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Well, we finally get a look at Apple's new tablet. I'd have to say that, overall, the community is disappointed but it doesn't surprise me after reading the wild rumors circulating for the last year. For those of us that have been developing tablet applications for years, we were excited about the potential for a game-changer in the hardware space. Having hardware pros like Apple enter our space would be a welcomed enhancement. The incremental changes brought on by the Intel MCA platform and the Motion C5 were just not enough to satisfy the appetite of the developer community or the healthcare IT audience - particularly the price tag. There was speculation that we'd see a device that was poised to make EMR adoption a reality for a lot of docs. 
http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video
The Review
Display - A
One of the reasons we've invested so much of our R&D on the tablet instead of the mobile phone is that forms require a bigger screen. It is just not feasible to fill out a standard healthcare form on your iPhone. Typically, customers want a 12" screen which closely matches the 8.5"x11" experience they've had with their paper forms. And they don't want to completely redesign their form to go electronic. The iPad offers a 9.7" screen which is a tad small but they make up for it with picture quality. Apple's displays are crisp and clear - this would make forms more legible in difficult lighting such as a clinic or hospital. Battery Life - A+
A 10-hours battery is about as good as you can expect from a device. The typical tablet offers 3-4 hours of battery life. Plus, it covers the typical shift for a nurse or clinician and users don't have to keep it docked between patient encounters.
Form Factor - A
The size and shape of the device make it an excellent for mobility. The iPad is 1.5 lbs. and 1/2" thick which is EXACTLY what we've been telling our tablet PC vendors we need for years. Users (including nurses and elderly patients) can carry this around without worrying if. The only reason I don't give the iPad an A+ is that there is no way this would be rugged enough for the healthcare environment without a bump case. Apple would never allow that to disrupt their gorgeous design. So this device is just safe enough for the couch or the plane.
Interfaces - C
As an iPhone user, multi-touch and the keypad have been fantastic... for a phone. But for commercial applications that require a lot of data entry, the user will go insane pecking away on the on-screen keypad. The iPad made one improvement that is appreciated - they provide a full-screen keyboard for data entry. It would get annoying having to clean my screen of fingerprints but I'll give them some credit. They do provide support for a Bluetooth keyboard which is commendable. However, the iPad has no voice recognition, no pen stylus and no camera. I really thought they'd integrate voice recognition as elegantly as they did when they introduced multi-touch. Very disappointing that the only interface with the iPad is your fingers. This is very limiting in our space and will keep it from being more than an eReader. I suspect it had to do with processing power of the device. Voice and digital ink require a powerful CPU, thus they eat up battery.
Ports - D
The lack of USB/card ports is an absolute killer. Without a barcode reader or a camera, you can forget using this device in healthcare or field service. They do offer a camera connection kit which will allow you to import photos from a digital camera but that is kludgy. And with no way to connect a device, it really limits the developer/solution provider's ability to bring a solution to market.
Software - B
The only reason I give Apple a B here is because this isn't a surprise. They've been a closed system from the beginning. Basing the iPad on the iPhone OS makes a lot of sense for Apple. It is easier to support a single platform for their mobile devies. And they allow the community to utilize the apps that were already written for the iPhone. But the iPhone SDK is not developer friendly. The tools are weak, the lack of online resources is minimal and the cost of developing solutions is greater. Furthermore, the OS browser doesn't support common application platforms like Flash or Silverlight, eliminating a huge market for applications. If Apple's iPhone OS isn't secure enough to prevent hacks in plug-ins, they need to fix it and open up their platform.
Storage - B-
The iPad only supports up to 64GB of Flash memory which is acceptible for a smart phone but limiting if you want to store music, photos and video. But practically speaking, we prefer to keep very little data on the tablet device to reduce the risk of exposure. So this isn't a big deal.
Price - A+
The iPad starts at $499 which is EXACTLY where tablet need to be to become mainstream. A typical tablet runs between $1,200 - $3,400 depending on the manufacturer and feature set you need. Overall Grade: B-
While the iPad is a sexy new toy for techies, it just doesn't appear to have the thunder of the iPhone. They clearly went after the eReader market and the casual web browser/email checker on the couch. I really expected them to take it a step further and become an iChat device for families wanting to video conference with relatives. I was hoping they'd blow us all away with a device that was ready for commercial healthcare apps, but I don't think it is ready. Let's hope v2 is better.
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