There's been a lot of debate about the features (and possible failings) of the iPad but in the view of Stardraw.com CEO David Snipp, the device has great potential in the control market. "It isn't really an issue if people say that the iPad isn't as good as a netbook, or that it doesn't have a camera or support Flash or multi-tasking. If the worst you can say is that it's a big iPod touch - and a lot of people are saying that - then it will excel as a touchpanel interface for system control: for Stardraw Control, a big iPod touch is ideal."
The iPad features a 9.7" 1024x768 touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, 10 hour in-use battery life (30 days on standby) and, at a slender 0.5" thickness, it weighs in at around 1½ pounds (0.68kg). Snipp continued, "The form factor and technical specs are such that the iPad could almost have been designed specifically as a user-interface device for system control and, since pricing starts at less than USD500, it makes one wonder why anyone would spend maybe ten times more on a 'proprietary' touchscreen. The iPad is great way to deliver more to the end user at a lower cost, with the advantage that it's a sexy gadget."
It is by virtue of support for Webservices that Stardraw Control can employ the iPad, or indeed any device that supports a browser or talks HTTP, as a user interface device.
"It is important," says Snipp, "to note that we are not using an App to deliver the control interface: Apps as understood in the context of the App Store are restrictive commercially, logistically and technologically. Instead we are using WebApp technology which delivers a user experience indistinguishable from an App but with far more flexibility and no restrictions. Systems integrators can now build great-looking UIs and deliver them through the device of their choice, including the iPad, to control and monitor any hardware in any system using Stardraw Control."
(Jim Evans)
