United Airlines Invests in 11,000 iPads

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]digitalgriffin[/nom]Then I will not be flying on Jet Blue
Computer devices fail. Paper does not.-Signed-An Aerospace Engineer[/citation]
Umm aren't most planes very computerized right now? Come to think of it mechanical devices fail too, why not walk since anything we make can and does fail. WAIT A MINUTE... your feet and legs can fail too (damn cramps) NO ONE IS SAFE!!!!! Just a final FYI, paper can very much fail if the person typing up the paper (probably on a computer BTW) doesn't make it right, or if they spill something on the paper. Nothing is perfect, learn to deal with new things and move on.

 

[Guest]

My father works for United and the manuals they lug around they hardly use. They only have to take a few quick peaks at during the flight and there are hundreds of pages to sift through to find the page. Some pilots have their own iPads that they have put the manuals on themselves and it saves a lot of time. This a really good thing.

On top of that there are constantly updates to the manual which need to be replaced which is also a total pain. If they sync the ipad they can rid themselves of all of that.

 

[ronch79]

I bet Steve's resignation had a lot to do with this. Maybe United's CEO is an Apple fanboi.

Now I know the iPad is far from being the first tablet computer but I suppose Steve deserves credit for making technology accessible and less intimidating for most folks.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]legacy7955[/nom]Netbook. Cheaper and small enough to be practical in the cockpit. It doesn't put the outrageous "Apple Tax" on plane fares like the iPud does.[/citation]

?? A good netbook is about $400+ They are NOT as tough as an iPad or tablets.
What Apple tax are you referring to? All quality tablets start at $500.

What plane fares are you talking about? It'll save them money by not printing out thosands of pages and the weight involved. Really dud, *WHAT* is your issue?

In general, an iPad makes a simply tool for pilots to use... seriously, they don't need to be dealing with Windows issues or trying to work a cheap $300 netbook with its dinky touch pad... where DO they have room for the mouse? The netbook would have to be put somewhere - to USE.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]doorspawn[/nom]Also, doesn't apple have the ability to force upgrades etc on their stuff? Or are these special iPads?[/citation]

no. Does MS? Does Android?

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]ronch79[/nom]I bet Steve's resignation had a lot to do with this. Maybe United's CEO is an Apple fanboi.Now I know the iPad is far from being the first tablet computer but I suppose Steve deserves credit for making technology accessible and less intimidating for most folks.[/citation]
Windows XP Tablet... might have been first, but its at least 10 years before the iPad. Microsoft and the PC industry had 10 years to make a usable tablet device... It took Apple 1-2 months to sell what MS couldn't for 10 years.

Its a usable tablet. Trying dealing with a standard Windows tablet (they are notebooks that flip into tablets)... the bottom is ALL notebook... they are about 4lbs. We had 2 in our company that were rarely ever used as a tablet... it was slow, tiny, horrible and useless.

As of now... half the people in the company have iPads, but otherwise - Windows desktops and notebooks at home and in the office. Why? Cause it WORKs.

When you talk about fanboys... aren't you talking about yourself?

 

[ericburnby]

I love listening to all the EXPERTS here at Tom's who know far more than commercial pilots and the FAA (who CERTIFIED tablets as OK for this purpose).

I guess you guys should all call up the FAA right away and tell them what a huge mistake they made.

Face it, you idiotic Apple haters wouldn't be saying this is a bad idea if they picked some Android tablet to use instead of an iPad.