Apple just received a huge shot in the arm over its iPad sales figures when Barclays Bank made a purchase of 8,500 iPad devices at a cost of £3.3 million ($5.3 million USD). Intending to use it to improve customer experience, Barclays Bank shelled out approximately US $623 for each iPad device according to the deal which is considered as one of the largest tablet purchases in UK financial history.
The timing of the purchase is significant as Barclays seems to have waited for Microsoft Surface and then reject it in favor of the Apple iPad. The primary reason here, in my opinion, must be the unavailability of important apps in the Windows Store. It’s just been a few months since the Windows Store was declared open to all and hence it would take a considerable amount of time for brands to develop appropriate apps for specific purposes.
“We investigated a number of different tablet options and in this instance, we concluded that iPads were the best solution for their specific needs. We are now starting to use these across Barclays branches in the U.K.”-Barclays’ Spokesperson
The idea of using an iOS app named Mortgage Brain that checks the market for mortgage options must have drawn the people at Barclays to this conclusion as this particular app is only available for the iPad.
While Barclays chose the iPad, luxury airlines Emirates chose the HP ElitePad 900 tablet running Windows 8 over others and employed a thousand of them within their cabin crew to help assist passengers in a much better way.
Well, the tablet market just got more competitive.
