Mac-Loving Engineers Can Have Their AutoCAD and iPads Too

AutoCAD, a popular design and engineering tool from Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK), is returning to the Mac after an absence of some 18 years. Autodesk is launching a version that runs natively on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Mac OS X.

To be released in October, it will cost US$3,995 without a support subscription, and $4,445 with one.

Autodesk is also releasing a free version of the AutoCAD application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The mobile iteration is not a full-blown application. Essentially it will allow users to view, edit and share DWG -- AutoCAD's format -- files. In the case of the mobile version, the app can read any DWG file, whether created on a Windows PC or a Mac.

AutoCAD for Mac has been written as a native app, so it is able to take advantage of the Mac's special characteristics. For instance, Mac's multi-touch gestures make it easier for users to pan and zoom into a drawing. Also, the program's Cover Flow interface is designed to let users browse via graphical previews of each file.

Odd Reunion

The release of AutoCAD to the Mac is something of a head-scratcher, even for diehard Apple fans.

"I am not sure what to make of this," Rob Walch, host of Today in iPhone, told MacNewsWorld. "It is a strange fit. The company ran away from the platform years ago and engineers -- the few who stayed with the Mac -- found other solutions to use."

The iPad is geared more toward consumers of content -- not creators, he noted.

Furthermore, engineers are not hardcore users of Apple products in the first place, so it is difficult to see how they would be satisfied with the limited functionality of the iPad and iPhone apps, noted Walch, who has firsthand experience with engineers' taste in computing platforms -- he was chief engineer at an electronics component manufacturer for 17 years.

There are some uses for the mobile app, he acknowledged. Engineers could carry drawing or designs to a field site without having to deal with cumbersome plans.

That said, "I really don't think this is going to be a best-seller," Walch concluded.

Industry Verticals

Whether it is or not, the concept behind it -- industry verticals -- is going to gain momentum in the Apple ecosystem, thanks to the iPad.

"I woudn't say the iPad was the main reason why [Autodesk] decided to do this, but I do think it had to be a factor," Laura DiDio, principal of ITIC, told MacNewsWorld.

In general, the iPad has been embraced by the business community, which sees it as a cheap and eye-catching substitute for laptops for many use cases.

Users like it -- and perhaps just as importantly, their clients seem to be impressed with it as well.

"Its acceptance has been swift and dramatic, and [Autodesk] has had to have noticed that," DiDio said.

The industry is going to see more verticals rolled out in other fields as well, including medical, education and media, she predicted.

A Good Marketing Plan

Autodesk will face stronger headwinds than other firms will be subjected to because of its departure so many years ago, DiDio acknowledged.

"It is going to have to explain why now for re-entering the Mac environment and perhaps explain why it left in the first place to skeptical users," she said.

As for Autodesk, it has said that one of the reasons it is re-entering the Mac space now is that many of its 10 million users have been asking for a Mac version.

It's possible that AutoCAD for Mac could entice new users to buy licenses -- especially as they experiment with the free version, DiDio speculated.

"AutoCAD has a good track record for 2D and 3D CAD design," she said. "In many ways, it was already tailor-made for the Mac environment."