iPad in Japanese business
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With the iPad having been out in Japan for just about a month, iBridge Research Plus thought it about time to conduct another survey on Apple’s iPad. japan.internet.com chose to focus on the business applicability of the device in their report.
Demographics
On the 21st of June 2010 300 employed members of the iBridge monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 72.3% of the sample were male, 14.7% in their twenties, 33.7% in their thirties, 29.7% in their forties, 19.0% in their fifties, and 3.0% in their sixties.
Shortly after it came out I read an article about a doctor in Japan using one in the operating theatre. At least he put it into a bag, but I thought it was a highly irresponsible thing to do, as the wi-fi could have interfered with the critical devices, for instance. For general hospital use, it needs a lot of work to be either germ-proof or washable – Panasonic already make a robust but boring tablet for medical use, but I’d be much more comfortable seeing a medical professional using that instead of an iPad!
I think the significant roles for the iPad in business are perhaps limited to photography-related work and to life insurance and other financial salespeople, especially of the home visiting type. There’s probably also a niche for travel agents as a terminal for customers to view virtual brochures and the like.
Research results
Q1: Do you know the iPad? (Sample size=300)
Yes, have bought one 1.7% Yes, have touched one 11.3% Yes, have seen one 25.3% Yes, have heard about it 60.3% No, not heard or seen it 1.3% Rather surprisingly, of the five purchasers just two wanted to continue using it, suggesting that three had either got bored or had bought it for someone else. The reason for this was not explored. Of those 291 who knew about it but hadn’t bought it, 153 wanted to use it. Adding in the two who had already purchased and wanted to continue using it, these 155 were asked the following.
Q2: Do you think the iPad can be used for business? (Sample size=155)
Yes (to SQ) 83.9% No 16.1% Q2SQ: In which business locations do you think the iPad can be used? (Sample size=130, multiple answer)
Votes Percentage Office 104 80.0% School, other education 94 72.3% Hospital 89 68.5% Library 83 63.8% Shop 81 62.3% Local government office 75 57.7% Train, bus 68 52.3% Factory 61 46.9% On the street 61 46.9% Other 20 15.4%
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“I thought it was a highly irresponsible thing to do, as the wi-fi could have interfered with the critical devices” and radios make airplanes fall out of the sky. Besides the doctor could have had it in “airplane” mode. This would have turned off all the antennas. Also I believe the video shows the iPad in or behind a plastic covering. I think you should have been more worried about the camera crew at the operation.
You are making a large number of questionable assumptions. They verge on being straw-man arguments.
“Shortly after it came out I read an article about a doctor in Japan using one in the operating theatre. At least he put it into a bag, but I thought it was a highly irresponsible thing to do, as the wi-fi could have interfered with the critical devices, for instance. For general hospital use, it needs a lot of work to be either germ-proof or washable ”
You are assuming that the doctor is using wi-fi, rather than files which he has already downloaded. He may not be; he may have planned for any interference. He may not have experienced any interference at all. You don’t know.
You also assume that an industrial quality zip-bag cannot be sterilized. This is not so. There a sprays designed for plastic which will kill anything biological. I am assuming that you are not a doctor, so you have no expertise in this area.
That boring Panasonic tablet must have some disadvantages or the doctor would not be using an iPad. I doubt that cost is a factor.
Also, it is rather difficult to project sales, or where the iPad will be used, after only one month. You are bound to be in error as people find new uses for the iPad.
You seem rather hidebound. Fortunately, more people will experiment with the iPad. They will find its true home. Apple is targeting it for the coffee table, not enterprise.