7 ms·

What nobody talks about is the impact iPad could have on the data-entry / industrial market. I'm pretty certain that I'll be buying a bunch of the 16GB $499 iPa

by chime 17y ago

What nobody talks about is the impact iPad could have on the data-entry / industrial market. I'm pretty certain that I'll be buying a bunch of the 16GB $499 iPads for my job (pharma manufacturing). Make a simple web-app for collecting data and the iPad replaces paper easier than any other 4x more expensive tablet. No need to setup or install software or custom apps: Safari + default onscreen keyboard works just fine.

bjplink 17y ago
As I was tracking the press conference on the live blogs I had the same thoughts as you did. One of my larger clients is a factory setting using a custom built web app for, among many things, inventory control. When it comes time to do physical hard counts we've been stuck using crappy Dell laptops and pads of legal paper. The 16 gig iPad is perfectly priced and seems more than capable of handling our web app. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities for the iPad in industrial/factory settings.
- chime 17y ago
  We did our full physical inventory using MC70s http://www.barcodesinc.com/symbol/mc70.htm http://www.barcodesinc.com/symbol/mc70.htm last month and had absolutely no problems. I bought a total of twelve Wifi MC70s at a cost of $1600 each. I would have absolutely no problem buying 20 iPads if they can replace the mountains of paperwork that need to be filled in manually for every single production run of a pharma product. I would have bought a CrunchPad for $300-ish but I'm willing to pay more for iPad because of the battery life and quality. Now I just need to find cheap barcode scanners that plug into the 30pin instead of USB.
  - jonknee 17y ago
    > Now I just need to find cheap barcode scanners that plug into the 30pin instead of USB. That's going to be tough. Apple controls the 30-pin connector and I haven't heard of any barcode scanners. You're probably better off looking for Bluetooth. Since it supports BT keyboards, you could likely find one that pairs as a keyboard. Won't be cheap, but hey neither were the MC70s.
    - boundlessdreamz 17y ago
      There is a 30pin -> USB connector accessory with iPad by default. That will help with the interface, but how will you get data out of it ?
      - elblanco 17y ago
        Google Docs
        elblanco 17y ago
        >There is a 30pin -> USB connector accessory with iPad by default. That will help with the interface, but how will you get data out of it ? Really, a web enabled tablet computer can't use google docs to solve this problem?
        jonknee 17y ago
        The issue isn't getting the SKUs off the iPad, it's getting them off the scanner and onto the iPad. The iPad includes a USB connector to charge and sync, not to access devices with. There aren't public APIs to access USB devices--the accessories you see that use the 30-pin go the other way (getting music off typically).
        elblanco 17y ago
        Well, the question how to get data off of it. Which I answered and got hammered on and now sit in negative karma territory for my trouble (thanks guys! downvote abuse is awesome!). But whatever, apparently actual answers aren't valued. Getting data onto them (such as scanning barcodes) is a separate question. Apple claims all of the existing app store apps will work on the iPad. But I wonder how many require things like the camera to function? http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/05/red-laser-the-first-accurate-iphone-barcode-scanner-hits-the-app-store.html http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/05/red-laser-the-first-accur... That number is actually probably a bit lower due to "broken by design" problems like this. I'd wager that we'll see an iPad camera accessory offered within 6-12 months that connects nicely to the 30-pin.
jonknee 17y ago
Is there a reason they can't input on the iPhone/iPod Touch? It seems like the iPad (or frankly, any tablet) would be tough to enter data in unless you're sitting down.
- chime 17y ago
  FDA forms are complex: http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/00/01/0001d76b.gif http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/00/01/0001d76b.gif Much easier to have a large 1024x768 screen than try to fit everything in a tiny 480x320.
  - jonknee 17y ago
