iPad. I am sure that I will purchase one in the coming months, but I expect that the majority user will be my kids. Especially with applications such as this. For now here's to hoping that Apple can produce one of these devices that can work for our users in the field. Oh the possibilities.....
What are our thoughts on the iPad's use as an organizational tool beyond an executive organizer?
