I admired John Dean when he was CIO of Steelcase for the comfort with which he used his HP tablet. In the decade since,I have tried to move parts of my reading/writing load to iPads and Amazon Kindles. It’s always been in fits and starts.
Six months ago, I stated using a 9.7” iPad Pro. Here’s my experience.
Cataloging events for Deal Architect blog
The Apple Pencil and Notes Plus/Notepad + apps have digitized my note taking during keynotes and breakout sessions. I simultaneously take photos of slides on my iPhone, then AirDrop them to the iPad, then store the notes and photos by event on Google Drive. This has organized my Deal Architect blog writing considerably.
I use the Shure USB mic and related Motiv app to record interviews/sessions. I am thinking of recording directly to the Rev.com app since they transcribe most of my recordings.
New Florence Curating
The New Florence blog is always hungry for innovation material as I average 500 posts a year. The Texture app on the iPad allows me to read issues of 50+ publications. I have separate apps for BusinessWeek, Time and a few others. The Kindle app keeps my book reading organized. I take screen shots of articles worthy of blogging and 2-3 times a month future-post them to New Florence. As I start researching my next book, this process should also help in that effort.
Weekend trip report writing
For 25 years, we have made a habit of writing up family trip reports. They go into sheet protectors and we are up to 8 fat folders in the office and a digital twin of 4 gb on Google Drive. With both kids now in their own careers, my wife and I are taking more advantage of my Southwest Companion Pass for short trips. The iPad/iPhone note taking/photograph process I use above for events has similarly streamlined the trip report writing process.
Flight entertainment
I am watching more live TV and movies on Delta and Southwest than I can ever remember in my lifetime of flying. The iPad must take the credit – or the blame.
Much lighter load
I feel spoiled that I can travel with a much lighter travel bag. The iPad with the wraparound Logitech keyboard and cover, and the accessories are so much lighter than a laptop, charging cord and mouse. And I can also leave the much bulkier Zoom digital recorder at home. All the translates to lots of digital content on the iPad. I have used up nearly all the 32 gb of storage in 6 months.
Not there yet
On several on my trips, especially on consulting projects I need to create or edit large Word, Powerpoint and other docs. The laptop is still miles better for that use case. I will also be as I start working on my next book. So, in some ways things are worse because I find myself carrying both my laptop and the iPad and related accoutrements.
I also find when I have to present at events, few organizers have the right cabling for the iPad and even fewer have invested in tools like the Mersive wireless display from Solstice.
On a related matter, it is disappointing to see Consumer Reports pan the Microsoft Surface. I would like to see more professionals start to use tablets on a regular basis, so the apps and accessories keep improving. The iPad Pro is starting to grow on me.
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