It's been only a month since Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer hit the Japanese market, but already a string of businesses are looking to use the multifunctional gadget in their marketing strategies.
But as the iPad, which runs on a unique operating system, outsells the competition, makers of tablet computers using Microsoft Windows or Google Inc.'s Android will have to come up with innovative ideas to avoid being left in the dust.
"The impact of the iPad on the information and communications industry has been extremely big (in Japan) . . . the iPad (business) will likely spread fast to other sectors," said Suguru Kagawa, a senior researcher of the information and communications industry and finance research section at Yano Research Institute.