So, give this a listen -- a survey from the lairs of Sybase has found that among smartphone-owning respondents, some 52.3 percent of them "would use a tablet device such as the
Apple iPad is for working on the go." We fully understand that this phrase leaves open the possibility of using tablets
not Designed in Cupertino, but the mere fact that it's highlighted gave us pause. We're
still trying to figure out how exactly Apple's forthcoming tablet is going to fit between our daily laptop and workhorse-of-a-smartphone, and without a major overhaul of the iPhone OS, we definitely can't visualize ourselves using it for "work." 'Course, maybe they're into something that doesn't require the use of multiple applications at once, and maybe the dearth of a real keyboard isn't much of a productivity killer, but we're just not sold on the iPad being a bona fide work machine as-is. So, what say you? Are you one of those 52.3 percenters? Or do you relate more with the vocal minority?
posted March 24th 2010 5:21PM
Internet research, obviously. Unless someone is getting paid to be a traveling slacker, in which case I need to know where the hell I can send my resume.
@xkaosu9x Probably the people in the Google Maps cars...
@xkaosu9x
770 of 2,443 polled is not "some 52.3 percent"
that would be 1277.689 people.
770 is only about 31.5%
i enjoy reading comments of people who do surveys etc below. these people need to quit their day jobs then... cause basic math ain't their thing
@xkaosu9x Sorry but there is no place for an ipad in my life...posting from an ipod touch
@xkaosu9x
Have fun doing internet research when you can't view flash content.
@samkash
unless u meant 52% of 770, which is only 402 people... which is really only about 16.5% of people... but that would mean u are just grossly mis reporting this story...
either way something isn't right here
@samkash Just about to add that. That makes is a much smaller percentage of the overall, but I suppose a decent percentage of smart phone users surveyed.
@dtxt24
admittedly
@samkash I think they mean 52% of those 770 who are smartphone owners. Read it again.
@sweet greggo Why the crap would you need flash to do research? Unless by research you mean watch porn?
@samkash 52% of the smartphone users that were polled. Misleading figures but not incorrect. Those sorts of polls are meaningless anyway 14/19 people know that.
@samkash
The study consists of an online survey of 2443 adults with a mobile phone, 770 of which own smart phones.
In your case reading English is a problem. :-)
770 is not number of people that said they will use iPad on the go, but number of people that own smart phone out of 2443 that were surveyed.
@sweet greggo
Ya, you will miss all that Flash advertising, Flash Games, and Flash Video and that is the major Work research people do.
But with the iPad you still can get almost all of that Video because any You Tube video can be viewed on the iPad even if it is in Flash on the page because, "there's an app for that."
@garysturn
So using all kinds of workarounds to view Flash content is better than having native Flash support? Okay. That's the most solid argument I've heard.
You might as well have just said "omgzf it'szs teh gr8test thngin evahh thnaks yto Steeeeeeeeeeve!@!!eleventy!@"
@garysturn
No I won't because I'll use Flashblock on the ones I don't want to see.
Any other weak arguments?
@samkash 770 people out of 2443 people own a smartphone.
Among the (770) smartphone-owning respondents, more than half -- 52.3 percent -- said they are most likely to use a tablet device like the iPad to do work.
All 403 of them.
Which would be about 16.5% of the total 2443 people.
Maths is one skill
Reading is, apparently, another.
@xkaosu9x As a Realtor almost all my applications are internet based. My iphone can access almost all of these but is cumbersome on such a small screen. For people in my situation the Ipad could really improve productivity with clients.
Just thought I would point out that the pictures of the iPad in this article are showing a presentation and paper for college, and not for work in the real world. Interesting...
@Tsing Tao
LOL exactly what I was thinking. Flash for research purposes is the lamest excuse I may have heard yet.
@Tsing Tao
Wow. I didn't know there were paid jobs were people research pRon all day. The economy must really be turning around!
Isnt the main argument against putting Flash and multitasking in apple devices (well mobile devices anyways) battery life? Apple claims that the iPad can operate for 11 hours of use. I don't see why it is such as big deal, make it iPad exclusive. Someone please enlighten me with the argument against Flash and multitaskin. And please do not give just a defense, give an actual reason how it would hurt.
