Apple launched their latest Juggernaut yesterday (27/01/10) as I'm sure you are all aware. Now the question on everybody's lips is who will buy one? Will I buy one? Not sure.

Here's why:

In my role as Assistant Sound Editor at Soundelux London, I have a number of roles. I have spent the last 2 years trying to come up with innovative and business useful ways, in order that I could stop paying for it myself and have it supplied by the company. Well good news is I'm almost there with that, but I'm so used to paying for it myself now that I wouldn't change. Why the ramble about it? Well the apps that I've come to love and require on a day to day basis are all compatible with the iPad.

What are these applications?

Mail - Obviously very important in todays world. Majority of my communication is conducted over email in some form or another and therefore requires access all day, every day.

iPad fulfilled? : Yes, that Mail app looks very nice indeed and being based on iphone OS will be compatible with corporate email as well as personal email.

Omnifocus - Get Things Done I use this for everything from my shopping list to dealing with turnovers from the picture department. Maybe not in the traditional GTD format in all it's glory but to some degree. Omnifocus for iphone has Location matching ability too which is great and I use frequently.

iPad fulfilled? : Partly but probably not, it will run as it stands. They have said an iPad optimised version will be available soon too. The problem I have with this aspect is the portability. My iphone fits in my pocket and I can pull it out and omnifocus in seconds. The iPad at least requires a bag or 1 devoted hand to carry it. I quite often run to the stage in the morning with a coffee, my laptop and a whole bunch of drives/power cables balanced on laptop like a tray (not the coffee - carry that by hand :) ).

Bento - Databasing. LFOa lists come from the picture department and I use Bento to track those. Along with Conform lists and the changes within a reel as required.

iPad fulfilled? : I have little doubt that there will be an iPad version of Bento by the time it is released. It will probably do all that I need it to do and more. Wifi enabled should mean that if myself and the second assistant both had one then we'd be in sync just by opening the app at the same time.

Yammer - Corporate Twitter. Being on Mix stages, ADR Stages, Away from the office etc etc means that keeping up to date with goings on at the office can be difficult. We use Yammer to inform our colleagues of happenings on projects (hashtagging) and job assignments (@username). The client for iphone is superb. It has push capability and is a clone of the mac version in its entirety. Invaluable.

iPad fulfilled? : I'm not sure that it would add anything to the experience. The only thing that would make it more valuable on the iPad than on the iPhone was f it were possible to attach files (not just photos) like you can on the Mac client.

TimeCode Calculator - Speaks for itself really. Sometimes TimeCode maths needs to be done on the fly. TimeCode Calculator does this extremely well and I'd be lost without it.

iPad fulfilled? : Yes, would also have the advantage that when I make a mistake everyone in the room can read it not just me ;)

Summary

I really want to like the iPad as a concept. It's a beautiful design but I just don't think that we have a market for it. It's too big to be pocketable. It's doesn't have the ports that a laptop has; as much as Apple seem to want to deny it there is still a place for external hard drives, memory sticks etc.

While it would be great for collaboration on some levels it would be a nightmare on many others. The apps that I use everyday while they may work and even gain more function in heir iPad versions would be let down by the fact that due to it's middle size, I just wouldn't carry it.

As I said I really like the idea, but it's just not for me. For us.

More info