Yes, there was plenty of hype, showmanship and pizazz in the recent Apple debut of the iPad. But that won’t mean much to your overworked IT folks who have to support an organization and its technology tools.
Will the iPad turn out to be just a consumer toy – a glorified book reader with lots of bells and whistles?

Or will it make its way into the business world with legitimate time and money-saving uses? Here’s what we’ve gleaned from the expert chat:

For nearly a decade, there have been rumors that “tablet” computers are the wave of the future, the cutting edge of where users want to be. But none of those prognositcations or premonitions have been realized. The iPad will carry some of that baggage.
But workers who now turn to their smartphones for many routine business tasks understand the limitations of a small, pocket-held device have become apparent.
So when analysts say the iPad is the intermediate device between the laptop and the smartphone, they’re actually saying it fixes some of the problems with both.

Other potential business uses:
•    Conference room tool for notetaking and collaboration
•    Repository for reference books, tables and charts by engineers, lawyers and accountants
•    Tool for acquiring and using business and audiobooks
•    Portable unit for IT managers to access servers and computers remotely using apps already developed for the iPhone, but this time with a much bigger screen for their work
•    Health care workers ability to chart patient information, access references or testing schedules without the kiosks or stations necessary with a laptop computer
•    Dynamic collaboration on documents using newly designed iWorks suite docs app
•    Built-in drawing tools that allow workers to create sketches of proposed plans or processes
•    “Show and Tell” features allow small scale presentations in meetings with co-workers or clients
•    As a tool for workers in the field who need to enter data easily and quickly without having to open and power up a laptop, and
•    Project management could be made more efficient and dynamic, especially if SaaS project management tools that use Web 2.0 technologies are used.