AT&T to sell iPads directly to businesses

By on Oct 15, 2010 at 12:42 PM
General October 15, 2010

Today, via a press release, AT&T announced that beginning on October 28 the nation’s second largest wireless provider will be selling all six iPad models directly to businesses. The company quipped that the move is “part of an initiative to help companies increase productivity and flexibility.” Michael Antieri, AT&T’s president of Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions, had this to say: “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. This new offer further strengthens AT&T’s commitment to provide businesses with the tools they need to accelerate mobility-led productivity.” Hit the jump for the full press release

AT&T to Sell Apple’s iPad to Businesses of All Sizes

iPad Available Directly Through AT&T for Corporate Users to Help Accelerate Business Productivity

Dallas, Texas, October 15, 2010

AT&T* announced today that the company will sell all three iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models directly to business customers as part of an initiative to help companies increase productivity and flexibility. AT&T 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. This new offer is available for customers whose AT&T wireless bills are paid for by their employer.

“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.”

“We are getting many requests for help on iPad strategies for the enterprise,” writes Ted Schadler, vice president, principal analyst, Forrester Research, Inc. in the July 2010 Forrester blog posting, How Are You Using iPad For Business?. “iPads are a tremendously empowering technology that any employee can buy.”

Today’s announcement is the newest offer from AT&T’s Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions Group, which is focused on helping to enable business model transformation through mobile applications, machine-to-machine solutions and mobile services. The group complements AT&T’s Emerging Devices Organization which focuses on wirelessly enabling devices for consumers.

iPad will be available for corporate purchase with a corporate service subscription from AT&T.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

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  • derloos

    I wonder how sweet are those corporate plans.

    • http://www.em-zero.com m0

      Engrish?

  • ktowncrawler

    the same day verizon will start selling them haha.

  • nicole

    APPLE FOR THE WIN
    Blackberry FOR the LOSE

  • Ion

    nobody in a 3 piece suit has a pocket that big for an ipad, nor would they ever carry it like that.

    • Kerensky97

      Am I tho only one that thinks that guy looks like a less confident version of Denholm Reynholm?

  • Norm

    2 big fails here.

    1.) The ipad is the biggest failure ever created by that tanking company. It doesn’t even have a rear camera with at least a dual LED flash. Also the battery life is abysmal. When you last two months on a single charge like on my DROID overclocked at 1.6 ghz then we will talk.

    2.) AT&T. Do I even need to explain this one? There is a map for that. DROID DOES FTW!

    • WP7

      DROID sucks. WP7 is the new king and queen. Also, I predicted the failure of the iPad last March, and no one seemed to care. Now that it has actually failed, everyone has just seemed to move on to the hype machine that is the BB Playbook.

    • Jordan

      I fail to see how the ipad is a huge failure. Every competitor has spent the last year trying to make a competing device and guess what none have dropped yet.

      There will be a front facing camera on the next gen device and you will look like a jackass taking a picture with a 9.7″ tablet anyways.

      Also you must not read the news often because Apples stock just hit $300 for the first time.

      Fandroid people are the worst. I have personally used all devices but only Android people feel the need to bash every other brand.

      • bringit

        Norm and Googfan are trolls. Their sole purpose for coming to BGR is to act like huge Google fans and trash Apple, to get a response. They are ridiculous.

      • Norm

        I am a huge VZW and DROID fan. Don’t get all fussy because I’m passionate about two great companies that simply blow Apple out of the water. I try my hardest to make sure all of the Apple propaganda is smothered because it’s all lies and DROID DOES.

      • nicole

        Wait a tick, you said Verzion and Motorola in the same sentence… with “great companies”…

        i guess would show up as “does not compute” on that old hunk-o-junk phone Verzion typically sells.

      • Goofan (aka Apple hater)

        @bringit

        You are repulsive. I think of you and I throw up. The fact you love, absolutely love apple, doesn’t give you the right to insult goofans(aka apple haters)… We are millions of apple haters and for that we hate you because you are a devil worshiping piece of crap! Gosh, I am sorry everyone else it’s just that apple lovers like bringit bring out the worse in me…..

        Norm please accept my apologies on behalf of our amazing family of google lovers…

        Hope you can forgive this, this ignorant troll called bringit.

  • RealDeal

    What gap does the ipad fill for businesses? What can you do with it that you can’t already do with your laptop and smartphone? Business buying these are wasting their money thinking that it will some how make them look trendy and hip, when in reality it just makes them look like sheep.

    • meske

      The iPad is not so good for business, but the PlayBook is well positioned. My company is already building out a plan to integrate the book into the organization. The iPad is nice, but too tied to iTunes to be a viable business device.

