Apple iPad and Tablet computers about to take over the world of IT

It is hard to believe that it was only 11 months ago that Apple introduced the iPad tablet computer.  I held out for about five months and got mine in August and my life will never be the same.  On a recent plane ride I saw just about everyone in the first class cabin with their iPad out working, watching a movie, reading or playing a game.

 

Now I see that Apple is about to launch it's next version of the iPad today.  Thinner, faster and with a camera.  It's what keeps us upgrading!  They are on target to sell 30 million units in their first year of existence. 

 

What tells me that touch is here to stay is the fact that now there are competitors in the marketplace using other software platforms like Android to power the devices.  In fact there are now 102 versions of tablet computers either on sale or in development.

From later in the day, there is an update:

Here's the official announcement from Apple

 

As emergency managers we need to look at how we will integrate them into our daily activities and during disaster response and recovery.  They provide the portability to make our lives so much easier and the speed of processing information and productivity quantitatively better.  Switching to an all digital paperless environment is the next step in our functioning at the EOC.  Information, maps, social media all at our fingertips--the future of emergency management is connected, digital, high definition and very portable!