Fondleslabs homing in on desktops in biz sales

iPad is still impressive ... and then there's the future...

The reason is the impression value.

As a web dev, our company has had a few clients who want custom apps they use at trade shows - and there's a growing demand for iPad in this area.

We recently built a bespoke application which can work in on and offline mode and collects data at the trade show stand for interested parties. Very simple app, it's little more than a snazzy form with a map API built in.

However, it looks cool, is currently a unique promo activity and will likely become common place at events of this type.

One area which comes to mind, is surveys at large events - heck, even checking people in and out of events.

It's a no-brainer that tablet devices are going to enter business at an alarming pace in the coming years.

It won't be long before your waiter at a restaurant is sporting a tablet with custom built software.

Hell, you may even get menus on e-ink tech tablets in years to come.

This obviously *is* happening on a very small scale already - as novelty value right now.

The tablet device is perfect for so many business uses - on the spot stock taking when things go a bit pear shaped (obviously stock taking is pretty much computerised already, but it could be augmented with on the spot updates)

Hospitals - an obvious future area for portable touch screen devices - e-ink touch screens whose battery power can last weeks or months.

The list goes on - your delivery guy with his current klunky stylus driven touch screen, will soon be carrying a more modern equivalent. Heck, you'll be able to swipe your payment card on delivery etc. etc. etc. - blah di blah.

This is assuming, of course, that nuclear holocaust doesn't render 90% of the worlds population dead and the rest driving around in souped up bio-diesel vehicles wearing leather chaps and looking dead hard with knives, shotguns and ... tablets.

Failing nuclear holocaust, the EU goes tits up and Dave & George form a 1984 style big-brother society in the UK. The proles will watch X-Factor. The party will all be tethered to touch screen devices constantly playing party political broadcasts and Dave's personal take on religion - hell in other words.

Shit, I better get my coat, far too much strong scrumpy for this time of the evening, best I get home before the thought police get whiff I'm hanging with the proles down the pub on dirty nasty street without my frikking tablet to check into...