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All iPad Competitors will Fail – Really?

May 16, 2010 9:30 am By 10 Comments

“The Apple iPad sure has the entire world interested in what it can do.  I’ve had everyone from managers and directors at the office (including the Chief Medical Information Officer at the hospital where I used to work) ask me what it was, if it was for them, and why they should buy one. Those are hard questions to answer, especially if you don’t know what the person’s intended use for the device is. However, I have had a fair number of those same people indicate that they were going to wait until either a MS/Windows or Android tablet was released and they were going to get it. Really? Personally, I think this is a horrible idea.  Here’s why…”

If you don’t know how someone is thinking of using a product, it is very hard to recommend a suitable product for them. If the person is the Chief Medical Information Officer at a hospital, then you really need to be aware of their plans. There is a significant difference between using the iPhone or iPad for business or enterprise versus using it for personal use. iTunes is a key part of the Apple Ecosystem for personal users. However, security of data on the device, remote management, compliance with government standards and the ability to side-load your custom applications are all key elements for any business that plans to role out a mobile device to their staff.

The way I see it, having a platform that meets and/or exceeds all of the requirements of big business, and also provides functionality to general consumers is more important to long term success. Sure, having a central ecosystem like iTunes is good for consumers, but I would rather have platforms that satisfy both consumer and enterprise needs. Then connecting these altogether with a nice easy to use market/platform would be fairly easy to add on. From XP to Vista to 7, Windows Servers, Xbox, Windows Phone, and Zune, Microsoft has something to help both the consumer and the enterprise manage their lives and their business. Connecting everything together seems easier than Apple’s position of building out those products to where the enterprise needs them.

But that’s just my thoughts. Take a chance to read the article over at Just Another Mobile Monday and let me know what you think. Is everything that goes to compete against the iPhone and iPad doomed to failure?

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About Mike Temporale

Mike Temporale has written 603 posts on Mobile Jaw..

Mike Temporale grew up fascinated by computers since an early age. His first hands on with a computer came when he was 7 years old and a travelling lab of Commodore PET computers made a stop at his school. Hooked on the new world these devices offered, he took any chance possible to get in front of a computer. When Compaq launched the iPaq 3600, he was hooked again. This time on a whole new world of mobile computing. Today, Mike spends his day helping clients deploy and manage their mobile device around the world. From installing custom software, to locking and securing data, and everything in between. He is also the Editor in Chief at Mobile Jaw - a site focused on today's mobile world.

  • Billiam

    What a tool you are.

  • Chris

    You are right…but Iwould argue that stability of the platform will win out over non-standard apps. if you build a custom app for specialized use (as with your CMO friend) you can launch it in any enterprise system and use the iPad as a thin client control…I think this is the wave of the iPad…at least I hope so. if linux can provide an equal stability it may eventually be better for custom apps… but the market has a long way to catch up. The next couple of years is going to be very interesting for software developers. Great blog.

  • http://www.MobileJaw.com Mike Temporale

    @Billiam – thanks for the really in-depth insight.

  • http://www.MobileJaw.com Mike Temporale

    @Chris – Totally agree, stability is a key factor. Apple has found stability to be an issue once they started to open up the API and provide more functionality to the developer. If/when they reach the same level as Microsoft, it will be a challenge.

    I like the thin client control example. I think this is a huge spot where enterprise could really take advantage of the iPad. For now, you would require the interface to be web-based as there’s no way for an organization to side load a custom application on 200 iPad’s.

    But you’re not going to see the iPad in a hospital anytime soon. There’s no encryption for the data at rest, there’s no compliance with HIPPA or SOX. There’s no way to remotely manage that device. Getting encryption and security up to par on the device will take a while. Don’t get me wrong, I think it would be a killer device for a hospital – but the risk of exposing patient data is too great.

    Apple and Google are the best thing that could have happened to Microsoft in the last year or two. They are forced to re-think and re-engineer their products to help fit in the ever changing world. Apple may have the lead, but I’m not going to write off any competitor. Things change too fast for that. ;)

  • http://www.twitter.com/DarrenHumphries Darren Humphries

    I really don’t think this article (at JAMM) hits home at all. The idea that the iPad is the decided and worthy winner of all things slate is wrong-minded. Sure, it’s a very good product but it will not fit every scenario and use case.

    Choice is such a fantastic thing, why in the world would anyone want to limit that? Let’s encourage an Android, WebOS and Windows (Phone) tablet for the sake of choice!

  • Chris

    Mike, Thanks. I’m in the process of designing yet ANOTHER EMF system and need to look at this “in hospital” issue really carefully-with the iPad in mind. My approach is to support DICOM viewing…as it were… on the iPad … along with a toolkit plugin . I know there is a market…and the encryption ..the general HIPPA issue for that matter… has to solve itself after you prove you can support the data and (in particular) the imaging requirements…which I propose are enterprise issues in Linux and windows. If anyone has another approach please let me know….

  • http://twitter.com/mobilejaw/status/14098170840 MobileJaw

    All iPad Competitors will Fail – Really? – http://tinyurl.com/258gsol

  • http://twitter.com/ipadcto/status/14100464530 iPadCTO

    All iPad Competitors will Fail – Really? :: Mobile Jaw – There is a significant difference between using the iPhone… http://ow.ly/17ojl8

  • http://twitter.com/darrenhumphries/status/14104895391 Darren Humphries

    RT @MobileJaw All iPad Competitors will Fail – Really? http://bit.ly/axVilo

  • http://www.pharfruminsain.com Peter Temporale

    Are people still buying Apple products? Really? After little Stevie Jobs bad mouths Flash, and numerous human rights violations, including the recent exposure of staff that felt suicide was the only way to escape: http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Only+Escape+From+Hellish+Apple+iPhone+Factory+Was+Suicide/article18428.htm