      • Travis

        The Blackberry PlayBook doesn’t even exist. It’s all CGI and a plastic mock-up at this point.

    • Joe

      I support executives and for those that go on vacation, and those on the move– bringing a laptop is a pain in the tail to just stay connected wtih your company.

      The consumption of the ipad is very good. Not so good at creating data without 3rd party app of course and even then it’s meh.

      We’re deploying them to some top execs along with an app that allows the approval and review of financial information.

      Being mobile is becoming more and more important to businesses as doing business outside of the office has become extremely important.

      If anything the simplicity of the tablet is going to make the netbook obsolete.

  • GN

    500$ leather brief case?

  • GN

    I guess AT&T will sell the 800$ suit to go with it…thats a special pocket right there…now thats funny..

  • debbie barnes

    i dont get y people keep saying the pad is a fail

    • GN

      same reason alot of the iphone/apple lovers, say all other devices are a fail…I would imagine its just to stir shit up on this board

    • tk-093

      It’s starting to be a fail for business. The iTunes requirement is a huge failure. We just completed a 30 person “proof of concept” with people in various sales positions in our company. Everybody loved the consumption/entertainment piece of the device, but not a single person would part with their PC. A few felt they could give up their laptop and replace it with a cheaper desktop while in the office, but again, not much savings there and you still have iTunes.

      No true Microsoft Office iPad app is a deal breaker, as well as the capactative only touchscreen. All these sales execs take tons of notes with the old school pen and paper and you just cant do that on an iPad.

      The PlayBook is going to have the same issue. Need the pen input as well, but it will fail less then the iPad in business because it will actually have security on the device.

      iPad = great consumer device, horrible, horrible business device.

  • lurch

    I like how in the first picture, the guy is all self-assured and confident. Then, in the second picture, after he reveals his goofy jacket and his iPad, the look on his face is that of a scolded child.

    advertising fail

  • Tdot34

    What business would want this unsecured crap?Just wait until one corporation has an email intercepted over wifi or iPad is left laying around and hacked into. If my business needed a product like this, I’d be waiting for the Playbook.

    • Jarrett

      Surely there are businesses waiting for the playbook. RIM knows their customers extremely well and continue to have record sales quarter after quarter. That being said, plenty of businesses seem to suggest that they are either adopting the iPad for the workplace or and investigating doing so.

      • Attila434AD

        I am going to watt for the 7″ RIM

      • Travis

        RIM itself is still waiting for the PlayBook, too. It’s not a real product–not yet at least.

    • Travis

      Just as possible with any standard laptop.

  • GN

    I cant figure out, why dude had to change clothes and look to the sky, as if he was saying to himself….”why god” why….

  • dave

    It’s just too damn large, people!!! Seven inches would have been better.

    • AZ

      That’s what she said

      • AzianPersuasian

        Stereotypes of Azian male misunderstood, but it’s still all good.

  • Steel

    I hope the business they’re in is Angry Birds.

  • Attila434AD

    RIM made a wrong calculation,bad timing they should be
    the 1st supply for business.

  • C

    The ikid’s all over this sh**

  • Shasta

    With apps like Documents To Go and Quickoffice Connect I could see businesses using the IPad to some degree but, To really be successful…………. it’ll need MS Office running on it.
    Just my 2 cents.

  • slammer

    This could be hit or miss. In the scheme of advertising, this is an attractive offering to businesses. Businesses that are willing to try incorporating this new category of technology may benefit from the tablets. In reality however, I personally already know of two companies that reversed their decision to press forward with ipads due to limited flexibility in the circumference of business applications. They are either waiting to see what the other tablet variations will bring, or to see how this category evolves to fully accommodate the equivalent of present computation. The Laptop is still relevant in much of business practices.

    John B.

  • darius

    gay, who’s gonna keep that big ass device in their jacket pocket.

  • Joe

    There are very practical applications for using this as a business device. The Apple devices rate a little lower in overall security than Blackberry (except the consumer market ones like the Storm, which they are much better) and a lot higher than the Droids. Is this for all business people? Definitely not, but give this to a Sales person and it is very useful. Couple that with a third party app (there are several that work on multiple types of devices like iPhone/iPad, Droid, Palm, etc..) for secure corporate email and my sales department LOVES this. It is easier for them to go into a client’s office and show them things over taking in their laptops. Slide this into a portfolio and you have all you need. The Playbook is not going to start with a 3G model and has to be ‘tethered to the blackberry’ to receive email. Also how is RIM going to get around their own BES manager allowing only one account per user?

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