iPad: a Toy or Tool?

In reality, the iPad can be both. When I purchased my first one almost two years ago I thought, “hey a new tech gadget,” but really didn’t know how I was going to use it. I thought it would be more of a toy than a business tool. At a conference I was attending, one participant said in their mind it was just a big iPhone without the phone. It just showed that they had not ever used one.  The longer I have it the more I utilize it everyday in my business world. This is not to say that occasionally I will play Angry Birds or check FaceBook. It is a great tool (and toy) for that also.
The thing that makes the iPad so good for business is the Apps. A tablet is only as good as the Apps that are available for it. I have a list of favorites, but the ones I utilize most are DropBox, Office2HD, Evernote, PDFExpert and iAnnotate. These are what I call my "heavy business" apps. I move a lot of documents to DropBox and Evernote for client meetings. This way I can just carry my iPad for the meetings and do not take a large briefcase. The iAnnotate and PDFExpert allow me to easily review pdf documents and comment and make corrections to send back to staff when I am traveling or just working out of the office.
Another great thing about the iPad is the ability to aggregate data for your use. Through InstaPaper iBooks, Early Edition, Wall Street Journal and Newsweek, I am able to pull data together in one place for future use and consumption. It is so much easier on the iPad than on a regular computer. It is instant on and ready for use and in a nice form factor.
So much more can be said about the iPad, but we'll save that for another day. For me, I would have to give the thumbs up that it is much more of a tool than a toy.
/posted by G. Alan Long, CPA, CITP