Another good use for the iPad

I just found another good use for the iPad. Perhaps this one is self-evident, but it was an eye-opener to me. Up to this point I had been considering the iPad strictly from the content consumption angle.

I needed to make a list today, away from my computer, but having it end up in the computer. Now sure I could use paper and pen, or the iPhone, or even pull the laptop out of the dock. I’ve got netbooks available to use. But the nice thing about the iPad is that it hits the middle ground perfectly. It’s just slightly easier and slightly more suited to the task in every way. More portable than the netbook and laptop, bigger screen and keyboard than the iPhone, can be synced back to the PC unlike paper.

I agree any one of those other tools would have worked fine. But when I think of the iPad in my home it’s for watching movies, reading books, playing games, catching up on news. I do think of tablets being put to great use in industrial factories for production support. I’m a fan of the current discussion around reducing friction in terms of GTD (Getting Things Done – task management) – that is we tend to keep doing things that are easy – so if we want to do a certain thing, especially repetitively, we need to make it absolutely easy to do. So after today I want to look at common situations, especially around tasks, and see if the iPad can make any of them easier to do.