I’ve been using the iPad for business functions for more than a week now and it’s been a huge help with how I do my consultancy work. The apps are very useful and the iPad can definitely boost productivity if you use it for project management, mobile encoding, and organizing thoughts. Here’s my personal short list of the best iPad business and work apps as of April 2010.
Important Note
Before we talk about the apps, let me just lay the groundwork for the discussion. The iPad cannot replace your laptop, especially if you’re used to Windows. While it can’t replace your Macbook, it can definitely still help you do work more efficiently. Remember that the iPad is not something that you really really really need, but it’s definitely nice to have and it can make life easier.
iWork (Pages and Keynote)
First up is the iWork suite for the iPad. Most of the criticisms and negative reviews pretty much stem from two major issues. First is the incompatibility of the iPad iWork to export directly into Microsoft Office applications (PowerPoint, Word, etc.) and the second one is how messy it is for iWork documents on the Mac when it’s exported to the iPad. While these are very valid issues that need to be addressed, there are things you can do to make it work.
The iPad is great for making Keynote presentations while on the go. It’s so easy to make them since you’ll be using your fingers to manipulate all the elements. However there will be limitations like the lack of fonts. Note that all the must-have basic features are there like the transitions, animations, etc. My suggestion is that you do the draft on the iPad and then export it to your Macbook for final editing. If it’s a light presentation, then you can do the entire thing on the iPad, use iPhoto for the presentation pictures (just sync from Macbook), and viola.
Here in the Philippines where the iPad is still a bit scarce, using it to present to clients is nifty. It breaks the ice quickly and sets a lighter mood which will help in closing deals. It’s not advisable though to present with the iPad to a lot of people, it’s kinda hard and you’ll really need a projector since the screen isn’t that big. If you’re talking to just one or two people then you can present right off the iPad.
For Pages, it’s the same experience. You can make documents on the go, export to Macbook, and then refine from there. It’s quite frustrating that your existing documents from the Mac will be messed up once exported to the iPad. Hopefully Apple will be able to fix this soon.
To those asking about how to turn it into PowerPoint or Word, simply export to Microsoft Office after trasnferring the files from your iPad to the Macbook and convert from there.
Over-all the $9.99 for Pages and $9.99 for Keynote seems to be worth it for me. I’m not so sure about Numbers though since I’ve never been a fan of that particular app.
iMindMap
This is by far one of the most used apps in my iPad. It’s actually an iPhone app and there’s still no official iPad version but it works wonders on the iPad compared to the iPhone. To those who aren’t familiar with Mind Mapping, it’s a visual way to organize thoughts and projects. It’s a phenomenal way to brainstorm and to set agendas. It was really hard to use this app on the iPhone or the iPod Touch because of the small screen. However using it on the iPad is just fantastic. I use this every morning and when I have a project that I want to flesh out. I strongly recommend that you guys get this app — note that this is 100% free. However if you decide to get the Macbook/desktop version, you’ll have to pay a hefty amount.
Offline Pages
If you’re like me and you follow a lot of blogs and websites for industry news, then this app is for you. Offline Pages allows you to save website pages on your iPad for later reading. Since the 3G version isn’t available yet in the Philippines, this app can do wonders for people who love to read. Just go through all the blogs and sites that you like when you have Wi-Fi connection and save all the articles that you want to read which you can check out once your mobile and bored (lol).
Toodledo
There are several “To Do” apps available on the iPad. The app that gets a lot of positive reviews is Things but it costs $19.99. Pretty pricey for a “To Do” app. I did a lot research and tried to find an alternative and I came across Toodledo. This app is almost as good as Things but it just costs a fraction of the price – $2.99! If you’re a GTD freak, then you can definitely maximize this app with all the project folders available.
Over-all those are the business related apps that I’ve been using for my iPad here in the Philippines. I’ll post another entry when new apps come along that I get to try myself.
On a last note, let me just share that the iPad has given my Macbook Air much needed rest (Lol). I often leave the Macbook Air at home or at the office now since I can do most of the work that I do on it on my iPad. I just have to do finishing touches and revisions on the Macbook when I get back. 
