The iPad
for example enjoys great popularity in the event industry since its release in
April 2010. A new version of it, the iPad3, is going to be released in only a
week (March 7). Therefore we dedicate this month´s blog to the iPad and discuss
its usefulness for the events industry.
As commonly
known the iPad is a small tablet computer with a touch screen (24.5 cm).
Compared to the iPhone no phone calls can be made with it but it has a larger
screen with a high resolution (even double as high for the iPad3!) and thus
offers great opportunities for event planners, speakers, visitors and other
members of the industry. Its lightness invites users to take it with them
wherever they go. The examples listed below explain in which way the iPad can
facilitate operations in the events industry:
The problem
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The solution
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The conference program is
being updated regularly. So it happens quite often that people print out the
program on one day and have to throw it away the next day when it is already outdated. Considering the fact that
it is a big document and will be
thrown away after the event at latest one might consider it a waste of
natural resources (wood, paper) and money. Besides, the conference program is
quite heavy so that no one is keen
on carrying it round during the event.
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Attempts to solve this problem via the use of smart phones have been
successful: Nowadays the conference program can be downloaded with the help
of applications. However, the small
screen of the iPhone limits its usefulness.
With the iPad you can not only get access to the conference
program but you can also benefit from links (to handouts or information about the speakers, issues,
other events) and videos (of
speeches and slides) (www.quickmobile.com)
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Handouts and course notes help attendees to remember what they learned during
the event. To preserve the environment,
however, they are no longer used for events or are only distributed in form
of a pdf.
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With the iPad participants can download these handouts to their iPads
before the event starts. During the events they can take notes with it and
store or share the files. The annotation tool iAnnotate enables this function
(http://www.ajidev.com/iannotate).
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Those of you who have already conducted a survey know that it can be quite annoying to run around with a
clipboard and a pen hunting for people who are willing to give their opinion.
Usually a large pile of
questionnaires has to be completed and some papers fall off your hand when you´re busy. Besides, it takes for ages until you put all the data onto your computer
where it is finally processed and interpreted.
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Clipboards and questionnaires can be replaced by the iPad. The screen
is almost as big as an ordinary page of a questionnaire and you can conduct
as many surveys as you want without
having to deal with a large pile of paper. The data will be stored at the same time it is entered. With the
appropriate software it can be analyzed right after the survey was conducted.
(http://surveyanalytics.com)
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In former times attendees were bound
to the booth of the exhibitor to get information and see demonstrations
no matter how crowded or uncomfortable it was.
Apart from that lead tracking
(getting information about other participants) was less convenient. You had to queue up to get the barcode equipment
and the barcode scanner was also bound to the relevant booth.
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Using the iPad the attendees can profit from self- service information
demos no matter where they are at the exhibition. As the light iPad can be
carried around easily exhibitors can show their presentations to prospects
independent of where they meet. An app can be downloaded to get further
information independent of the location of the attendee. The same appears for
the lead tracking: The exhibitors can download an app and type the badge
number of the relevant prospect into the tablet to receive information about
him/her. The screen of the iPad has an optimal size for this purpose and it
can be used anywhere at the exhibition.
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Exhibition
guides are heavy and expensive documents
that are often updated after they have been print out.
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With the iPad and a relevant application people are able to find a
certain exhibitor or a product category at the event just by entering a
keyword into their iPad. Via the GPS function of the iPad they can find out
where they are at the event and where they want to go next- to another booth
or even to the neighborhood around the venue.
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Another
benefit of the iPad is (as we already know from the iPhone) that it can be used
by delegates to post questions to speakers during their presentations. Using
the iPad delegates can benefit from several applications of Web 2.0 as for
example blogging, tweeting or other social networking.
In our
opinion the iPad can indeed facilitate the work of event planners and attendees
but there are also other alternatives on the market that should be considered.
A tablet from another brand could be just as useful and might have other
features but cost less. A tablet of the brand Samsung (Samsung Galaxy Note
10.1) for example allows the user to take notes with a special pen and thus
might seem more appealing to some industry professionals. Besides, despite the
many qualities of the iPad people still may prefer to use their smart phone for
events as it is smaller and lighter. Other people may wish technology had never
progressed and wish themselves back to former times where no system error could
delete all their work in only one second.
What do you
think?
Sources:
http://www.macwelt.de/artikel/_News/380433/das_kann_mit_ipad_3_kommen/1
Pictures:
http://www.ipadshouse.com/apple-media-event-in-february-expected-to-introduce-the-ipad-3/
http://strobefun.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html
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