I'm questioning whether or not to buy the iPad. Every realtor says "it will be great if you can do digital signatures." I am already planning to use Google Docs and Google Voice so the iPad will fit in nicely instead of carrying around a bulky laptop. What do you guys think? Will it benefit realtors?

The lack of Flash support makes it a toy and not a tool. One would still need to carry around the laptop.

Flash support won't make a big deal as it eats up CPU processing speed. Everyone is using AJAX or HTML 5. Hypothetically you could use the Google Apps on it no problem which includes Docs for editing documents, presentations, spreadsheets; Google Voice to manage calls, voicemails; Google Calendar for appointments and tasks. You could also use the Docusign iPhone App to do e-signatures.

I think the purpose of new technology is not asking what can it do, but what can I do with it-the above seems like alot to me.

I would agree with Admin, more of a toy then tool at this point IMO.

Flash is still an issue.

No multitasking, meaning you do 1 and only 1 thing at a time, may not seem like much, but I'll bet you do more then one thing at a time on your laptop.

No USB ports, so you cant add or use anything additional with it.

Cheaper models are WiFi only, so you will pay through the nose to get the model that will be 3G able and then your data plan on top of that.

I think down the road, future versions of this type of item will be a real tool for realtors, I just dont think this is it yet.

i know this topic didn't get a lot of responses but just wanted to chime in,

I use my ipad everyday for all things real estate. I use it with buyers and sellers, It is my email reader, my GPS, floortime desk, mls, document reader, sign contracts, neighborhood info, tax info, my schedule, it does everything i want it to do and finding new uses for it all the time.

I usually hear the same complaints, ie. no flash, no multitasking, right?, am i wrong? multitasking isn't a problem, i browse internet tap once have a calc tap once type some notes, it really not an issue. as for flash, i have used my ipad for a little over 2 mo. havn't noticed any problems.

a perfect tool for REALTORs. I believe we will all have one or a similar tool someday. remember there are agents that dont think a personal website is worth having either.

I think it's really stupid they don't have flash support. I can't stand Mac products for that reason though. They limit the functionality to protect the average clueless user from themselves. Unfortunately anyone who needs that advanced functionality can't have it, because the majority of the population seem to be fine with it because they don't know any better. I just hope microsoft never starts pandering to the general public, I like being able to dig into the advanced options and do what I want thank you very much. Don't take my sharp knives away just because other people cut themselves with them.