    If you go Android you're halfway there :) I'm very envious of the Droid's 480 x 854 screen. Update: Just noticed you're across the bridge from me. If you ever need help on the data entry web apps, let me know. I'm working on a similar type thing for a group of medical imaging centers locally (Palm Harbor, St Pete, etc). That's actually what I have the Droid for.
- bjplink 17y ago
  I use my iPhone when I'm on site almost exclusively but the employees at this location probably aren't savvy enough to work with the tiny screen. I'm pretty sure the larger iPad display would eliminate a lot of problems that a tiny iPod touch screen and keyboard would create.
fungi 17y ago
why this and not one of the other significantly cheaper linux/arm tablets? if nothing else they would be less likely to grow a pair of legs.
- jodrellblank 17y ago
  I'm wondering how much the iPad will be like a scaled up iPhone OS - because as a smartphone which syncs with Exchange, you can force policies on the iPhone from the server to require a PIN, allow remote data wipe, encrypt data, and so on - but you can't do that to a Windows desktop with Outlook. I don't know if you can to a Mac with Snow Leopard. If this is going to have OS X/iPhone software, email, a wifi and data connection then it will likely have an ActiveSync connection to Exchange so the policies might be a possibility to keep your data safe(r) in the event of an unscheduled malfunction of an, ahem, ambulatorial nature.
  - cpr 17y ago
    It runs iPhone OS 3.2 with very minimal changes from 3.1. Draw your own conclusions. (Can't say more without risking NDA breakage.)
- chime 17y ago
  1. Much much better touchscreen 2. Better on-screen keyboard 3. Safari 4. Ease of setup/use 5. 802.11n 6. Low Cost/Performance 7. Quality/stability that I expect from Apple 8. Longetivity 9. Battery life 10. Coolness :)
  - jodrellblank 17y ago
    In summary: It's worth spending hundreds of dollars to not have to use Linux / the kinds of devices Linux is associated with. The message the desktop Linux community is refusing to learn from. At least half your points are fairly directly based on the state of Linux at the moment (e.g. Safari, ease of setup) and the other half linked to the state of the ecosystem surrounding Linux which pushes for cheaper and hackier solutions (wifi drivers, perception of coolness, implementation of software and hardware quality).
netcan 17y ago
What nobody talks about?! This thing only got announced 5 minutes ago.
- chime 17y ago
  But people have been discussing for well over a year. Not one prominent bloggers/journalist mentioned the industrial applications. 802.11n + 10hr battery life + standardized browser like Safari is awesome for writing data-collection web-apps.
  - pavs 17y ago
    There is an article for that: http://www.executivehm.com/news/itablet-in-healthcare/ http://www.executivehm.com/news/itablet-in-healthcare/
  - jodrellblank 17y ago
    Should be an awesome opportunity for WuFoo.
  - tjmc 17y ago
    Agreed. Another overlooked option is you can easily get people to physically sign things on it. That's a potential tipping point for a huge number of forms that are still on paper.
    - bioweek 17y ago
      sign with your finger? That's probably harder than signing with a mouse.
      - jcl 17y ago
        Apparently there are styluses that will work with capacitive screens. http://robrohan.com/2009/02/27/diy-iphone-stylus-the-free-capacitive-stylus/ http://robrohan.com/2009/02/27/diy-iphone-stylus-the-free-ca...
      - netcan 17y ago
ynniv 17y ago
If you listen carefully, some people have been talking about exactly this for quite a while. Mostly in terms of hospitals.
- bmj 17y ago
  The question is--how do you lock down this device so people aren't surfing the web or playing games on them? I work on EDC devices for pharma, and this is the single biggest issue for us when choosing hardware--we need the ability to put the device into kiosk mode. That said, if Apple opened this particular bit of functionality up for the enterprise, we would be all over this device, particularly the 3G version.
  - blasdel 17y ago
    You can lock down quite a lot with the Parental Controls in the iPhone OS
access_denied 17y ago
Can't you use a form in iWork Numbers for that?
spc476 17y ago
Sweeter still is if the iPad has the Newton print handwriting recognition software (which was much better than the cursive handwriting recognition). I heard that many a doctor were upset when Jobs pulled the Newton from the market.
keizo 17y ago
Couldn't agree with you more. I am part of a small composites manufacturing company, and I can't wait to put them up all over our shop. It's going to be awesome!

