This article first appeared on AnroidCentral.com, and was written by Jared DiPane.
When they say "Droid Does" they really mean it, and we have yet to see a limit be put on that. We have seen devices launch into space, devices take pictures of the lunar eclipse, and now we have seen a device save someone's life. From reports, it appears as though a valet driver had his HTC Incredible in his inside pocket of his jacket when shots were fired at him, but they hit his device instead. The shot hit the battery of the device, which actually prevented the shot from penetrating any further, thus saving his life. Do you think that pretty glass iPhone4 could have saved anyone's life? Just another reason why, Droid Does.
This article first appeared on InfoWorld, and was written by Galen Gruman.
A new survey shows business use is a major reason that employees are getting iPads -- it's not just for videos and surfing
Corporate IT, consider yourself warned: You'll be dealing with the iPad in your enterprise, whether or not you want to. And it won't just be the iPad; tablets and slates of all sorts are on their way in as well, as Android, WebOS, and Windows Compact Embedded 7 devices begin shipping in 2011. That's one of the findings from a survey of 1,100 enterprise employees polled by mobile management vendor iPass in a report released today.
According to survey results, 16.3 percent of mobile employees already have an iPad or tablet PC device, and another 33.2 percent planned to purchase or receive one in the next six months. A surprising 59.8 percent of those planned to use it for significant amounts of work, while 30.8 percent said they would use it for mostly personal reasons but also for some work. (It's a good thing that the forthcoming iOS 4 for iPad offers corporate-level security capabilities that third-party management tools can tap into.) A surprisingly small percentage said the iPad would go toward personal use only.
Here's the breakdown of intended iPad and tablet usage:
All work
4.0%
Mostly work, some personal
15.1%
Equal work and personal
40.3%
Mostly personal, some work
31.2%
All personal
9.4%
Although Apple has never positioned the iPad as a work device, and it certainly has limits in business settings today, users seem to be noticing the business potential for themselves, as are some forward-thinking business and IT leaders. In my ongoing informal conversations with vendors and IT managers, I keep hearing about the fascination many have with using the iPad at work across a wide range of industries: financial services, retail, hospitals, and all manner of field forces.
A couple examples: Intercontinental Hotel Group is piloting the use of iPads by its concierges at some hotels, so they're not tethered to a computer to help guests find directions and book services. And the D7 Consulting construction firm has given its onsite managers iPads to access construction drawings and othert support materials in the field.
i.t.NOW is a Microsoft Shop. We support Macintosh, Linux, VMWare, and various other platforms, but the vast majority of our clients are running Microsoft servers and workstations. Our office, as well, is mostly Microsoft. Even down to the smartphones that we use. However, I stand alone with my Blackberry. And, sorry Microsoft, I am never going back.
I recently bought a new phone, since my Pearl had worn out (or at least that is the excuse I gave my wife). It is only available from T-Mobile right now, the Curve 8900 (or Curve II as some people call it). Switching over to the new phone reminded me why I love my Blackberry. Before I drove to the store to buy my Phone, I logged into our Blackberry Enterprise Server (personally, a must if you are going to use a Blackberry with Exchange) and set my activation password. As I was finishing the purchase, I put in my old SIM card, and activated my phone with our Enterprise Server. By the time I left the store, my new phone had pulled down all of my contacts, my calendar, my email, and my tasks. Not only that, it had set up my speed dial, and even the custom settings I applied to the buttons on the side of my phone. Plain and simple, it just works. That is more than what I can say for any of the dozen Windows Mobile smartphones I have used in the past.
For those who know me, you know that I love technology. I am the one who has a new cell phone every six to nine months. My house has more computers than it does people. I am always reading blogs that tell me about new products that are coming out. I am often asked why I love technology so much (usually by my wife as I tell her about the new cell phone I have to buy) so I often wonder, is it simply because I want the newest gadget out there? I would like to think there is a better reason than that. I think the reason is simply I like solving problems. For me, I don’t want a new cell phone simply because it is new; I want a new cell phone in hopes that it will solve everything I hated about my old cell phone. And when that doesn’t work, I have to try again in six months or so.
This same problem solver mentality is seen as I design networks for clients. Usually we install a network and don’t have to change any equipment for three years. Recently, at one of our clients, we replaced a server that we installed about 18 months ago. It made me realize how far technology has come and how powerful it can be. When we installed their server 18 months ago, it was about a 16 hour job. It involved a technician going on-site after business hours, taking the entire network down, and migrating data to the new server. It also involved a technician being on-site the first two hours of business operations to finish the migration and update client computers. While we did an excellent job and it was seamless in the client’s eyes, it was a labor intensive job requiring a technician on-site for several overtime hours.
When it came time to replace the client’s second, aging server, we were able to dramatically change how the work was done using a technology we have been using heavily for the past year, VMware. VMware allows multiple servers to run virtually on a single piece of hardware. For this client, we replaced the 18 month old server and the much older server with a single new server running VMware. The previous server replacement took 16 hours with a technician on-site for most of that time, and it only involved replacing a single server. This time around, we were able to replace both servers with only two hours on-site, and three hours of remote labor. The best part is in three to five years when the client looks at replacing that piece of hardware, it will be a one hour job. That’s why I love technology.
When they say "Droid Does" they really mean it, and we have yet to see a limit be put on that. We have seen devices launch into space, devices take pictures of the lunar eclipse, and now we have seen a device save someone's life. From reports, it appears as though a valet driver had his HTC Incredible in his inside pocket of his jacket when shots were fired at him, but they hit his device instead. The shot hit the battery of the device, which actually prevented the shot from penetrating any further, thus saving his life. Do you think that pretty glass iPhone4 could have saved anyone's life? Just another reason why, Droid Does.