Posted on 07/07/2010 12:51:59 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast
Wednesday July 07, 2010 10:55 AM EST
Written by Eric Slivka
Apple, known for courting consumers with sleek designs and easy-to-use software, is making inroads with corporations that say the iPad can make workers more productive without putting sensitive customer information at risk. SAP (SAP), Tellabs (TLAB), and Daimler's (DAI:GR) Mercedes-Benz are using the tablet-style computer for tasks as varied as accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and calling up on-the-spot auto-finance options.Analysts note that companies have been reluctant to adopt tablet-based computers until now due to their typically underpowered nature and inability to multitask. The appeal of the iPad has, however, caused companies to rethink how tablets can be used and to experiment with the iPad in their businesses.
Reservations aside, Wells Fargo saw early on how quickly the iPad might take hold among business clients the weekend the device was released. Finance executives of large companies - those that generate more than $50 million in revenue - accessed corporate Wells Fargo accounts with iPads, says Amy Johnson, a Wells Fargo vice-president who works on the company's online portal and mobile strategy. A finance official or account representative could use a mobile device like the iPad to approve multimillion-dollar wire transfers, she explains.The report also highlights Daimler's Mercedes-Benz unit, which has rolled out iPads to 40 of its U.S. dealerships to allow sales representatives to share financing options with customers as they wander around the showroom. The company has also released an iPhone application to allow customers to manage their finance accounts and make payments on their vehicles, signaling the company's growing presence on Apple's iOS platform.
Ping, and bring all your FRiends.
My daughter received one for her birthday in June and she loves it.
However, I bought one and absolutely Love it as an entertainment, gaming, watching movies, and freeping device. I can even access my PC’s and Servers using Log Me In Ignition.
Well it ever replace my laptops or PCs? No! But it has found a place in my home!
i jave been thinking of buying a NOOK book reader. my friend at work let me play with his IPAD yesterday. wow!
like you i am a pc person, even as a graphics artist and technical illustrator, but i can see me getting this. it uses Epubs too.
I need to be able to manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and also do some website coding/ftp. Are there apps for that?
I totally agree with your review. A great entertainment device, or portable device for displaying information, but not very useful as a working tool in most environments. I have a few windows boxes, a few macs, and a plethora of linux servers that i touch on a daily basis. I have an iphone and an ipad.
I personally wouldn’t fork out $500 for one, but hey, i don’t buy brand new cars either and its not because i can’t afford them. They just aren’t worth the investment.
Oops, i meant i agree with your review.
I was sitting by the pool last weekend with my kids working on my server at the office. I used the built in VPN to open a tunnel, then used VNC to access various workstations at the office. All the while on 3G, performance was very good. They really are very nice devices.
coon2000,
What VPN software are you using? I have started looking for something to open up a CISCO tunnel to work.
Our bank just made a large corporate purchase and one of the plans is to use them in place of more costly notebooks used now in meetings and on the road and in the field. O
ur studies show that notebooks and netbooks are rarely used for more than email or information purposes. The low end iPads are a very productive and cost effective tool to replace our aging notebook/netbook inventory. And they require far less IT time to keep running.
Our first PO was 500 and I expect that to be 5,000 before year end, as we still have may aged and falling apart old toughbooks in stock, and this helps not only costs but everyone is psyched for them, so morale is way way up since the news.
This is a corporate PO, individuals, individual cost centers and managers with their own department budgets and who have been forecast to purchase IT hardware, have been sent a memo suggesting they consider the iPad and return a portion of their intended purchase draw back to their funding department account, saving the company significant money and of course, helping their department meet budget.
Hiya, ROTLC! Bump.
I’d probably get one if I could get something other than Edge reception at home.
Ping to the soon to be new iPad lady.
To all ...
When the iPad came out, I was thinking I was going to pass it up since I didn’t really need it. I kept looking at it in the stores and when the first day for the 3G came around, I stood in line to get one.
I am sooo happy I did. Originally I was wowed by iBooks which most people are but didn’t think I’d find uses for it beyond using apps and email. But I found that I never have to lug my MacBook Pro with me and I always carry the iPad. I really like web surfing on it as it easy to re-size the type.
I used to take my Wall Street Journal with me to breakfast on weekends and struggled folding the pages. Now, I just start up the WSJ app and hold the pad. So simple, so easy.
I bought a nice black neoprene case for it.
This was one of the first uses I thought of, as a rolling sales display device for sales people, where the smoothness of passing information back and forth is essential.
I'm also expecting it to be used in medical situations, where doctors can get x-rays, MRIs, etc.
Most of my remote access to work is for server management, but ironically these things came along just about the time that I've started changing over from GUI to command line based management tools. Still trying to figure out how they'd work in that environment.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Do you have WIFI at home? If so, you don't need the cellular data connection at home, nor would you want to use it. I use the cheaper $15 250MB plan and make sure I have access to the faster WIFI connections most places I go and just use the 3G when on the road. If I wind up using more, it just adds another $15. Which is what I would be paying every month anyway. So far, I have not gone over.
If you only use your iPad at home with WIFI, you don't need a plan at all.
While you're here, how would the thing work doing something that used a command line interface? The idea of using it for remote access to work is kind of attractive, but I've been moving away from GUI management utilities toward CLI and Powershell.
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