3D’s and Wannabee’s

For the launch of the 3DS, the world’s first glasses-free 3D hand-held games console, Nintendo pulled out all the stops to make sure that demand was high and lines were long.
And, after selling out across Europe and North America, Apple is once again drawing crowds of fans all hurrying to wait in line for their latest tablet – this time the the iPad 2. In what has now become a predictable sight outside flagship technology stores the world over, these queues give a visual reminder of our thirst for the latest and greatest new toy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUbOqhA6MH4&feature=player_detailpage] Cynics suggest that the public will soon wise up to the yearly cycle of ‘must-have’ products but, for the time being, there is no sign of any let up.
Even we are not immune and, we confess, have already pre-ordered our Blackberry Playbooks… destined for launch in Canada on April 19th. So, we too have joined the ‘virtual queue’.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYZDl4RNEVE&feature=player_detailpage] Of course there is a serious side to harnessing this technology and once beyond the hype and hysteria of our love affair with toys and gadgets, we do see more and more innovative applications of the new tablets being introduced into the business environment. We recall that in the seventies we were told that by the year 2000 we would have paperless offices and yet the current reality is that there seems to be ever more paper.
Premier Farnell is a FTSE 250-listed distributor of electronic components and the company’s board meets five times a year. For each meeting the company secretarial department has to prepare a vast array of documents to be reviewed before and during the meetings.
Three sets of packs for 10 members are needed, so not only do several trees give their lives to make this possible, but a huge amount of time is spent putting them together.
Dorcas Murray, deputy company secretary, says she worked out that it was taking the equivalent of a month out of each year.
In 2007, the company decided enough was enough and began using a PC-based software and fast forwarding three years and that software has made the leap to the tablet that is now the tool of choice for the boardroom.
“I think the thing that the tablet offers that the laptop doesn’t is a greater degree of mobility,” Ms Murray says. “You can use the tablet more easily, they’re all wi-fi enabled, so wherever you are you can always gain access to the systems. There’s something about the physical nature of the tablet that makes it more like reading a book that people find easier to deal with than looking at a PC screen. There’s sort of an emotional connection with a book that tablet offers that a laptop doesn’t.” An interesting perspective.
At least the Premier Farnell board only meets five times a year. For those Executive and Leadership teams meeting more regularly or even monthly, the paper burden can often be far more onerous. So, if you are one of those executives carrying around large bundles of documents prior to your numerous meetings, or whose heart sinks when you see the document folder awaiting your review, perhaps it is time to take a different approach and harness the technology available to you. The cost dynamics seems to make sense as those copier costs don’t appear to be coming down.
While here at Zeitgeist we await the arrival of our new toys, we are also thinking of new ways to use the tools in our client interactions. Besides, our office shredders need a break…