Businesses not excited about iPad?

NEW YORK, USA: Strategy Analysts' Phillipe Winthrop, in his Enterprise Mobility Matters blog, wrote earlier this week: "While I did say previously that the iPad is not ready for the enterprise, I can see a place where it would fit in with a version 2.0. Get the proper management tools in place, and provide robust corporate applications (such as Microsoft Office) and provide a great docking station (meaning that keyboard add-on)...and you could actually have a compelling offering...again, assuming the device can be managed."

However, he added, "Certainly companies like Cisco give their employees stipends every couple of years to buy what they want...and you could arguably see someone get the iPad. But would YOU buy an iPad on your own dime for work? Hmm...I wouldn't....unless I could genuinely replace my laptop. It's not there yet..."

A handful of business software vendors are being more aggressive in their iPad approaches. Mac-centric productivity software maker The Omni Group pledged to do ports soon, and development tools company Appcelerator said it's already iPad-ready. CompanionLink announced an iPad version of its contacts and calendar software that works with Microsoft Exchange and IBM's Lotus Notes.

Apple itself is preparing some business-worthy networking software, AppleInsider reported today.

As for Apple CEO Steve Jobs, known for hyperbole, he called the iPad "a magical revolutionary device" although he's not losing focus on the existing iPhone. Wired and several Apple rumor sites are reporting that Jobs, in a post-iPad townhall meeting with employees, said he's holding on oft-requested Adobe Flash support because the software is too buggy, and that he believes HTML 5 will become the dominant technology.

Jobs also reportedly said that another iPhone software update is in the works and that he does not yet consider Google Android to be a competitive threat.

(Evan Koblentz, MOBILIZINGBizzApps)