Global CIO: iPads As A Better Tool For Face-To-Face CollaborationGlobal CIO: iPads As A Better Tool For Face-To-Face Collaboration

The standard comparison of laptop and tablet goes like this: laptop good for content creation, tablet good for content consumption. But there's another area where tablets look intriguing: They can be a better collaboration tool. By collaboration, I mean two people talking face-to-face while sharing and interacting with content on a screen.

Think of a patient and a doctor, with the doctor jotting notes on a device and occasionally sharing something on the device with a patient. Think of a salesperson talking one-on-one across a desk, showing various products displayed on the device. Think of meeting a colleague on a trade show floor and wanting to quickly pop open a file to show a message from a would-be customer.

A laptop has never fit elegantly in the middle of these kinds of exchanges. If I'm standing and talking with someone and need to crack open a laptop to show some data, it feels about as natural as a waiter using a toaster oven to serve a bagel. With an iPad, it's as natural as handing someone a plate.

Twice in the last week I've heard C-level, Fortune 500 IT execs, in very different businesses, paint a very convincing picture of a tablet's appeal in these kinds of one-on-one business conversations. When you're sitting across from someone, a laptop creates a visual wall, where the other person can't see what you're doing. Not a great atmosphere for building trust and opening communications.

I offered some of these thoughts in one of information’s e-mail newsletters this week, and I got some excellent reader responses. Here's one from Dave Sherry, a network architect (who emphasizes that he's "not anti-Apple, just anti-hype"):

Here's another from Randy Schmidt, an IT pro who finds the netbook a better option for mobile work, including volunteer work creating PowerPoints to teach a Sunday school class. He finds it plenty easy to hand the netbook back-and-forth, and notes it can handle PowerPoint well and run multiple apps at a time. Writes Schmidt:

What do you think?

The tablet won't meet anywhere close to every business computing need, and our data shows some real skepticism that they'll replace a significant number of PCs. I tend to agree it won't replace a lot of business PCs. But it seems clear as gorilla glass that they're going to take hold in business, as an additional tool. These kind of close, one-on-one collaboration sessions are one good reason why.

Recommended Reading: Hilton CIO: Idea To iPad App In 90 Days Global CIO: The Case For Copying Apple's App Store Exclusive Data: iPad Indifference? Tablets Replacing Few PCs In Business Global CIO: How Wet Seal Drives Sales With Facebook, iPhone Global CIO: 7 Tips For Using The iPad In Business Why Steve Jobs Hates Enterprise IT Global CIO: Tablet Vs. Laptop? How About Instant-On Vs. Interminable Boot-Up Mercedes Revs iPad Tool For Dealers Microsoft Office 2010 Adds Features For Browsers, Smartphones

Chris Murphy is editor of information.

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