AT&T to help Apple sell iPad to businesses small and large
AT&T said Friday that it will market all three of Apple's iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models directly to businesses of all sizes as part of an initiative to help companies increase productivity and flexibility.
The exclusive U.S. iPhone provider said it will offer attractive post-paid mobile broadband price plans for the iPad which will be available through AT&T business account representatives beginning Thursday, October 28.
Those offers will be available for customers whose AT&T wireless bills are paid for by their employer, while the iPads themselves will be available for corporate purchase with a corporate service subscription from AT&T.
"iPad is a great fit for our enterprise customers across a wide range of industries who are looking for ways to increase business productivity and offer greater flexibility," said Michael Antieri, President, Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. "This new offer further strengthens AT&T's commitment to provide businesses with the tools they need to accelerate mobility-led productivity."
The announcement comes just one day after the carrier announced, alongside rival Verizon, that Apple had authorized it to begin selling iPads later this month to mainstream consumers within its brick-and-mortar retail stores.
It's also the latest offer from AT&T's Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions Group, a team which is focused on helping to enable business model transformation through mobile applications, machine-to-machine solutions and mobile services.
The exclusive U.S. iPhone provider said it will offer attractive post-paid mobile broadband price plans for the iPad which will be available through AT&T business account representatives beginning Thursday, October 28.
Those offers will be available for customers whose AT&T wireless bills are paid for by their employer, while the iPads themselves will be available for corporate purchase with a corporate service subscription from AT&T.
"iPad is a great fit for our enterprise customers across a wide range of industries who are looking for ways to increase business productivity and offer greater flexibility," said Michael Antieri, President, Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. "This new offer further strengthens AT&T's commitment to provide businesses with the tools they need to accelerate mobility-led productivity."
The announcement comes just one day after the carrier announced, alongside rival Verizon, that Apple had authorized it to begin selling iPads later this month to mainstream consumers within its brick-and-mortar retail stores.
It's also the latest offer from AT&T's Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions Group, a team which is focused on helping to enable business model transformation through mobile applications, machine-to-machine solutions and mobile services.
Comments
Got to wonder if Verizon having iPad now has anything to do with this.
Well, it couldn't hurt.
On another note, when will Apple allow access to the me.com website via mobile Safari? Their Apps are missing some major features!
Well, it couldn't hurt.
Yep. Competition always helps
Fast-forward to now. Apple is having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with demand. They can't get them to all the countries fast enough. iPads are cutting into traditional portable sales. It is the fastest selling product in history. Now, businesses can't wait to get it. None of this was supposed to happen to a secondary, consumer electronic device.
People might rightly criticize the iPad for not being a very good business machine, or for not having many business oriented features. It was never supposed to. The market has already dressed it up and put it in a business suit, and it's not even a year old.
The iPad will be a better business option if it had a filing system that gave you the ability to upload files to webpages. Right now, all "attach file" buttons on websites are grayed out. I found that iCab has the ability but it's not compatible with MobileMe and it doesn't work on all sites.
On another note, when will Apple allow access to the me.com website via mobile Safari? Their Apps are missing some major features!
I suspect a filing system .. Finder ... for iOS system would have to be really carefully thought out since the absence of one actually helps make the iPad idiot proof. The average PC user has no idea where something 'went' when they saved it and less know how to find something later. However, I know what you mean for the less challenged and I suspect in the future some sort of file system may come about but it will be very different I am sure ... unless it is an advanced option maybe?
I get the feeling that this is all happening too fast for Apple. Think back on when they first introduced the iPad. It was exclusively offered as a consumer device that specialized in secondary computing tasks.
Fast-forward to now. Apple is having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with demand. They can't get them to all the countries fast enough. iPads are cutting into traditional portable sales. It is the fastest selling product in history. Now, businesses can't wait to get it. None of this was supposed to happen to a secondary, consumer electronic device.
People might rightly criticize the iPad for not being a very good business machine, or for not having many business oriented features. It was never supposed to. The market has already dressed it up and put it in a business suit, and it's not even a year old.
I have kind of had similar thoughts but I have to believe Apple is hard at work on features and software based upon the results of the very things you mention. Plus remember many of these suited targets are using XP still ... so iPad isn't exactly going to dissapoint too many of them!
I suspect a filing system .. Finder ... for iOS system would have to be really carefully thought out since the absence of one actually helps make the iPad idiot proof. The average PC user has no idea where something 'went' when they saved it and less know how to find something later. However, I know what you mean for the less challenged and I suspect in the future some sort of file system may come about but it will be very different I am sure ... unless it is an advanced option maybe?
I tend to believe most, if not all, computer users are capable of using a filing-system, I hope this does not become another "one button mouse" theory for Apple.
I also agree with Mac Voyer, this might be happening too fast for Apple.
Having said that, I'm actually glad that Google brought Android that is putting a flame under Apple's butt.
