The iPad isn't for Business /s

Yes.  That's a closing tag for sarcasm.  You're kidding yourself if you think smartphones and tablets aren't for business.  If the landslide of BYOD'ers bringing the devices to work isn't enough proof, check out an Apple store.  Okay, okay.  That's a bit biased, they have ​to use them.  But still, the iPhone (and/or iPod touch) sleeves with a credit card ready illustrate the opportunity for vertical solutions that exist for these "consumer, content consumption only devices."  I was at Sears last week and saw a scaled up version of the Apple store sleeve, this time on iPads.  It was accompanied by a sticker on the old POS terminals that read something to the effect of "Why aren't you using an iPad?" - implying a push to move all sales transactions to the iPad.

But what really brought me to the computer tonight was a series of announcements this week, two in particular, where iPads are making obvious inroads to the enterprise.​

The first, and was hard to miss if you follow tech, was the announcement of Square's new dock that turns an iPad into a cash register.​  I recommend reading the full post from The Verge, but here's the gist:

Square today unveiled a new piece of hardware designed to replace traditional cash registers in the businesses that use the company to accept payments. Square Stand, which can be pre-ordered for $299 starting today, features an integrated card reader for processing payments.

​This is probably the first time a POS terminal could be accused of being sexy.  The post goes on to say it's targeted at big brick-and-mortar stores.  I'm not sure about that, but I can imagine it being a hit with small and medium businesses.  When I get around to building my dream bike/coffee shop, I'll be sure to kit it out with a few of these.

The second announcement was from ShoreTel, which has announced ShorTel Dock, which turns an iPhone or iPad into a desk phone and unified communications device.​  Anyone who has fought with a Lucent, Polycom, or Cisco desk phone can probably immediately see a benefit to having an iPhone or especially iPad as a corporate landline replacement.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, an IT manager who thinks tablets are consumer-only, content consumption devices probably won't be in his/her job for very long.

Google is keeping iCloud’s promises | PandoDaily

From PandoDaily by Nathaniel Mott.  He makes some great, very valid points.  The summary is:

The difference between the two [Apple vs. Google Services]? Google’s services aren’t restricted to its own devices.

Apple developed iCloud for people who want to keep data in sync across their iOS and Mac devices. Besides rudimentary photo-sync support on Windows PCs, iCloud doesn’t allow any data in or out from, say, the Web or Android. Anyone wanting to make their data available on all of their devices without being restricted to Apple’s products must turn to other solutions, and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.

All of that is true, of course.  I don't disagree with Mott's conclusions, but I disagree with his expectations.  When comparing Apple and Google, you have to follow the money.  Google, first and foremost, is an internet services company.  They don't care how or where you get on the internet, they just want you there.  Using Google services, seeing AdSense-hosted ads, sending as much personal data back to Google as possible.​  Apple, on the other hand, is devices company.  They make money when you buy a piece of hardware.  iCloud is a way to, theoretically, make it easier to use all-Apple devices, thereby increasing lock-in to Apple's ecosystem.  They don't want you to use iCloud on an Android phone because ad-based or even subscription-based services isn't their business model.

There is no doubt Apple needs to fix iCloud.  It needs to live up to the "just works" promise.  But to expect Apple to abandon the Apple-only lock-in approach ignores Apple's entire business model.​