iPad

It seems that the general consensus is that healthcare and education professionals will be the early adopters of iPad-for-Business concept. See below for a quote from BusinessWeek (link/source below):

Professionals in health care and education, as well as students, will probably be among the biggest purchasers of the iPad, says Wolf at Needham & Co. More than 30% of 178 health-care workers surveyed in January by Software Advice, an online software vendor, said they were “very likely” to buy a tablet.

George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., says on its Web site that it will give each incoming freshman the choice of an iPad or a MacBook, also made by Apple, starting with the 2010-2011 academic year.

Source: “Businesses Want Apple’s iPad, Too” by Olga Kharif.

BusinessWeek has a good article on future of eBook for Apple platforms and in general (link below). Here is the blurb on iPad vs Kindle positioning:

The popularity of book-related apps on Apple devices may be especially disruptive for existing makers of e-readers. While sales of standalone e-readers may double to 5 million units in 2010, they may rise only 30% next year, in part because of the iPad’s introduction, says Susan Kevorkian, a program director at consultant IDC. “Content providers have a much richer platform on the iPad” than on the Kindle, says Charlie Wolf, senior analyst at Needham & Co.

As far as the impact on Apple’s bottom line it’s amazing to find out that eBooks are largest content category in the App store – here is the excerpt from the article:

…electronic books are now the largest content category at the App Store, which features apps for the iPhone, iPod touch, and forthcoming iPad, a tablet-style computer due to go on sale Apr. 3. The store boasts 26,976 e-books, compared with 25,330 games, Mobclix says. The surge in popularity is a boon for book publishers as well as software developers such as Oceanhouse.

(emphasis added)

Read the full article here: BusinessWeek on iPad/ebooks