by chime 17y ago

bjplink 17y ago

As I was tracking the press conference on the live blogs I had the same thoughts as you did. One of my larger clients is a factory setting using a custom built web app for, among many things, inventory control. When it comes time to do physical hard counts we've been stuck using crappy Dell laptops and pads of legal paper. The 16 gig iPad is perfectly priced and seems more than capable of handling our web app. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities for the iPad in industrial/factory settings.

chime 17y ago
We did our full physical inventory using MC70s http://www.barcodesinc.com/symbol/mc70.htm http://www.barcodesinc.com/symbol/mc70.htm last month and had absolutely no problems. I bought a total of twelve Wifi MC70s at a cost of $1600 each. I would have absolutely no problem buying 20 iPads if they can replace the mountains of paperwork that need to be filled in manually for every single production run of a pharma product. I would have bought a CrunchPad for $300-ish but I'm willing to pay more for iPad because of the battery life and quality. Now I just need to find cheap barcode scanners that plug into the 30pin instead of USB.
- jonknee 17y ago
  > Now I just need to find cheap barcode scanners that plug into the 30pin instead of USB. That's going to be tough. Apple controls the 30-pin connector and I haven't heard of any barcode scanners. You're probably better off looking for Bluetooth. Since it supports BT keyboards, you could likely find one that pairs as a keyboard. Won't be cheap, but hey neither were the MC70s.
  - boundlessdreamz 17y ago
    There is a 30pin -> USB connector accessory with iPad by default. That will help with the interface, but how will you get data out of it ?
    - elblanco 17y ago
      Google Docs
      - elblanco 17y ago
        >There is a 30pin -> USB connector accessory with iPad by default. That will help with the interface, but how will you get data out of it ? Really, a web enabled tablet computer can't use google docs to solve this problem?
        jonknee 17y ago
        The issue isn't getting the SKUs off the iPad, it's getting them off the scanner and onto the iPad. The iPad includes a USB connector to charge and sync, not to access devices with. There aren't public APIs to access USB devices--the accessories you see that use the 30-pin go the other way (getting music off typically).
        elblanco 17y ago
        Well, the question how to get data off of it. Which I answered and got hammered on and now sit in negative karma territory for my trouble (thanks guys! downvote abuse is awesome!). But whatever, apparently actual answers aren't valued. Getting data onto them (such as scanning barcodes) is a separate question. Apple claims all of the existing app store apps will work on the iPad. But I wonder how many require things like the camera to function? http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/05/red-laser-the-first-accurate-iphone-barcode-scanner-hits-the-app-store.html http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/05/red-laser-the-first-accur... That number is actually probably a bit lower due to "broken by design" problems like this. I'd wager that we'll see an iPad camera accessory offered within 6-12 months that connects nicely to the 30-pin.

jonknee 17y ago

Is there a reason they can't input on the iPhone/iPod Touch? It seems like the iPad (or frankly, any tablet) would be tough to enter data in unless you're sitting down.

chime 17y ago
FDA forms are complex: http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/00/01/0001d76b.gif http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/00/01/0001d76b.gif Much easier to have a large 1024x768 screen than try to fit everything in a tiny 480x320.
- jonknee 17y ago
  If you go Android you're halfway there :) I'm very envious of the Droid's 480 x 854 screen. Update: Just noticed you're across the bridge from me. If you ever need help on the data entry web apps, let me know. I'm working on a similar type thing for a group of medical imaging centers locally (Palm Harbor, St Pete, etc). That's actually what I have the Droid for.
bjplink 17y ago
I use my iPhone when I'm on site almost exclusively but the employees at this location probably aren't savvy enough to work with the tiny screen. I'm pretty sure the larger iPad display would eliminate a lot of problems that a tiny iPod touch screen and keyboard would create.

