The iPad 2 is here and Apple apps are hotter than ever. Now B2B marketers are starting to want their own custom apps and are making room for these gems in their budgets. There are lots of facets to this issue. Here are five ways to rethink the iPad.

1. Want a Custom iPad App?

Do you need a proprietary app designed with crystal clarity — exclusively available for iPad users? Like any gem, a custom iPad app can be a major investment. The big payoff for B2B companies is the enhanced brand experience. Besides an innovative touch screen, your products can be displayed in razor sharp definition and with video capabilities that are almost cinema-like. This allows your creative team to breathe more life into your interactive content giving it more impact. The other big advantage? Users can explore every detail of your technology, even when not tethered to the web — helping to put your brand on the cutting-edge. 

2. Consider a Tablet-Ready Microsite.

Not every company needs a custom app, let alone an elegant iPad app. And trying to build and maintain individual apps for several tablets or mobile platforms could max-out any marketing budget. One solution is to add new functionality to your current website. For instance, an interactive product selector built for standard sized web browsing should work fine on the iPad (not in Flash, however). While you are planning this new web infrastructure, consider adding a mobile-optimized version as well — all scaled-down and ready for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry users. Learn what our User Experience leader has to say on this topic.

3. For the Salesperson Who Has Everything.

Your most tech-savvy sales reps may already be taking their own personal iPads on sales calls. It depends on the selling situation, but they can be mac’d out with PDF libraries, photo galleries, QuickTime videos and PPT presentations converted to Keynote. (Sorry, no Windows Media Videos or Flash, but you knew that.) We recently loaded several for a client and created a new branded desktop image to replace the default Apple graphic. Finally, we added shiny, little custom-designed icons with links to our client’s home page, RSS feed, landing pages and microsite. The result was an affordable, integrated sales tool.

4. Beyond Black and White.

Want to impress your customers and wake up your competition at trade shows? Buy a set of company iPads custom-painted in your corporate colors. Order extras as branded giveaways. We recently provided custom-colored iPads for a client's sales team through a company who uses a “scratch-resistant polymer-based coating.” They even replaced the Apple logo with our client's logo. The additional work can almost double the cost of each iPad but it looks like a factory finish.

5. Going One-on-One.

There is an open dialogue that occurs when sharing information one-on-one. The wide viewable angle allows this to happen. However, some files aren't accessible when connecting through a large flat screen or projector (using the right Apple cables and adapters). Not a breakthrough — but there’s still a novelty factor with the iPad 2, at least for now. The IBM ThinkPad created the same buzz in ‘92 when it was the new “pad” on the block.