I get the feeling that this is all happening too fast for Apple. Think back on when they first introduced the iPad. It was exclusively offered as a consumer device that specialized in secondary computing tasks.
Fast-forward to now. Apple is having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with demand. They can't get them to all the countries fast enough. iPads are cutting into traditional portable sales. It is the fastest selling product in history. Now, businesses can't wait to get it. None of this was supposed to happen to a secondary, consumer electronic device.
People might rightly criticize the iPad for not being a very good business machine, or for not having many business oriented features. It was never supposed to. The market has already dressed it up and put it in a business suit, and it's not even a year old.
There is much truth in your statements...
..think of what that little baby will be with a little [biz] schooling under his belt.
... yet some continue to fret over whether it is a computer or a new category...
Who cares how we define it... it delivers what most people want (and are able) to accomplish with any inanimate assistant..
!
All of these business customers just might get used to iWork on their iPads. MS better come out with an Office App or lose some more customers.
Biggest potential loser....Microsoft.
All of these business customers just might get used to iWork on their iPads. MS better come out with an Office App or lose some more customers.
Don't underestimate the size of HP's slice of loser pie. Business customers will also be presented with that atrocious abomination of a slate that HP made just for businesses. They will look at the iPad and be impressed. Then they will look at the slate, encounter the hardware keyboard and CAD button, and fall on the floor, laughing.
The HP rep will be escorted out the door, and those managers might have second thoughts about replacing all those old HP desktops with offerings from the same company that thought the Slate was in the same league as the iPad.
Don't underestimate the size of HP's slice of loser pie. Business customers will also be presented with that atrocious abomination of a slate that HP made just for businesses. They will look at the iPad and be impressed. Then they will look at the slate, encounter the hardware keyboard and CAD button, and fall on the floor, laughing.
The HP rep will be escorted out the door, and those managers might have second thoughts about replacing all those old HP desktops with offerings from the same company that thought the Slate was in the same league as the iPad.
Apple's competition in this market would not Microsoft, it would be Android. And when Android implement GoogleDocs, then both Apple and Microsoft will get a run for their money.
HP can also jump onto the Android platform in no time.
I suspect a filing system .. Finder ... for iOS system would have to be really carefully thought out since the absence of one actually helps make the iPad idiot proof. The average PC user has no idea where something 'went' when they saved it and less know how to find something later. However, I know what you mean for the less challenged and I suspect in the future some sort of file system may come about but it will be very different I am sure ... unless it is an advanced option maybe?
Actually, that may not be as difficult as it sounds (or as far off).
Apple could:
1) Enhance iOS by adding a Shared Files folder read/write accessible to all apps
2) add a drill-down Shared Files API similar to the iDisk app, StreamToMe app and several others -- equivalent to the open/save file window in OS X..
3) add a PC Navigator app like ServeToMe that runs on your PC and navigates designated folders within the PC's file system
4) Rework the iDisk app so it works with the Shared Files folder on the iPad, the iDisk folders and the Navigator app on your PC -- Kind of a Global Finder that works across the iDevice, your LAN (WiFi), the Cloud (WiFi or Cell).
5) Allow apps to contain files within their sandbox (as they do now), but in addition, use the reworked iDisk app snd/or Shared Files API to access files wherever you have them.
6) Allow file exchange (upload/download) as foreground or background (with notifications).
The iOS File System is the OS X File System is the 'Nix File System -- there is just no Finder, as you mentioned.
But the pieces are all in place, the UI is written (iDisk app MobileMe, ServeToMa/StreamToMe, iWork apps).
Some iPad apps, e.g. Pages, already have a rudimentary interface to external files (iDisk, WebDav, iTunes)
If you haven't used the existing iDisk app, it is quite capable and intuitive:
-- drill down fielder ala Finder
-- open/play any document it recognizes (text, images, music, video)
-- share (email a link) a file
It doesn't allow direct upload or download, but that would be easy to add.
All of this could work quite nicely over WiFi and 3G cell -- I have streamed movies from my home media server (headless Mac Mini) to my iPad and iP4 in the middle of a park (3G).
What are we waiting for... Tar Heels?
.
I get the feeling that this is all happening too fast for Apple. Think back on when they first introduced the iPad. It was exclusively offered as a consumer device that specialized in secondary computing tasks.
Fast-forward to now. Apple is having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with demand. They can't get them to all the countries fast enough. iPads are cutting into traditional portable sales. It is the fastest selling product in history. Now, businesses can't wait to get it. None of this was supposed to happen to a secondary, consumer electronic device.
People might rightly criticize the iPad for not being a very good business machine, or for not having many business oriented features. It was never supposed to. The market has already dressed it up and put it in a business suit, and it's not even a year old.
I have kind of had similar thoughts but I have to believe Apple is hard at work on features and software based upon the results of the very things you mention. Plus remember many of these suited targets are using XP still ... so iPad isn't exactly going to dissapoint too many of them!
