Graphic communication pros get insights from a practitioner and leading analyst about how the emergence of commercially successful tablet and mobile computing represents a sea change in how content is created, disseminated, and consumed.

Lexington, KY – Apple’s iPad tablet computer has been a hot seller since its release in April 2010, with more than 1 million sold every month. Nearly two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies have some sort of iPad pilot or deployment program in place, according to InformationWeek magazine. And this year, numerous tablet computing iPad competitors are coming to market. Already we have seen some intriguing applications:

• Some upscale restaurants are using them to replace wine lists.
• Medical device sales representatives use them to show the latest technologies, and videos of medical procedures, replacing brochures and presentations.
• Auto companies like Mercedes are using custom iPad apps to replace leasing and insurance forms.
• E-books have come to the iPad—and now there are magazine titles that are being published only on the iPad.
• Customized applications for the iPad, easy and relatively inexpensive to develop and maintain, can replace many items that were once print’s domain.

All this has happened in less than a year—and there's more to come!

WhatTheyThink, the leading news and information site for the graphic communications industry, announces the immediate availability of The iPad: What it Is, What It’s Not, and What it Means. This 114-page analysis and “guided tour,” is an easy-to-read introduction to not just the Apple iPad, but to the concept of the tablet computer itself. One section titled “8 Ways that the iPad Will Affect Print” looks at how the iPad and future tablet computers have the potential to displace print and paper in a wide variety of applications.

The report is unique in that most of it was written and edited using the iPad itself. “Although it still has its quirks and limitations, it was an effective writing experience,” said Richard Romano, the report’s author. “If the Adobe Creative Suite comes to the iPad, the entire soup-to-nuts report writing and production process can be done on a mobile device. We should learn from the skepticism that the printing business had about desktop publishing and the Internet years ago. The iPad and other tablet computing devices that follow it, can also become content creation devices. They're not just convenient viewing devices. The iPad and tablets are the vanguard of new opportunities and serious challenges for print businesses of all sizes and all niches.”

(NOTE: Hear Richard Romano discuss his findings in a special WhatTheyThink podcast.)

The report also includes estimates about the current and future adoption of the iPad, perspectives about how it is taking over the lives of its users. In 2010, a study of UK iPad users, 24% said it had already become their primary entertainment device; which was higher than television. The same study found that iPad users considered it the most preferred delivery method for newspapers and/or magazines (31%), even beating out print (24%).

The iPad: What it Is, What It’s Not, and What it Means was created for graphic communication professionals whether they are printers, publishers, graphic designers, or industry suppliers. It is available for online purchase at the WhatTheyThink eStore in PDF format.

Editor’s Note...

Additional information about WhatTheyThink reports is available for editorial purposes. Please make inquiries directly to Cary Sherburne at 603-430-5463 or [email protected],  or visit www.whattheythink.com).

About WhatTheyThink...

WhatTheyThink comprises the largest graphic arts community in the print industry. Started in March 2000, WhatTheyThink.com provides daily news, interviews, research, and many more resources to our members. Our goal is to provide unbiased, real-time market intelligence to print and publishing executives.