6 Things You Wish Your iPad Could Do for Business
There’s a lot of talk about the “post-PC” era, and with the announcement of the new iPad and all of its upgraded features, it seems like we’re getting closer than ever to full-time tablet use. And with innovative uses developing in multiple industries, we feel the device is taking baby steps into the big leagues. But for those who are interested in using their iPad for all of their business needs, even some of the new features are lacking.
Mashable spoke with business people and members of our community to gauge at what is actually missing from their iPads — and what they’d like to see implemented in the near future. This wish list highlights six of these requests, both for hardware and software, from the community. Overall, the message is clear: Those who use their iPad full-time for business-related ventures feel that it’s not fully equipped for every scenario. Whether it’s providing proper function during presentations or properly interfacing with work PCs, there’s plenty more that Apple can do to make its tablet more helpful in daily business situations.
1. More External Tools
“While Wi-Fi is slowly becoming the norm, a lot of hotels and clients,a lot will still offer an data jack/ISDN cable and expect you to do magic. An adapter / minimodem for the single access port would be cool,” says Lance Paterson, owner of Moonlight Consultancy.
2. More PDA-Like Functionality
“The iPad needs to get smarter. It already knows your schedule, your contacts and your location. What if it could automatically coordinate your schedule based on the time, your location and your open calendar slots? What if it could automatically send a text message to your appointments if it detects that you’re running late to a meeting? What if your iPad could provide you with important information about a new contact based on who you both know, your social profiles, and more?” asks David Zumini, digital marketing specialist at CompanionLink Software. “In my opinion, it’s little things like this that can add up to a huge boost in productivity with the iPad.”
3. Projector Capability
“Much of my work involves traveling from place to place and giving product demos. An iPad is great if you are doing a quick one-to-one, but as soon as you have a crowd, you either need a largish laptop (I sometimes use an old 17″ Dell for groups of 3 to 4) or a TV or projector, ” says Nigel Cannings, CTO of Chase ITS.
4. More/Better PC Compatibility
“I wish the iPad would interact better with PCs. Fonts in word docs are always funky,” says Ed McMasters, director of marketing and communications at Flottman Company.
5. More Professional Applications
“What I find most lacking (even in the new iPad just announced) is the absence of major pro applications such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and other software that professionals and businesses like ours use everyday,” says Brian Searl, founder and CEO of Insider Perks. “Until such replacements can seamlessly be used in the iPad, the ‘Post PC era’ can’t officially begin.”
6. The Ability to Code on The iPad
“I wish my iPad can do web/mobile programming so that I don’t have to carry my MacBook everywhere,” says Nur Iman Izam.