Less than three years after giving us the iPhone, Apple is trying to add a new piece of technology to our portfolio with the iPad.
Executives who have only just upgraded their mobiles to retain their business credibility now risk being left behind again as colleagues flash their all-singing tablet computers.
Executive toys have come far since a Filofax and an oversize portable telephone differentiated the rising business stars from their luddite rivals. An ability to embrace each change in technology has marked out the highflyers from the pack, and arriving at meetings with a smaller and smarter piece of hardware packed with an increasing array of software has been a sign of power to impress both colleagues and customers.
The iPad may look like the large scale calculators or phones those who have trouble with miniature keys are forced to use, but if Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has got it right again, his new toy will be prominently carried by every executive needing to prove their status and placed unnecessarily on boardroom tables to show up those without them.
Whether or not this latest addition to the technology race is a gadget or gimmick, it will be a must-have on the corporate recognition league. PalmPilots, 3G phones, BlackBerries and the like have replaced cars as executive perks. They are negotiated into employment contracts with clauses to update to new models.
And perks that started in the boardroom quickly percolate through middle management and salesforces as every tier of the business seeks to establish their position. A personal assistant who isn’t receiving her boss’s emails on a smart phone is still only a secretary.
It is not surprising that corporate frontrunners seek to keep up with each new generation of communications technology; what is new is how short each generation is.
Until the late 20th century, an individual could expect an invention to change part of their life radically, but would not then expect to see that aspect changed again. So the Victorians saw the shock of trains but had to wait 70 years for cars and planes to change transport again.
But it is now common to see an invention arrive and be replaced during one lifetime. There are people in business who saw the fax replace telex only to see the email attachment replace faxes, only in the space of 10 years. The landline telephone is being replaced by mobile phones that have themselves become internet smart phones.
But if the rate of technological change is so fast — so rapid that the iPad will, like so much other office equipment, be redundant before the hardware breaks down — why bother adopting the latest toy when there will be a cleverer version along shortly? Maybe those who are already full of Blackberry and Apple pie should skip the iPad course and wait for Mr Jobs’ next innovation.
