iPad - a mobile device or a computer?

Back in 2010, the iPad entered the market under the banners of so-called ''post-PC era''. Apple and Google became the headliners in the trend of ''post-PC devices'' - smartphones and tablets. These devices have become an essential part of our lives, yet they could not replace PCs and laptops at the time. Can they now? Can this goal be achieved by iPad - the most popular product in the niche between smartphones and laptops? There has been a lot of discussions on whether iPad is more of a computer than just a ''mobile device''. Both sides are right to an extent, and the truth is somewhere in the middle.


Apple's renowned tablet is a computer in some way. The hardware becomes more efficient and sophisticated. The operating system is constantly being upgraded. The number of applications is high and grows higher. Still iOS is a mobile operating system, and it cannot compete with the power and capabilities of desktop Windows or Mac. A tablet is not the core of the ecosystem. A number of certain limitations in access, memory and connectivity, become obstacles as well. But with all these issues an iPad can be enhanced with custom mobile software, and the functionality can take a step up.


While not being a full-fledge substitute for PCs and laptops, iPad is a powerful business and marketing tool. Custom applications can be used for both accessing potential clients and for internal corporate use. Numerous iPad users appreciate the opportunities and convenience given by reliable mobile applications. Intuitive mobile clients for various service providers is a popular way of enhancing client loyalty. The more useful your software is, the more can be done with a tablet. By internal use, where mobility is required, iPad may become a perfect solution for various spheres of enterprise.


Everything depends on the user, and on the way a tablet is used. Although iPad is often referred to as a means of pure entertainment (even as just an iPod Touch with a bigger screen), it is able to contain the tools for serious and profitable needs. Obviously not for overcomplicated applications with high hardware and operating system requirements. iPad possesses rather moderate hardware capabilities, in terms of PCs. But for some purposes, a tablet is enough. It may not be a comprehensive computer in the sense we usually mean - but a mobile computer which is open to software enhancements. Like computers used to be entertainment devices at their dawn, tablets are now. But with the growth of programming and software development they evolved into highly sophisticated machines for work and business. Tablets can easily share the same destiny, while numerous enterprises utilize them for various purposes.