Yes, I think that bits and pieces are lying all around -- some visible to us (on our iDevices), some partial (crippled) implementations, some that Apple is withholding until.. Zap, then Zap, then Zap-- one by one the pieces will drop in place and the overall picture will emerge.
I think a lot depends on North Carolina. We could see a bit of that next week.
When you stop and think of the enormity of 100 million iDevices able interact with over a billion personal computers...
When you realize that by the end of next year, likely, there will be an install base of 50 million (or more) iPads...
When you consider that, likely, no one will be able to compete with the iPad for years (if ever)... yeah, yeah, tell me who, how, what, how much, and when!
This is an iTsunami!
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Also, what can we expect in the next version? Front and Rear Cameras, improved screen, faster processor, a smaller brother maybe for the more casual market??
I'm already looking forward to the next incarnation.
...what can we expect in the next version?
iLife 11
Don't underestimate the size of HP's slice of loser pie. Business customers will also be presented with that atrocious abomination of a slate that HP made just for businesses. They will look at the iPad and be impressed. Then they will look at the slate, encounter the hardware keyboard and CAD button, and fall on the floor, laughing.
The HP rep will be escorted out the door, and those managers might have second thoughts about replacing all those old HP desktops with offerings from the same company that thought the Slate was in the same league as the iPad.
Apple's competition in this market would not Microsoft, it would be Android. And when Android implement GoogleDocs, then both Apple and Microsoft will get a run for their money.
HP can also jump onto the Android platform in no time.
I disagree with both HP scenarios.
HP's Windows tablet is a commitment to MSFT-- they will make it, fill orders for it-- but they don't have to sell (really push) it!
HP will not jump to Android -- they have a superior OS, that looks as if it will scale better to a tablet than Android.
If HP can build a competitive tablet (price, capability, and quantity) with their OS, they can compete with the iPad.
RIM PlayBook is an "also ran" (maybe a scratch)
Galaxy Tab -- gonna' be less capability, more money -- and they're gonna' build 100,000 per month-- let's see in 5 years they will have an install base equal to iPads 2011 install base -- finished "out of the money".
WP7 is not, yet, solid enough for a smart phone -- It doesn't appear to be robust enough for a tablet-- this is a horse that "never entered the race" (actually doesn't even know what a race track looks like).
That leaves Win 7 on a tablet-- sorry, been there, done that... it failed-- time for the "pasture".
AAPL over $310
AAPL Market Value $49 Billion less than XOM
.
Actually, that may not be as difficult as it sounds (or as far off).
Apple could:
1) Enhance iOS by adding a Shared Files folder read/write accessible to all apps
2) add a drill-down Shared Files API similar to the iDisk app, StreamToMe app and several others -- equivalent to the open/save file window in OS X..
3) add a PC Navigator app like ServeToMe that runs on your PC and navigates designated folders within the PC's file system
4) Rework the iDisk app so it works with the Shared Files folder on the iPad, the iDisk folders and the Navigator app on your PC -- Kind of a Global Finder that works across the iDevice, your LAN (WiFi), the Cloud (WiFi or Cell).
5) Allow apps to contain files within their sandbox (as they do now), but in addition, use the reworked iDisk app snd/or Shared Files API to access files wherever you have them.
6) Allow file exchange (upload/download) as foreground or background (with notifications).
The iOS File System is the OS X File System is the 'Nix File System -- there is just no Finder, as you mentioned.
But the pieces are all in place, the UI is written (iDisk app MobileMe, ServeToMa/StreamToMe, iWork apps).
Some iPad apps, e.g. Pages, already have a rudimentary interface to external files (iDisk, WebDav, iTunes)
If you haven't used the existing iDisk app, it is quite capable and intuitive:
-- drill down fielder ala Finder
-- open/play any document it recognizes (text, images, music, video)
-- share (email a link) a file
It doesn't allow direct upload or download, but that would be easy to add.
All of this could work quite nicely over WiFi and 3G cell -- I have streamed movies from my home media server (headless Mac Mini) to my iPad and iP4 in the middle of a park (3G).
What are we waiting for... Tar Heels?
.
I have to agree with you on this, they need to give the device some more breathing room for users to manipulate their information on the device.
I suspect a filing system .. Finder ... for iOS system would have to be really carefully thought out since the absence of one actually helps make the iPad idiot proof. The average PC user has no idea where something 'went' when they saved it and less know how to find something later. However, I know what you mean for the less challenged and I suspect in the future some sort of file system may come about but it will be very different I am sure ... unless it is an advanced option maybe?
I really can't wait for that to happen. Maybe it could be a virtual file system where a single directory was heavily sand boxed as to prevent virus attacks and the like, but could hold a variety of non-iOS file formats simply for transport and temporary storage purposes.