| By Treff LaPlante |
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| April 5, 2010 06:45 PM EDT |
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6,508 |
On paper, there is nothing particularly special about the Apple iPad, which is scheduled to arrive in retail stores Saturday.
Its performance and size are good but not revolutionary. By Apple’s own admission, it’s similar to a netbook — a downsized laptop whose purpose is to run browser-based or other light applications.
Because it’s Apple, the iPad will be more compact, user friendly, stylish and come with a salty price tag.
But here’s why the iPad is important: It’s the next step in human-computer interaction.
Increasingly, we are lost without access to a computer and the Internet. We install fewer applications from a disc, spend more computing time in a browser and connected to the Internet, and we’re storing more of our important data in the cloud.
A smart phone just doesn’t cut it for many tasks. The screen is too small, the processor too underpowered and the browsers don’t always support a complete feature set.
Not only will it be powerful enough and have a large enough screen to be more practical than a smart phone, but carrying an iPad will feel much more natural than carrying a laptop or netbook. And there are an army of iPhone developers working on new and exciting applications to empower our professional lives.
I likely won’t be standing in line Saturday morning for an overpriced netbook, or a glorified smart phone, but over the coming year I most certainly have the future of professional cloud computing on my shopping list.
This was originally posted on the Central Penn Business Journal Gadget Cube.
Treff LaPlante has been involved with technology for nearly 20 years. At WorkXpress, he passionately drives the vision of making customized enterprise software easy, fast, and affordable.
Prior to joining WorkXpress, Treff was director of operations for eBay's HomesDirect. While there, he created strategic relationships with Fortune 500 companies and national broker networks and began his foray into the development of flexible workflow software technologies. He served on the management team that sold HomesDirect to eBay.
During his time at Vivendi-Universal Interactive, Treff was director of strategy. In addition to M&A activities, Treff broadly applied quantitative management principles to sales, marketing, and product line functions. Treff served as the point person for the management team that sold Cendant Software to Vivendi-Universal.
Earlier positions included product management and national sales trainer for Energy Design Systems, an engineering software company. Treff began his professional career as a metals trader for Randall Trading Corp, a commodities firm that specialized in bartering and transporting various metals and coal from the then-dissolving Soviet Union.
Treff received his MBA from Pepperdine University and a BS in chemical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
http://www.workxpress.com
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