I have been on extensive business travel lately and relying almost exclusively on my ipad for just about everything and then it occured to me that it is replacing a ton of devices.

The table below shows the device my ipad has replaced, the cost of the device, the percentage replacement value and the net value.

To explain whaat I mean by replacement percentage I will use a couple of examples. I can buy a police scanner from amazon.com for about $180 or I can download a free app called “5-0″ and get 75% similar usage than the real scanner so the net value is $180 x 75% = $135.

Similarly I can buy a cheap digital camera for $100 or use the ipad’s built in camera for free but since the ipad camera is feature limited, I only get $50 of value.

The table isn’t complete as I am constantly adding items but you get the idea.

ipad 2

Device Cost Approx. Value Net Value App
USA Today $262 95% $249 USA Today
Police Scanner $180 75% $135 5-0
Camera $100 50% $50 Camera
Video Cam $100 75% $75 Camera
Calculator $10 100% $10 FreeCalc
GPS Navigator $100 50% $50 Maps
Nintendo DS $100 100% $100 Any game
Cellphone $100 75% $75 Skype
Television $100 100% $100 ABC, Netflix
DVD Player $50 90% $45 ITunes

You will note that obvious things like books, reference materials, and such aren’t on the list because they replace heavy media with electronic media but I did use USA Today as an example.

During recent storms in Jasper and Oklahoma, I had a friend that was trying to understand what was going on, so I showed him the 5-0 app and he could listen to live police activity!

I am starting to think that the ipad may begin to replace things like cash for digital currency and digital checks. Just add an external sensor and turn my ipad into a stethascope, ultrasound machine, medical scanner, geiger counter, etc.