Why would anyone buy an Ipad?
- Thread starter mtb211
- Start date
Ethan3.14159
Active Member
How do you deck out an iPad????
speedyink
VIP Member
Instead of paper menus, I've read that some restaurants are giving their customers ipads to order off their menu. Instead of using binders and notebooks, salespeople create custom presentations on their ipads... just a few examples.
tlarkin
VIP Member
Again, my point is the view being taken here is strictly on a hardware level. Do you really think your every day applications you use take advantage of the newest hardware? Do you think video games do? Hardware is generally like a year or two ahead of software.
64bit OSes have been out for a very long time, and Windows and OS X finally migrated to 64bit. Where are all the 64bit apps?
Where are all the games with full on DX10/DX11 support?
When people say, oh Macs use outdated hardware, remember they are a closed system designed and optimized to run on specific specs, and also the OS itself is a lot cleaner and way less bloat.
speedyink
VIP Member
I bet that's an easy way to jack up your prices.
TFT
VIP Member
In that case I'd seriously think of doing a runner out the door with it.
TrainTrackHack
VIP Member
I'm pretty sure only expensive, fine dining establishments are using them. The example I read about was a wine bar actually. You won't find them at your local denny's lol.
tlarkin
VIP Member
it is all a tax write off anyway. I am sure fine dining restaurants drop $1,000s printing and binding their menus anyway, and I am sure the iPad wasn't all that much more expensive.
I bet they use them in Vegas too, not that I would know, but Vegas has some pretty high tech places to eat, drink, and gamble.
ganzey
banned
i can just see someone running off with one, or taking it in to the bathroonm......
speedyink
VIP Member
True that.
hahaha paper menus can't be that expensive! You're talking like thick paper, some fancy font and black print, or even color print with some images? With leather folding, perhaps some metal or even precious metal binding (24k gold LOL)? Then you laminate the paper. Maybe $100 per menu (with the gold, high estimate, I've no idea
). On the flip side, say you need 20 ipads, for example, to service each table of customers, you're talking an upfront $10k expense + tax (if applicable), unless you can get some type of bulk order discount from a retailer or Apple itself (unlikely I'm guessing). Sure, it's a write-off, but how many establishments have the cash to put that upfront? I'm not trying to troll or create a phony argument, just saying... I'd think only high-end establishments would put up that kind of money, and they're prolly only doing it to separate themselves from their equally high end competition. It's a great marketing idea, but I don't think you can claim its as cost effective as producing your typical restaurant menu. I'd bet that restaurateurs would even call it expensive and foolish, unless you know your market and calculate that they'd pay for that type of service.
What I'd do, If I managed this type of restaurant, if you want an iPad, you pay an additional 20% on top of your bill.
Customers, if they didn't already own one, would pay for it imo. If it's a successful restaurant, maybe you get Apple to contribute the iPads, and they write it off as their own marketing costs, and you help them with advertising the device. A lot of different ways to go about it I suppose. 
Right, I haven't been either, but that would be one of the spots I'd expect to see that, regardless of costs.
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tlarkin
VIP Member
well I was thinking 1 iPad per a table versus 2 to 6 menus... I figure one table of menus, leather bound, probably comes out to several hundred dollars. I just had an old book rebound recently and the cheapest binding I could get was $20. No idea how the pricing works when it is in bulk for a business, but I am assuming that if a place buys iPads for menus, they are probably going to put one per a table.
speedyink
VIP Member
hahaha paper menus can't be that expensive! You're talking like thick paper, some fancy font and black print, or even color print with some images? With leather folding, perhaps some metal or even precious metal binding (24k gold LOL)? Then you laminate the paper. Maybe $100 per menu (with the gold, high estimate, I've no idea
On the flip side, say you need 20 ipads, for example, to service each table of customers, you're talking an upfront $10k expense + tax (if applicable), unless you can get some type of bulk order discount from a retailer or Apple itself (unlikely I'm guessing). Sure, it's a write-off, but how many establishments have the cash to put that upfront? I'm not trying to troll or create a phony argument, just saying... I'd think only high-end establishments would put up that kind of money, and they're prolly only doing it to separate themselves from their equally high end competition. It's a great marketing idea, but I don't think you can claim its as cost effective as producing your typical restaurant menu. I'd bet that restaurateurs would even call it expensive and foolish, unless you know your market and calculate that they'd pay for that type of service.