@xkaosu9x Lawyer. I'll be using it daily for billing, researching cases, email, dictation, etc. If things work as I expect, I'll be leaving my files on my desk when I go to court.
@xkaosu9x A clear example on how people are drinking invisible Kool-aid. Apple barely touted this as being able to get work done, yes, you can read some stuff on the net. But if people expect to get work done, they will be shocked when it isn't quite so good and they need to shell out extra dough for a keyboard since there is no USB. Also, this partially explains the pre-order numbers, ignorance of the products main functions.
@xkaosu9x I write Flash applications for a living. Is the iPad for me?
@juanvaldez
Yes, I'm sure you speak for everybody who wants and iPad and is planning on doing work on it.
Maybe they could use the iPad to write better articles? But then without a good keyboard you'd get spelling errors instead.
Can't win!
@Bskballa92 It is true that Flash is quite important if you are looking to enjoy the whole web. But unfortunately, it goes against the iPhone OS ecosystem in which you are required to purchase and download apps. A lot of the apps can be mimicked in Flash, for free. So, Apple will not allow this.
Regarding multitasking, this is really a must. However, it has to be implemented the right way. I've used Windows Mobile devices for years, and the mulitasking thing really sucks. I spent half my life having to close apps which were running in the background, slowing the thing down and draining the battery. Look at the Palm Pre. That has great multitasking, but you often get messages asking you to close cards, as there are too many open. Again, the battery life is poor.
I reckon Apple will bring out the solution, iPhone 4.0 in June this year. Just wait and see...
@juanvaldez
Um, u can use a bluetooth keyboard with it, no Dongle required.
As for using it as a business tool, I can't believe engadget is that clueless, the comment thread sure, but the editors of a tech mag?
1) usable in hand remote admin tool. Naff off those KVM's in your server farm, adminster headless servers on the go.
2) desktop portrait with kyb and mobile thin client running a virtualized OS session with baked in exchange, net and custom apps, remote wipe etc plus whatever Win XP/7 at full screen running MS Office.
3) on desk and in field lab tool for data collection analysis running custom apps, a virtual OS etc.
4) point of sale system that de-docks and becomes an instore roaming unit with full screen presentation / db access for showing clients other prodcts etc.
5) 3G enabled sales force tool, baked in email and custom apps, sybase db access for taking orders live back to base, built in video presentations of marketing etc.
6) full screen portable, let's say 48 channel on screen multitouch head for driving lighting and sound rigs. Save about oh, $100k over a desk mounted touch screen dedicated control head.
Now, let's add an accessory...
7) portable hand held, easy touch, easy clean diagnostics front end for all manner of mechanical/electrical scenarios with direct link back to manufacturer to order parts, check your warehouse etc. Add to billing database with sybase app.
---
howls of "my netbook could do all that". 1) -some-netbooks have 3g. 2) no netbook comes with a useful 1024px 20+ cm high portrait screen that can show a full A4 page at 75% 3) using a netbook by holding it aloft with one hand and piddling round with the other is daft and due to form factor quite unstable. 4) no netbook comes with exchange baked in, remote wipe and such ease of lock down or custom app writing for the corporate IT department
Howls of "my iPhone/nexus one" can do that. Yeah, well I selected pre existing apps as examples, ones that are tech curios and nearly useless on such a small screen.
-----
I've actually come to conclude it will be very useful, not just due it being a tablet but because of all the software and baked in items such as exchange, let alone the security of the unit (un-jailbroken). Corporate IT, thin client, schools and labs.
Oh and it's really cheap, not just to buy, but more importantly administer, and reduces licensing costs.
-shrug- now all go ahead and beat me up.
@xkaosu9x On a sidenote, when you mean work as in real work, apple has kids for that! http://bit.ly/apple-child-labor-tactic
@Bskballa92 No, the reason that Apple doesn't want Flash on the iPhone is that it Flash allows for arbitrary code to be executed. In other words, it means that Apple loses control over which applications you can run on your phone, and they don't like that. It's the same reason that the iPhone doesn't have Java support.
