Most people now understand that computers play a vital role in setting up and running businesses but still see the iPad as a gadget to watch films on. There is a growing number of business folk who are seeing benefits from using an iPad and you too could become one of this growing army. This post lists 10 great reasons why you should consider using an iPad either to run your business or to use during your working week:
1. Battery Life
Battery life is awesome on all iPads. You tend to get around 10 hours from a full charge which mens you can easily work for a whole day without having to hunt around for a plug socket. Great battery life means you can work almost anywhere that you can get an internet connection (either WIFI or 3G or now 4G).
2. Loads of great free and cheap apps
Software that used to cost an arm and a leg now is available either free or very cheap on the iPad. Most paid for apps cost less than £10 and provide functionality that would have otherwise cost £100’s on a PC or Mac. This is possible because the App Store controls the sale and installation of apps and that App developers have access to such a huge market that they can make more money from pricing their software lower.
3. It’s so easy to use
Apple spend thousands of man hours perfecting details to make your life easier. They understand that people need technology to improve how we live and work. A testament to this ease of use is the lack of manual in the box. With no manual you switch it on and let the iPad guide you through the initial steps. Once you are online you can then learn from the wealth of experience published on the internet (like here) and written in eBooks.
4. It just works
On the back of it just works is the promise from Apple that it just works. I can hand on my heart state that the iPads I have owned have all worked beautifully. I have had the occasional crash (i.e. its stopped working). But nothing that restarting hasn’t fixed. In terms of computing this level of stability is almost unheard of and gives you the confidence to get to work on it straight away.
5. The investment is repaid over time
Yes there are other tablets on the market (I own a Google Nexus 7) but once you’ve purchased your iPad you can be sure that it will get free software updates for a few years. And will continue to have apps that run far longer. The first iPad (we are now up to 4th generation) has only just stopped being able to receive the latest version of the operating system (iOS 6). This is not always the case with other tablets because hardware companies (like Samsung) need to be selling new kit so may only let the latest version of Android (alternative to iOS) on it’s latest gear.
6. Camera
The back facing camera is brilliant for taking snaps and video whilst you are out and about. When given business cards photograph them so you have a record of the persons details but also when and where you met them (photographs are geo-tagged if you are connected to the internet). After you’ve made some hand written notes or drawn a little sketch take a shot of this too as it is so easy to lose these bits of paper.
7. Surfing the Web
When there isn’t an app for a particular task then the Safari web browser provides you with one of the best web surfing experiences around. I rely heavily on Safari to look at Google Analytics and Google Adsense reports as these tools are better than the free apps I’ve found.
8. Email
Email is still a vital part of keeping in touch. Whilst many like to communicate via Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus, email still is an important means of communication for business. Luckily iPad comes complete with an email client that connects with a wide variety of email services.
9. All of the Social Media Giants are on iPad
You name it Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest all have iPad apps. These will help you keep you in touch with your social media crowd wherever you may be.
10. It plays films too
If you spend time commuting then you will appreciate that your iPad is a brilliant screen for watching films or TV shows on.
and the list goes on…
there are tons of other reasons why you’d use an iPad for business. So if you have any that you’d like to share then please leave a comment.
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