The 2nd generation iPad is expected to be announced later today during Apple’s media event, but will the iPad 2 impress in the enterprise market. The current version of the iOS tablet had a slow start in this sector, but things have started to move in a positive direction recently, and this year is expected to be a whole lot better.
With more apps becoming available for enterprise users, Apple is now under great pressure to offer them support. For years RIM has had the business sector all but sewn up, but they have yet to offer a tablet — although the BlackBerry PlayBook comes out in just a few short months.
Having said that, Apple do not need to worry about losing market share so much now for the business user, as the iPad is a proven platform — unlike the PlayBook. During 2010 we have seen a number of companies and even health professions take up the iPad, but USA Today points out a serious flaw in this. Most of these companies only offer the iPads to their sales reps, and not to the staff that could benefit the most.
There were suggestions that doctors in hospitals could start to use them, as they will have complete access to patients records, and can even share them with colleges thousands of miles away; there is even a Radiology app. If you were to ask a number of executives, we bet they would say that they would like an iPad 2. However, how many of them would now say that they would like one of the Android models coming to the market or the PlayBook?
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