Rackspace launched an iPad app to manage a cloud infrastructure, one of the first to offer such a service.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) does not have apps for the iPhone nor the iPad platforms. It has historically not offered mobile apps for AWS.
You can still access AWS on the iPad through the Safari browser. But is the experience as rich as what you would have as on a native app?
Mike Mayo built Rackspace’s iPad app. He says it is the functionality that gives apps their value. It’s evident in both consumer and enterprise apps. Users get a rich user experience. You can see it in the Racskpace cloud app.
Mayo humorously says that the app offers administrators “a life.” Meaning that you can go out for dinner without the anxiety of not knowing how the infrastructure is faring. If you see a problem, you can reboot, directly from the device.
The app does have a new service not available on the iPhone version. You can delete your servers on it. Mayo kept the feature off the iPhone due to the concern that it’s such a small device, easily left at a bar or restaurant. He feels people are less likely to leave an iPad due to its size. We’re not so sure. People leave their laptops behind all the time.
We could go into details about the app and what it offers but Robert Scoble’s video does a good job of that.
Mayo is currently developing a Rackpace cloud app for the Android.
Disclosure: RackSpace is a sponsor of ReadWriteCloud’s parent site, ReadWriteWeb.
