Global brand are going to employ the iPad in their communication with customers. Three of the leading companies in their sectors Tesco, UK-based retail chain, the Reuters news service the Yell local business search engine announced their intention to use the hot new device for increasing customer engagement in a more effective way than it was with iPhone or iPod.
Last week it was revealed that the new Apple product will have content from publishers including the New York Times and Penguin Books, but they said nothing about UK applications. The device will hit the shells in March. Global brands have a month to develop apps for the gadget and be among those who are in the van.
But things may go not that easy, as developing iPad apps will be different from iPhone ones. “It’s definitely going to take a lot longer to develop iPad applications. I think it’ll cost more too because apps can be more complex,” said Matt Brooke Smith, director of iPhone app specialist Future Workshops.
“There’ll be little trouble reworking existing iPhone code for the iPad. Indeed, it’s more of a screen design refresh than a code change. This means we can consider the iPad without starting from scratch. Personally I’d like to peruse the Tesco Direct catalogue on the iPad. Not just a recreation of the paper catalogue but indexed and text-searchable too. As for transactional brands, as long as the sale can be conducted with ease, then they’ll do well too”, said Nick Lansley, Tesco head of R&D.