The key here is to identify what it does as well, or indeed better than existing technologies. In their launch event Apple demonstrated iPad versions of iWork, their office suite (covering word processing, spreadsheets and presentations), with each application being available for just shy of ten dollars. While you probably won't get all of the extra templates, clipart and additional bloat that comes with traditional Office suites you could argue that most people don't use many more features than font sizing or basic formulae. The iPad ships with the same basic PIM apps as the iPhone e.g. Calendar, Contacts, Email (including MS Exchange support) and Notes, all of which will sync with a PC or Mac through iTunes. The iPhone configuration utility allows enterprise deployment, providing easy configuration for individual business settings such as email and VPN access. So for the majority of users it will tick the basic office requirements.
As a presentation tool the iPad excels. It can be connected to an external display, but would equally be suited for one-to-one presentations, ideal for sales staff or board meetings. Data retrieval is also a strong suit; it provides quick access to document, image, audio or video libraries, doing away with the need for storing large amounts of paper. Expect to see estate agents with iPads under their arms from April onwards! It would be equally at home in a manufacturing design office, providing a quick method of viewing product images or technical information.
The iPad supports the popular ePub electronic document format. Publishers will quickly move books, magazines and newspapers over to the format, so people will soon become accustomed to reading on the device as opposed to traditional paper-based media. This will provide companies with an easy way of creating large catalogues in a format that users can digest in a traditional manner. Companies that produce catalogues (such as electronic components or manufacturing consumables) will no doubt warm to this as printed versions are very expensive to produce, and although they will already have full e-commerce on their websites, there is a reason why they still produce printed version - many people still prefer to view information in a book-style format. This would also lend itself well to stock control, providing stores staff with a simple checklist interface when performing stock checks.
All versions of the iPad have the accelerometer and compass facilities, and the 3G version opens up further possibilities, as it includes assisted GPS. Many of us already take the likes of Google maps on our mobiles for granted, but when GPS is embedded into a device implemented at enterprise level this stretches the boundaries further. Imagine an application that provides relevant information to a user when they arrive at a specific location; perhaps a salesman visiting a prospect/customer, or branch data when HQ staff visit. Devices that 'know where they are' could also be used to direct the user to items of interest/relevance around them, although the sensitivity is not good enough for this to locate items on a shelf, for example, and GPS does not always work inside buildings.