What I'd do, If I managed this type of restaurant, if you want an iPad, you pay an additional 20% on top of your bill.
Right, I haven't been either, but that would be one of the spots I'd expect to see that, regardless of costs.
You are right, I worked at a print shop at one point and it is definitely much cheaper than $500 per menu
I would also assume like Tlarkin that less would be used, though I personally think 1 per table wouldn't be enough. Ideally it would be one per every 2-3 chairs, depending on table size. So at a third less (optimistic, should be closer to half) that would be the equivalent to $166 per menu. Still around 3 times more than the print, but I can definitely see a higher class establishment spending that.
Though like you said to help with the expense, you could charge a percentage over top of each meal for whoever needs to use one, and just offer 'discounts' to people who already own one.
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tlarkin
VIP Member
well, I was thinking along the lines of, a restaurant that seats 200 people, would have to have 200 menus, one for each person.
Lets say, that they decide to get an iPad for every 3 people they can seat, that means they would need 200/3 ipads, which is roughly 67 rounding up. At $499 each that runs out to be $33,433.00.
Now lets say each menu is printed on nice parchment paper, with multi color ink, like the metallic inks, and is leather bound in pure real leather. I am going to just guess at how much this costs. I will also bundle in a wine menu and drink menu, which are also usually separate and also leather bound. I am going to say you have to have 200 menus + 100 drink menus, and the cost would be $150 for the menu, and $75 for the drink menu. So, $150 * 200 = $30,000.00 on the dot, and the drink menus 100 @ $75 each are going to cost $7,500, which brings the total cost to $37,500.00
Which is actually slightly more expensive than running 1/3 iPads. Now, when I say fine dining, I mean it is going to cost over $150 per a person, easily. I have been to some entry level fine dining restaurants and I dropped $85 or so on my meal and drinks.
Now if the restaurant decides to go with 1 iPad for every two people the cost is $49,000.00 which is about $10k over the cost of their menus. However when you are paying $150 to $300 per a meal, one meal pays for the iPad or printing costs of the menus.
I have seen places that actually install LCD screens near your table that just show the menu in an interactive power point.
Lets say, that they decide to get an iPad for every 3 people they can seat, that means they would need 200/3 ipads, which is roughly 67 rounding up. At $499 each that runs out to be $33,433.00.
Now lets say each menu is printed on nice parchment paper, with multi color ink, like the metallic inks, and is leather bound in pure real leather. I am going to just guess at how much this costs. I will also bundle in a wine menu and drink menu, which are also usually separate and also leather bound. I am going to say you have to have 200 menus + 100 drink menus, and the cost would be $150 for the menu, and $75 for the drink menu. So, $150 * 200 = $30,000.00 on the dot, and the drink menus 100 @ $75 each are going to cost $7,500, which brings the total cost to $37,500.00
Which is actually slightly more expensive than running 1/3 iPads. Now, when I say fine dining, I mean it is going to cost over $150 per a person, easily. I have been to some entry level fine dining restaurants and I dropped $85 or so on my meal and drinks.
Now if the restaurant decides to go with 1 iPad for every two people the cost is $49,000.00 which is about $10k over the cost of their menus. However when you are paying $150 to $300 per a meal, one meal pays for the iPad or printing costs of the menus.
I have seen places that actually install LCD screens near your table that just show the menu in an interactive power point.
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brian
VIP Member
Hmm thats a good idea.. Plus you can argue that you can cut the amount of waitresses needed because they can order right from the device and pay for it too.
The down side, no one wants to loose their job over technology, and they can be stolen*.
But I do like that Idea. I would love to go to a restaurant that has that setup.
On another note. I also was thinking of an ipad for flights. Living in Cali and going to school in Virginia means a lot of travailing. Planes also have the worst setup for laptops and makes it hard to watch a movie or do anything. an I pad would be powerful yet small enough for me to do what I want on a plane..
