Some Companies, Which Barred the iPhone, Build Apps for Tablet Computer and Give Apple Gadget to Employees

When Apple Inc.'s first iPhone came out in 2007, many companies told their employees that the device wasn't appropriate for the workplace. The iPad is a different story.

The company's tablet-style device seems to be sidestepping the resistance that the iPhone and other consumer-oriented devices have faced in the corporate environment. Indeed, many businesses have raced to snap up iPads.

There's no doubt that the invention of e-readers has greatly impacted book sales. Here are some numbers to look at:

• 51% of e-reader owners increased their purchases of e-books in the past year. ¹
• 9% of consumers increased their purchases of hardcover books in the past year. ¹

Hikosaburo Yasuda says he knows a trend when he sees one and plans to buy Apple Inc.’s iPad to keep up with junior members in his computer club. Yasuda is 95.

“It’s important to always try new things, otherwise you get left behind,” Yasuda said. “All these books in just one place, and so many familiar, classic titles that I’ve never had a chance to read. I want to buy the iPad just for that.”

Any concerns regarding a cannibalistic impact of the iPad on Mac sales, were recently laid to rest by Apple’s Q3 2010 earnings call; the iPhone and the iPad, which run on iOS, led an impressive, best-ever, everything-but-the-iPod, sales quarter. For a closer look at who is buying two of Apple’s most popular devices, we turn to The Nielsen Company’s survey of more than 64,000 mobile subscribers, fielded April through June 2010.

Oklahoma State University professor Bill Handy has big plans for the Apple iPad this fall. If the text messages he has received since the school announced he would test the tablet-style e-reader in some courses are any indication, students are eager to get their hands on the devices, too.

Handy, who teaches in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, is quick to stress that his intent is not to celebrate the new technology so much as to evaluate its effectiveness in the classroom.

 

Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they'll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you've installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!) Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website

How many of us have suffered through a PowerPoint sales presentation? You bring in a laptop, boot it up, hook it up to a projector and load the application. Maybe 5 minutes later you dim the lights and everyone sits around a table checking their email with their smart phones while you present.

Boring. And not very effective.

If people aren't engaged with you, chances are they aren't that interested in having a meaningful conversation.

Featuring built-in support for Microsoft Exchange, secure access to corporate data, and a powerful platform for apps, iPad is ready for work, right out of the box.

A touch of brilliance for your writing.

Pages for iPad combines robust writing and advanced layout tools with the simplicity of Multi-Touch. So you can create all kinds of documents — including newsletters, reports, brochures, and flyers — using just your fingers. Text is crisp, clear, and very readable on the large, bright iPad screen. And the handy page navigator lets you scroll through your document in thumbnails, so you can quickly jump to any page you want.

It’s easy to be good with Numbers.

Who knew making spreadsheets could feel so natural? Numbers is the most powerful spreadsheet app designed to work with iPad and Multi-Touch technology. With a few taps, you can create tables and charts, add photos and graphics, and enter and edit data. Numbers isn’t just a spreadsheet application — it’s a flexible canvas. Which means you can add multiple tables and charts anywhere on a sheet and move them wherever you like.

Congratulations! You've found the one and only Good Reader app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad! If you need to read huge PDF, or TXT files, you've come to the right place. Faithful users of GoodReader have reported flawless performance with files over 1 gig in size; but that's only one of the many features that makes GoodReader the best app of its kind.

Wells Fargo & Co. spent two years studying the iPhone before letting bankers use the device at work. Apple Inc.’s iPad, released in April, took just weeks to get cleared.

This time around, safeguards against security breaches are stronger from the start, according to Megan Minich, a senior vice president at the San Francisco-based bank. Her colleagues used two of the first shipment of 15 iPads to demonstrate financial products at an investors’ conference in May. More are on the way, Minich said.

A sales tool necessity for any business.

Incredible presentations. Incredibly easy.

Keynote is the powerful presentation app you love from iWork, completely reworked for iPad and Multi-Touch. So you can do everything on iPad with a tap or drag of your finger — from creating your first slide to presenting your work.

Since the iPad announcement, certainly there has been a strong consumer pitch, but business users are also in the target market. Some of the clear niche uses for the iPad are areas that are strong among businesses. Is it really so surprising that business use would be high on customers’ agendas?

Despite the availability of its own version of iWorks, Apple's new iPad remains an entertainment device, not an obvious business tool. Still, it has possibilities. For business applications, in the hands of talented developers, the iPad could turn into something useful, if not revolutionary.