THE FORUM GROUP – Sydney Event Management Company

It is unquestionable that the iPad has impacted the Events Industry. From client presentations, product and information displays, evaluation surveys,  to project management apps there seems to be a feature or application for everything. So what are the Top 10 Apps that The Forum group can suggest? Read below to find out;

1.  Keynote - Create a world-class presentation with animated charts and transitions. it’s as simple as touching and tapping.

2.  iSurvey – The tool that market research professionals use when they are tired of using old fashioned clip boards and paper forms for face to face interviews. Great tool for conducting evaluation surveys at events.

3.  Go To Meeting – The easiest and most convenient way to attend online meetings. View slide presentations, design mock-ups, spreadsheets, reports and more.

4.  Office HD – View, create and edit word (DOC and DOCX) and Excel (XLS) files on your iPad.

5.  Super Planner – Business app for the event professional. It provides a variety of planning tools including calculators for venue capacity, staffing, catering, staging and floor plans.

6.  iLeads – The world’s first lead retrieval app. It enables exhibitors to collect leads at trade shows.

7.  Daily Notes and To Do – Great app for jotting down notes, thoughts and things to do.

8.  MindMeister – The one and only mind-mapping app you’ll ever need. Helps you organise, prioritise and generate new thoughts.

9.  Pocket Informant HD (Calendar and Tasks) – This app won “Best of Show 2011′ at ‘Macworld Expo 2011′. Tonnes of features and worth checking out.

10.  Sign My iPad – Simple to use PDF reader and annotation tool. No more printing documents to sign and then scanning and emailing. Do it all from your iPad.

What are some other great apps for Event Managers? Leave a comment with your suggestions below.

The media feeding frenzy around the newly released Apple iPad has finally reached critical mass as the device was unveiled to the masses today in San Francisco. Some people love it for features like the USD $ 499 entry-level price tag while others are disappointed to learn the device lacks a camera.

So how will the event industry benefit from the iPad? Well until we actually physically touch it and use it (which won’t be for another 3 months) , we’re relying on the information provided around the iPads features. Here are some of our thoughts.

1. Proposals and presentations – with a ten hour battery life, you don’t need to worry about setting up power or fiddling with internet connections.

2. Exhibition stands / displaying products – the iPad produces exceptional quality images. The touch screen makes it easy for scanning through various images like an interactive brochure.

3. Showing client stings/ opening videos – the video interface is just like the iPhone’s video interface, with options for bookmarking, fast-forwarding, rewinding, etc. Oh, and it plays video in HD.

4. During committee meetings – If something needs to be researched, you can easily pull out your iPad and access the internet immediately during your meeting.

5. Site inspection – Google Maps runs on the iPad just as it does on the iPhone, but of course larger and clearer. This could be a handy tool at your next site inspection!

Now the big question is…can’t the good ole laptop do all this already? The answer is Yes! but in their usual fashion, we’re sure Apple will make the iPad, the iWant product to have because it will just look and feel that much flashier.

Check out the Apple iPad demo here and explore it’s features and scope for use in your business or industry.