The iPad: Bonus or Bust?

The reviews are in. Apple Computer’s iPad was released to the public on Saturday, April 3rd, and the crowds are crazy for it. Approximately 300,000 have been sold in just the last few days.

While Apple lovers rejoice, the critics are critiquing. But the lack of USB ports or cameras is less notable for Internet marketers than the fact that the iPad shares more significant similarities with iPhone than with a Mac.

As with the iPhone, any applications offered for the iPad have to be approved by Apple. And, unlike a computer, the iPad is not an open platform, which means users can’t download any unapproved or unauthorized software.

It also means that you can’t view sites that use Flash.

If you’ve already jumped on the Apple app wagon and created an app that connects to your website, then the restrictions won’t affect you.

But if your site uses Flash (which by the way, we don’t recommend if you’re hoping to maximize your natural search traffic) you need to start thinking about how those nearly half-million people are logging online and can’t see your site properly.

Apple is promoting the iPad as exchangeable with a notebook or laptop, and while the reviews are evenhanded and it seems errors can be fixed for upcoming versions (such as single application use, the lack of alarm clock, the missing USB ports and camera, email formatting issues, and lack of uploading), the real issue for Internet marketers is access.

Safari is the only browser allowed on an iPad so you need to consider how your site will run. There are no scroll bars for text fields, which means you might need to adjust page length, as scrolling down a page takes some interactive practice.

You also need to think about video use. There is an YouTube application that enables access to the site, so if you’ve got how-to videos posted up to drive traffic to your site, they should play fine. But if you’ve got Flash videos embedded on your site, you’ll probably be out of luck.

Test out how your site appears on Safari with Browsershots (http://browsershots.org) and Testiphone (www.testiphone.com) to see what adjustments you’ll need to make.

Just as with the iPhone, we can expect a rush on the app market. If there’s a way to turn your site, service or product into an app for the iPad, it’s worth trying it out.

Especially now, when the gadget is new. There’s no official Facebook app yet, but there is the Facebook Ultimate! app offered by Ultiapp, and you can bet it made a killing this weekend!