The State of the Slate

By Rob Lovitt  |  January 1, 2011

In light of the runaway success of the Apple iPad, dozens of competing slates and tablet-style computers are about to hit the market. For the business traveler, the big question remains: Can an iPad or other tablet computer be a viable alternative to a laptop or is it just another expensive gadget to pack?

Brad Nickel may work in the cruise industry, but he’s definitely a frequent flier. As such, the vice president of marketing and product development for Landry & Kling, a Miami-based organizer of events on cruise ships, understands the challenge of staying productive while on the road.

Fortunately, he’s discovered a new business tool. It is, wait for it…an iPad, and at a recent networking event, Nickel used it to showcase his company’s services, transcribe meeting notes and access internal documents back at the office. In fact, the device proved so useful, he left something else back at the office, as well—his laptop.

“There was really nothing I couldn’t do with it,” says Nickel. “The iPad and my smartphone were the only computing devices I brought.”

FROM ENTERTAINER TO CREATOR

The irony, of course, is that the iPad wasn’t developed as a business tool, but rather as an entertainment device/media player. Selling more than 1 million per month since its debut last April, the iPad and its touch-screen interface have proven insanely popular for Web browsing, accessing music and movies and, it would seem, launching irritated avians (aka Angry Birds, the game) at evil, egg-stealing pigs.

But does it justify spending money on it for business use? The jury’s still out. Dmitriy Molchanov, a tech analyst with Yankee Group Research, Inc. thinks it falls short due to its lack of a keyboard and more powerful processor. “In terms of producing Word documents or editing spreadsheets,” he says, “the tablet form factor isn’t quite well developed enough yet.”

“It really depends on how intensive your work is,” counters Norm Rose, president of Travel Tech Consulting, Inc. “I do a lot of writing and PowerPoint presentations, and I don’t see using a tablet for that. But if I’m at a conference, I hate having to launch my laptop. The iPad is just so much quicker to turn on.”

For Brad Nickel, that instant-on, always-available access is proving to be a major benefit: “As soon as the flight attendant clears the use of electronic devices, I’m working at the push of a button while the person next to me is waiting and waiting for their PC to boot.” Add in the unit’s small size, long battery life and a host of new improved business-oriented apps (e.g., LogMeIn for remote access, SoundNote to record meetings) and you start to see that sleek entertainment device/media player in a whole new light.

TABLETS TO THE MASSES

You can also see why the iPad’s about to be joined by a host of competitors. According to Molchanov, some 35 “reference” models were on display at International CES, the big electronics show in January. Some will be merely market-testing mockups, but it’s telling that some of the biggest names in the business are gearing up to get into the tablet game.

Among the options: The Galaxy Tab from Samsung, which features a seven-inch screen (vs. the iPad’s 9.7-inch display) and is already available in select markets. The Streak is a hybrid smartphone/tablet from Dell, currently offered with a five-inch screen (but with a seven-inch model on the way). Cisco is set to introduce the Cius, which will emphasize networking and videoconferencing, while Research in Motion (RIM) has unveiled the PlayBook, which is expected to sync smoothly with that enterprise-oriented mainstay, the BlackBerry. According to analysts at ABI Research, worldwide shipments of tablets are expected to have topped 11 million units in 2010.

Needless to say, it’s too early to predict who’ll prevail in the battle for market share, but the clear winner will be consumers. Competition (and open-source software) will likely lead to lower-priced models; new features (e.g., front-facing cameras, multi-tasking) will enhance versatility, and more fast 3G cellular network models will preclude the need to hunt for WiFi hot spots.

All of which is a good thing for business travelers. “This is the first time we’ve seen this kind of competition,” says Rose. “You’ll have a BlackBerry competing against a Cisco competing against a Dell or HP. The flood of these devices will definitely have some resonance with frequent travelers.”

THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

In fact, if the iPad is any indication, the tablet as business tool has enormous potential. Consider, for example, the case of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the non-profit organization tasked with testing the nation’s Olympic athletes for prohibited substances. Looking for a paperless tool to give its agents in the field, the group turned to Ideavise, Inc., a marketing and technology solutions company.

Together, they came up with a plan to purchase up to 75 iPads and create a dedicated app so field agents could complete forms, capture athlete signatures and transmit the appropriate data to labs and USADA headquarters—all at a fraction of the cost of the purpose-built machines and software the group had been considering.

“You could do the same thing with a laptop or a netbook, but the interface is kind of clunky,” says Ideavise founder Brian DeLong. “For this use case, and probably a lot of other cases, the iPad is a game-changer.”