@Ruthless A lot of the free Flash apps you think Apple is keeping off the iPhone OS are available as apps... Also for free.
One plus is that you can run an installed app even if you aren't online, whereas you'd have to be able to go online in your browser and load it if you rely on the Flash version.
But perhaps the biggest reason I *NEVER* buy that weak argument is that Apple would sell even MORE devices if they supported Flash, which means more money for them from hardware sales than all the paid versions of Flash apps can bring them.
@xkaosu9x
Is being a 'Hipster' considered a job??
+1 that was good
And that my friend is why my iPhone got sold this week for my new nexus one. I am sick of apple wanting control over a product that I payed full price for and continue to pay a couple thousand to att for a year.
@samkash idiot...
@Cy Starkman i'm surprised your post hasn't gotten flamed.....not that i think it should....i'm not as tech educated as the average (maybe) engadget reader....but from a novice point of view, the first thing that comes to mind for me when thinking about work on an ipad is the cliche image of somebody trying to work on the go. I picture a person outside the office trying to sift through folders of paperwork, prob trying to carry just a little too much, and having that oh no moment when everything spills to the ground.....as they're scrambling to pick up the last of their loose paperwork, a person toting an ipad walks by flicking through emails and sales presentation files
yeah, i think multitasking is a big deal, but i think it will come.....it just wont happen until hardware specs won't get in the way of "the apple experience". that could very well be now and thus included in 4.0 firmware.....but i would def. expect it by ipad 2.0 which is prob when i'll give it serious consideration.
@ummmwhat
I'm actually amazed I haven't been sent into oblivion. There's still time though, not sure, maybe the mobs are asleep.
I like your scene. There's a few things the iPad has over others, but all of what I said could apply to any tablet, as in the usage not so much the baked in. I have been anti tablet for ever and while I still think there's ergonomic issues with the form factor... I reckon this and what comes after (vs what came before) will be increasingly useful. We shall see.
@xkaosu9x
I wonder how many iPhone users think they actually carry a smartphone?
On a serious note - I would answer yes to the question. I would also NEVER consider an iPad. Definitely in the market for a tablet running Windows 7. The survey results aren't all that shocking. Now, if those numbers represented just iPad users then yes, we would have a problem.
@Cy Starkman
I agree with what you say except the really cheap part and I've a few questions around virtualisation, however there are cheaper and better options to carry out all the tasks you mention.
It's not that you can't use it, it's a case of why would you use it?
@Cy Starkman Just a guess...are you by any chance, a baker?
@Cy Starkman
You are my hero.
@Tsing Tao If you are researching the stock market or even your own web stats, Google's graphs are done using Flash.
If you don't have it, you get a crappy image with a message saying:
"For the ubercool interactive charts, you need to install the Adobe Flash Player"
All this can be transitioned to HTML 5 or native apps made but it takes time and I don't see anyone with an IDE yet for HTML 5 content. Adobe own the content creation space and they also own... oh yeah Flash.
The majority of embedded video is done in Flash so while Youtube doesn't need it, not everything is delivered on Youtube.
Flash isn't essential but it's useful in a number of key areas.
@Cy Starkman: almost every example you have given seems to require the use of custom apps or even the running of a virtual OS (can the iPad even do that?).
Surely in all of those cases, a tablet that doesn't have such a restricted OS would be better?
I mean, what if Apple never approves the apps your company needs to be able to make the iPad useful? It would be too big a risk to be justifiable - especially when there will be a slew of other tablets running OSs such as Android or even Win7 which wouldn't have such a risk attached.
I just think that some of your examples are a bit ridiculous (replacing a lighting/sound rig control unit? Sure...) and the few that aren't, the iPad still isn't the best solution that is or will be available.
@xkaosu9x
It inspires you to work because you'll be so bored with this POS!
@User Formerly Known as Dave Yes because you need to see the other side.
@n0ne I see what you did there... thats good.
@samkash It says, of the 770 users that use smart phones, 52.3% responded that they would be using it for work.
If by "work" you mean playing doodlejump.
Doodlejump on the iPad, god yes!
@cmilleraz
And bejeweld. Thinking about getting one just so I can dominate bj blitz haha