iPad | Jared Heinrichs

Really when I say tablet I mean iPad. There are Android tablets out there but they are junk in my opinion. There are Windows tablets out there but they a bulky. They do however have most of the things companies want like Active Directory support.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my iPad. There are just some thing that apple really didn’t think about the iPad when it comes to businesses. Unfortunately Apple has never really listen to businesses because they think they know what is best for everyone.

These items in this list are not any particular order.

Can’t authenticate or have a single sign on using something like Active directory.
Ending support on a device after 3 years is crazy! Did you know you can’t get any more updates on the first iPhone?
Pretty pricey considering all the enterprise things you can’t do with them.
Terrible for entering data
Very shiny. You might have to make the screen bright to read anything
Have you ever looked at the screen for finger prints? I bet you can guess what the person’s password is.
If you make the screen bright the battery life goes from Great to OK
Each iPad can ONLY be synced with one computer at a time.
You have to have at least 1 Credit card associated with EACH iPad/itunes account. What company would give that out!
Putting files onto the iPad is not easy because there is no input mechanism other than iTunes
You have to install iTunes on at least one computer
No way to centrally manage the iPad.
If someone puts a password on a device, resetting the password can be a pain in the but if they forget it. Can’t do it remotely.
You have to get a case for each iPad. They scratch very easily
Constantly cleaning the finger prints off screen
Installing extra apps on the device to read PDFs. By default you can’t read PDFs
Can’t play Flash
Can’t print
Charging Chord is ridiculously short. Can’t charge iPad unless off on most PCs.
Can’t easily connect to network Shares to get to documents
Can’t encrypt the device

The iPad is an entertainment device and not an enterprise device. It never will be an Enterprise level device unless they address #’s 1,2,4,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,16,18,20, 21

I am hoping Blackberry will allow companies to centrally manage their Playbooks when it comes out. Currently admins use BES to control everything about the Blackberries. That is the reason why RIM dominates the enterprise smartphone sector. If Apple doesn’t come up with something like that I can’t see them really making any REAL headway into the enterprise.

I am hoping that you will like the missing iPad Manual. As most of you know, I normally have a hate on for Apple. This post will quickly teach you about your iPad, how to do some very specific tasks that shouldn’t be as hard as what they seem.

I saw a really funny pic on Facebook the other day and I thought of it after the setup of the iPad.

You will see how setting up the iPad is like the “paying customer example”. While the setup really ticked me off, you will see I am pleasantly in love with my device.

The missing iPad manual – Un-packing the the iPad

When you get home from purchasing the iPad you are going to be very disappointed in a couple of things. There is no real manual and the tiny bit of information that is given will be obsolete as soon as you update your iPad.

The missing iPad manual – Setting up the iPad for it’s first use

First thing I recommend you do is charge the device for a couple of hours. Darn it. You probably wanted to use it right away right? Guess what? Because you can’t replace an iPad battery you really want to make sure you fully charge the device from the beginning.

Now that you charged the iPad you want to turn it on, connect it to your wireless router and read a few websites. Well… again you will be very un-happy. As soon as you turn on the device it say “connect to iTunes”. Apple no longer ships iTunes on a DVD. You have to download it. Again. You have to wait.

Ok. Now you download iTunes and install it. You now connect the iPad. Yippee. 3 hours later and I can finally read a freaking web page! Crap.. Disappointment again. Now it is asking me to enter a name for my iPad. Oh well this won’t take long.

What! Now I HAVE to enter my credit card number? WHAT??? Haven’t I given Apple enough? Ok. Enter the information. Side note. I don’t know about you but what kid has a credit card? Is this done yet? Nope. Now I need to create a freaking Apple ID?!?!? Ok enter that info. Then go to my email and confirm that I am who I say I am.

Just when you think you are done. There is an update from Apple. It will take around 10 minutes to apply this update. This update helps with battery power, the ability to play music in the background. It also changes the functionality of the switch above the volume buttons.

Picture this. Any company other then apple that makes devices. Let’s say your stove, your microwave or even your fridge manufacturer. Can you imagine if at some point say the button to broil get’s changed to the timer button? How about if you Microwave had a button that said “defrost” was changed to “Level High”.

Would you be upset?
Would you take that and then continue to say the company that does something like that is the BEST ever? Probably not!

Apple changed the position lock on the side to a Mute button. While I understand the device should have had a mute button and it should have gone where the position lock is located. They didn’t do that. They just get up one day and change it on you. I will show you later how to get that functionality back.

Just when you think things are done the darn thing needs a reboot.

Time to go to bed

The missing iPad manual – Tweaking the iPad

Questions I asked myself when setting up my iPad:

The missing iPad manual – How to install an Application on the iPad.

Let’s add some app? How do I do that. Well you can do it through the browser. Using your favorite search engine should bring you to the iTunes store page. It will tell you how much something costs or how to download it. Look for the applications I recommend that you download. You can also search for apps in iTunes on your computer.

The Missing iPad manual – Reading PDF

You need to download and install iBook in iTunes. Once downloaded you need to go to the file menue and import file into library. Pick your PDF’s and sync the iPad.

The Missing iPad manual – How to connect to a Wi-Fi network

Go to Settings – Wi-Fi – Make sure Wi-Fi is on, You select your wireless network and enter the password.

The Missing iPad manual – How to connect to delete an App off the iPad

To delete an application off the iPad you will need to hold down the icon on the iPad for a few seconds. When it starts to shake how you should see an “X”. Use this to delete the app. You can also do it in iTunes. iTunes doesn’t actually delete it. It just sends the file to your recycling bin.

The Missing iPad manual – How do I lock the screen position on the iPad since the patch?

Well here’s how it used to work (I Prefer it to the new way):

Now you have to

Make sure that you have the orientation that you want the iPad in.
hit the home button twice (quickly) – A menu on the bottom will now open up.
Slide your finger to the right.
Do this till you see an iTunes like interface. (It should normally only take one swipe)
On the right there is an Orange IPad symbol (Why orange???) and to the far left there is a circle with an arrow on it. If you touch it, it will put a lock symbol in the middle.

Now the screen won’t accidently flip on you.

The Missing iPad manual – How to save a picture off the internet on an iPad?

Touch the picture and hold down for a few seconds. You will be prompted to save the picture.

The Missing iPad manual – How to use Remote Desktop on the iPad

You have to pay for it but the only program I have found that does a good job is called “Desktop Connect”.

Is there anything else that a new iPad user might wonder how to setup on their iPad? Let me know!

Why tablets are NOT ready for the enterprise (yet)

The missing iPad manual