Corporate purchasing of the Apple iPad and other tablet PCs
will rise in 2011, according to new survey data by ChangeWave Research.
Based on responses from 1,641 business IT buyers, ChangeWave
suggests that some 7 percent of corporations now provide their employees with
tablet PCs, a 1 percent increase from August. Apple’s iPad constitutes 82
percent of that business market, followed by Hewlett-Packard with 11 percent
and Dell with 7 percent.
Hewlett-Packard currently offers the 8.9-inch Slate 500,
which runs Windows. In November, responding to a note on HP’s Website that the
Slate was on backorder due to “extraordinary demand,” tech blog Engadget quoted
a Ô”trusted tipster with a contact inside HP” as
saying the company had originally planned a run of only 5,000 units. In
2011, HP is widely expected to release tablets running its recently acquired
Palm webOS.
Dell offers the 5-inch Streak, now
running Android 2.2, but reportedly plans to introduce tablets with larger
screens in coming quarters.
Among the iPad’s corporate users, around 69 percent reported
being “Very Satisfied” with the experience, with another 28 percent “Somewhat
Satisfied.” Contrast that with HP users, 23 percent of whom reported being
“Very Satisfied” and 46 percent “Somewhat Satisfied,” and Dell users, at 12
percent “Very Satisfied” and 62 percent “Somewhat Satisfied.”
For more, read the eWeek article: Apple iPad, HP Slate, Dell Streak Drive Corporate Tablet Use.