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OK, maybe the iPad isn't so bad after all

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17th Jun 2010
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Sometimes as a journalist you have to put your hands up and admit you’re wrong.

When Apple’s iPad was first introduced, I recoiled at the sight of it in Steve Jobs’ hands and wondered how anyone would part with the best part of £500 for what Nigel Harris calls “just a fat iPhone”

But when Nigel asked in his Mac blog, “Does it have a place in the mobile professional’s briefcase or not?” the response was a unanimous “yes”.

“GG” spoke up first, explaining that with Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote applications installed, the iPad handles Office documents while PDF Reader Pro for takes care of PDFs. “It's not perfect, MS Office conversion isn't 100%, but it hasn't adversley affected my productivity,” GG commented.

“I accepted up front that this device is not going to replace my laptop but it will work alongside it - as long as you can do that then you shouldn't be disappointed. It’s certainly replaced my netbook and I'm surprised how little I've used my iPhone for anything other than talking to and texting people.”

After a month using his iPad, Paul Roscoe was “seriously impressed”. For the most part the Apple device has ousted his normal laptop and he now takes PDF versions of client files and accounts to show them on the iPad. “It's ultra easy to zoom in an parts of the accounts and viewing them is clear. It might be novelty, but clients love it and a few really like that we are at the front of technology.”

Roscoe synchs his spreadsheets via dropbox or iTunes and is able to update client details and notes back to his laptop. With a 10hr battery life, he adds, “Web-browsing is brilliant” for sites including FT.com, Timesonline and AccouningWEB.co.uk.
 
Already a convert to Apple, Sarah Douglas was alert to the marketing opportunities the iPad presented. “I think in the future it will be a regular item in meetings, especially as you will be able to hand it around to your clients at the meeting. One of my clients has it in their waiting room, where clients can go onto their website and view their products… It could be put to good use when you’re not, and make your waiting room more interesting for your clients.”

Elsewhere, accountancy bloggers Richard Messik, Dennis Howlett and Steve Livingston have all sung the iPad's praises (even while some people have pointed out its shortcomings on my original Gadget Zone blog post)

OK, I admit it. While I still remain to be convinced of the iPad’s world-saving wonderfulness, there might have been a hint of gadget envy in my initial stance. With so many accountants ranged against me, I know when to admit defeat.

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By stevesat
30th Sep 2010 17:10

I still like the iPAD, best toy I have ever bought!

 

I still like the iPAD, best toy I have ever bought!·         Great for reading the paper early in the morning – e.g. Telegraph has an excellent free App·         Great for surfing the web while sitting in the lounge at night – can pass iPAD easily to my wife to see things of interest·         Great for playing games on it – I like Solitaire, teenagers like Angry Birds, and my wife managed to get up to level 21 on Angry Birds while driving back from France in the summer·         Teenagers watched movies I had rented on iPAD while driving to France in the summer, proving a number of hours of peace in the car, well worth it!·         I can check my emails on iPAD·         And from a work perspective, my Hosted Desktop is always on hand on the iPAD for when I am in meetings with clients – really great way to use the technology, see http://www.hosteddesktopuk.co.uk (disclosure, we re-sell Hosted Desktop UK Limited)·         The list goes on and on for the iPAD!![email protected] 

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