Might business be the real target for an Apple Tablet?

Apple recently announced a January 27th event [1] and speculation is rampant that it will finally reveal the long awaited Apple tablet computer. As the discussion about the Apple tablet-style computer has unfolded over the last 18 months or so, I have always assumed it would be a device marketed with consumers in mind, but what if it has utility in a business setting as well? In fact such a scenario might actually make more sense. Let's take a closer look.

Do consumers need this device?

I recently wrote a post [2] for my DaniWeb blog questioning whether there was even a market for tablet-style PCs. The fact is we have smart phones and we have netbooks and I'm wondering why would we need what essentially amounts to an oversized iPhone. Rumors have the price pegged at $1000, although until we actually hear from Apple, nobody really knows. If it is that expensive though, it's going to make even the most avid geek think twice about buying one.

What if business is the real target?

Remember Tablet PCs [3]? These days you might see them in in your doctor's office where the doctor enters notes into your electronic medical record, but these devices have always been extremely expensive (much more than the projected $1000 price tag for the Apple tablet) and never really took off beyond small niches like medical settings. But a recent post [4] in Venture Beat caught my eye. Apparently Apple Sales reps have been talking to hospitals about using their tablets.

They would be cheaper and far less awkward to carry around than the heavy tablets. On the downside, they lack a keyboard, which I'm sure many doctors would demand. If Apple were willing to sell one--they have refused to even let third parties develop them for the iPhone--doctors could leave external keyboards on desks in examining rooms and connect via USB or even wirelessly. Doctors doing rounds in hospitals could use checklists and the onscreen keyboard to enter information about their patients as needed.

Does it have utility in other businesses

There is little doubt a thin, light-weight device would have utility in many settings besides medical. R&D labs would be a great place for instance. In fact, any place that isn't too typing-intensive would be good. And you have to think if these devices take off, third-party developers will begin to write business applications that take advantage of the touch screen medium just as they have for the iPhone. Perhaps Apple could open a business arm of the App Store for tablets.

It would also give Apple a way into the enterprise, a market that for the most part has eluded them so far. If they could get internal developers inside the enterprise using Macs to develop Apps for the tablet, they could create an internal Mac ecosystem in an entirely new and likely lucrative market. It's hard to imagine that Apple can live solely in the consumer space forever. The enterprise would be a fresh territory and a potentially very lucrative one.

Hard to know what's going to happen with these devices until we see one, but maybe the consumer isn't the primary target (or at least the only one). Maybe there is room in business for this device too. Should be fun to see what happens. - Ron [5]