Being a fan of all things new and shiny, I had to buy an iPad when the weekend after they came out. And just in case I needed it in different areas, I got the 3G model.  We have a house full of technology and this was a must have!

Anyway, I set everything up, synched the apps from my iPhone (including the kids’ games) and reviewed Mashable’s suggestions for the 10 best iPad apps (http://mashable.com/2010/05/29/10-must-have-ipad-apps/). I resisted temptation and only took up seven.

Next I took a look at the business apps (http://mashable.com/2010/04/18/ipad-apps-business/). I added four.

Then I transferred some documents and presentations across that may be useful, as well as loading up Drop Box and I was all set to go. But since then, outside of email, I think I’ve used it twice for business purposes.

So, what has been the biggest challenge?  Probably the need to aggregate content to yet another device as we haven’t migrated all documents to the cloud. I need some workarounds just to use the device – I have to sync across different platforms, put files into Drop Box and try to prepare and pre-plan as much as possible.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan.  For personal purposes and use I have a raft of movies, use it for email, social media and accessing the Interweb. I have a number of apps that I now can’t do without!  It’s just that I haven’t been able to adapt the way I do things to the way this device operates to be confident enough to take the next step and leave my laptop behind.

OK, so that’s from an unsophisticated user’s point of view – what about from a marketer’s?

Like all things Apple, the iPad is positioned to focus on the experience, rather than the hardware. Is it for fast media consumption or is it for function and a replacement to current desktop / laptop / netbooks?

How has the iPad affected business / marketing in your organisation?  There is a school of thought that marketers looking to cash in on this device need to offer new levels of interactivity to reach increasingly sophisticated consumers.

Is that really the case?

There is commentary that some of the barriers for marketers developing campaigns for iPads include the more practical issues such as not being able to use standard web browser plug-ins such as Flash or Java to render content. Pages must have fluid layouts that scale to either device orientation. The ability to rollover or hover has no relevance on touch screen devices.

And also, due to potential speed limitations / bandwidth, content cannot be too byte-heavy.

Is the iPad a game changer for your business?  Or is it another device that we as marketers need to be conscious of and consider how the customer connects with the organisation? Has anyone done any purpose built activity?

At this stage I think the jury might still be out….