What can you do with an iPad?
iPads and other mobile devices from Apple – such as the iPhone and iPod Touch – are incredibly popular these days. Apple sold out the one-million iPad 3’s that were available when the new version was released on March 16. And in the past five years, Apple has sold hundreds of millions of iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches in all of their different versions.
Apple mobiles have changed the kinds of work people do and where they can do it, and mobile computing will just keep getting more popular and mobiles more powerful. But how do these mobile devices differ from a Mac laptop or a desktop iMac?
For one thing, the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch run on a different version of the Mac Operating System (OS) called iOS. It looks and feels different than the Mac OS used by MacBooks and iMacs.
iOS is designed for the smaller screen real estate and is made for finger “swiping” on the screen for navigation rather than us- ing a mouse. The desktop is different, too; icons are arranged in a grid and you can’t scatter file icons around the desktop as you
can on Mac OS.
Another important difference is that not every application that that runs on a full size iMac can be installed on an iPad or iPhone. Web browsers and email applications work, of course, as
well as thousands of other Apps from the App store developed just for mobiles. And for office work, you can use the same iWork suite of programs from Apple that runs on desktops and laptops. iWork includes Pages (a word processor), Numbers (a spreadsheet application like Excel) and Keynote (a presentation application like PowerPoint).
Microsoft Office for work. But recently, Microsoft has been rumored to be working on an iOS version of Office. There’s no firm release date, but if and when Office is released for iPads and iPhones, it will be another turning point in the popularity of Apple products. Hundreds of millions of people use Microsoft Office, and Office for iOS could result in another surge in popularity for Apple.
But probably the most popular application package in use today – Microsoft Office – is not made for iOS. Microsoft Office is available for full-size Macs and is called Office for the Mac, but at this time, Microsoft Office can’t be installed on iPads and iPhones. That might be a deal killer for both Mac and Windows users who want to get an iPad and need Microsoft Office for work.
But recently, Microsoft has been rumored to be working on an iOS version of Office. There’s no firm release date, but if and when Office is released for iPads and iPhones, it will be another turning point in the popularity of Apple products. Hundreds of millions of people use Microsoft Office, and Office for iOS could result in another surge in popularity for Apple.
If you are thinking about getting an Apple mobile, check them out at a local dealer or big box store and see how they will feel for the kind of work you need to do. Find out how easy it is to type and scroll. Mobile devices aren’t really replacements for full featured laptops and desktop computers, but they can very much compliment your regular computer and let you move about and work wherever you need to go.