Around the Net
The Trouble With Tablets
- The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, April 3, 2012 11:33 AM
The early adoption of new technology often comes at a cost -- something many companies learned after their hasty embrace of tablet computers. Take American Airlines, which, as The Wall Street Journal reports, quickly discovered that one tablet doesn’t fit all. “The pilots wanted high-end tablets, to replace paper charts and such, while … to its first- and business-class passengers, the airline lent models that played new movies without risk of illegal copying.”
Other common pitfalls include failing to have a plan before rolling out the devices; not understanding what tablets are -- and are not -- good for; and misjudging the ease of support and security. Companies are also attracted to the cheaper cost of tablet, but fail to recognize that the devices inevitably have to be replaced more often desktop, and even laptop computers. As WSJ reports, apps often present another issue for companies, which either assume that all the apps they need already exist or will be relatively easy to develop.
“But most companies don't have the means to produce and constantly update mobile applications for themselves,” WSJ writes. “And while iPad and Android app stores have many more offerings than the stores of less popular tablets, even those have limitations.”