fungi 17y ago

why this and not one of the other significantly cheaper linux/arm tablets? if nothing else they would be less likely to grow a pair of legs.

jodrellblank 17y ago
I'm wondering how much the iPad will be like a scaled up iPhone OS - because as a smartphone which syncs with Exchange, you can force policies on the iPhone from the server to require a PIN, allow remote data wipe, encrypt data, and so on - but you can't do that to a Windows desktop with Outlook. I don't know if you can to a Mac with Snow Leopard. If this is going to have OS X/iPhone software, email, a wifi and data connection then it will likely have an ActiveSync connection to Exchange so the policies might be a possibility to keep your data safe(r) in the event of an unscheduled malfunction of an, ahem, ambulatorial nature.
- cpr 17y ago
  It runs iPhone OS 3.2 with very minimal changes from 3.1. Draw your own conclusions. (Can't say more without risking NDA breakage.)
chime 17y ago
1. Much much better touchscreen 2. Better on-screen keyboard 3. Safari 4. Ease of setup/use 5. 802.11n 6. Low Cost/Performance 7. Quality/stability that I expect from Apple 8. Longetivity 9. Battery life 10. Coolness :)
- jodrellblank 17y ago
  In summary: It's worth spending hundreds of dollars to not have to use Linux / the kinds of devices Linux is associated with. The message the desktop Linux community is refusing to learn from. At least half your points are fairly directly based on the state of Linux at the moment (e.g. Safari, ease of setup) and the other half linked to the state of the ecosystem surrounding Linux which pushes for cheaper and hackier solutions (wifi drivers, perception of coolness, implementation of software and hardware quality).

netcan 17y ago

What nobody talks about?! This thing only got announced 5 minutes ago.

chime 17y ago
But people have been discussing for well over a year. Not one prominent bloggers/journalist mentioned the industrial applications. 802.11n + 10hr battery life + standardized browser like Safari is awesome for writing data-collection web-apps.
- pavs 17y ago
  There is an article for that: http://www.executivehm.com/news/itablet-in-healthcare/ http://www.executivehm.com/news/itablet-in-healthcare/
- jodrellblank 17y ago
  Should be an awesome opportunity for WuFoo.
- tjmc 17y ago
  Agreed. Another overlooked option is you can easily get people to physically sign things on it. That's a potential tipping point for a huge number of forms that are still on paper.
  - bioweek 17y ago
    sign with your finger? That's probably harder than signing with a mouse.
    - jcl 17y ago
      Apparently there are styluses that will work with capacitive screens. http://robrohan.com/2009/02/27/diy-iphone-stylus-the-free-capacitive-stylus/ http://robrohan.com/2009/02/27/diy-iphone-stylus-the-free-ca...
    - netcan 17y ago

ynniv 17y ago

If you listen carefully, some people have been talking about exactly this for quite a while. Mostly in terms of hospitals.

bmj 17y ago
The question is--how do you lock down this device so people aren't surfing the web or playing games on them? I work on EDC devices for pharma, and this is the single biggest issue for us when choosing hardware--we need the ability to put the device into kiosk mode. That said, if Apple opened this particular bit of functionality up for the enterprise, we would be all over this device, particularly the 3G version.
- blasdel 17y ago
  You can lock down quite a lot with the Parental Controls in the iPhone OS

access_denied 17y ago

Can't you use a form in iWork Numbers for that?

spc476 17y ago

Sweeter still is if the iPad has the Newton print handwriting recognition software (which was much better than the cursive handwriting recognition). I heard that many a doctor were upset when Jobs pulled the Newton from the market.

keizo 17y ago

Couldn't agree with you more. I am part of a small composites manufacturing company, and I can't wait to put them up all over our shop. It's going to be awesome!