The latest high-tech gadget, the iPad, is putting consumers into the ever-changing position of  ‘buy or don’t buy.’ Is it worth to pay the extortionate prices for the latest gadget on the market?

While consumers sit and wonder how to spend their cash, developers of the self service industry are finding ways to integrate the iPad into their systems to keep up-to-date with the advanced technology, and whether the move to do it will actually be worth it.

The Apple iPad launched in April 2010 sent the tech insiders, gadget lovers and hungry media into a spin. Coined as the crossover of all technologies the iPad acts as a laptop, mobile device, television, radio and iPod.

And while the iPad is still young and its full implications are still being defined, the self service industry are investigating ways to incorporate it into their products and services.

“There is a lot of hype about the iPad, but very few people have actually touched one,” said Brian Ardinger, CMO for software developer Nanonation. “There are a lot of things that aren’t known about how it will work in the long term.”

However these thoughts haven’t crossed the mind of some technology driven customers who wanted the iPad before it had even been made.

“As soon as it was announced, our phones were ringing with clients wanting to apply it,” said Ardinger.

In April 14-15th Nanonation unveiled a suite of iPad applications at KioskCom in Las Vegas. The apps were designed to leverage the iPad’s perceived strengths for both customer – and employee – facing applications.

This could feature a variety of programmes including employee-carried iPads with readily available customer service information, or iPad-based employee training materials that can easily be updated and deployed during the workday.

The iPad’s 9.7 inch (diagonal) screen,  touchscreen interface, ability to communicate via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G connections, and its assisted GPS capabilities could make it very well-suited to applications requiring high mobility, frequent updates and an easy-to-use interface.

“We are looking at what engagement our clients are trying to create-that helps determine what platform is best suited to make that happen,” he said.

Ardinger said that the company’s experience developing applications for Apple’s iPhone helped smooth the transition into this new technology.

However, the iPad isn’t bringing smiles all round for everyone.

One of the biggest affects the Apple iPad could have is on the DVD kiosk rental world, with the introduction of the movies and television programmes installed onto the iPad.

Users will be able to install an application which allows them to watch movies and tv shows streamed to the mobile device instantly.

“The innovation and consumer appeal of the iPad make it a perfect device for instantly watching TV episodes and movies streamed from Netflix,” Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings said in a company press release.

This may see DVD -rental kiosks such as NCR’s Blockbuster Express industry giant redbox depend on the success of the iPad.

And the success of the iPad is set to grow as Apple projects sales of more than seven million units in 2010. as well as being seen as the highest competitor for the DVD rental market share.

With any new technology device comes questions, glitches and scares of new competitors etc. But it is still early days for the iPad and its tech savvy applications may not meet the eye of some consumers. However Apple have always produced high quality devices such as the iPod and iPhone which have been massive hits with consumers over the years, it will be hard not to see this work.

Kiosk manufacturers such as the DVD rental kiosk world may have a scare on their hands but with the iPad being a costly device it will be a long while before the whole world jumps on the bandwagon. So we can’t see the DVD kiosk world falling any time soon.

For information about kiosk solutions and how to integrate them into your business, visit Protouch today.