On the other hand, nearly ever doctor or professional I've seen using a tablet was using a Thinkpad with a pen rather than an iPad with their finger. Screwing around with iTunes and doing work are two completely separate use cases, and it seems that Microsoft is more interested in "the Enterprise" than Apple is. So with that in mind, they're trying to accommodate all use cases.
(I did have one doctor that insisted on using an iPad. It took him forever to type notes to the point of it being extremely irritating. Transcribe your notes later!)
You've either both not worked in any large companies lately AND never really used an iPad, or you are just blinded by platform bias.
The fact is that iPads are being massively adopted in Fortune 500 companies. And I can assure you that those users are not "screwing around with iTunes". In fact, iTunes doesn't even exist on the iPad, so you don't really know what you are talking about, at all.
(edit: Two instant downvotes on this, but I notice nobody is refuting my facts.)
That's amazing because of the 11 Fortune 100 companies I've personally done work with in the last few years (and 2 more in that size range that aren't publicly traded), I don't recall seeing a single iPad.
I mean, I didn't work with Apple or Google, so I can guess you'd see them there. Neither bank allowed them on-site, and none of the defense contractors would even entertain the idea. You can also probably rule out obvious ones like Microsoft and HP from being big users of iPads. I can't imagine that the cashiers at Walmart, Target or the Home Depot are spending lots of time swiping around and now I'm quickly running out of companies.
I even did a part-time contract job at a company with 123,000 employees last year and not only didn't see an iPad, but they were forbidden on the corporate network and in most of the corporate offices (as was anything with a camera frankly).
oh, and FYI, jrockway actually does work at #73 on the 2012 list.
A year ago you'd be right - but things are very, very rapidly shifting to tablets, including the ipad, with the appropriate corporate tools to manage/deploy/wipe/control/etc them....
It's going to change, and fast.
it seems clear you are mostly talking about defense contractors. I've been there. Can't take a phone with a camera either. Not really a representative sample is it? Also can't have thumb drives. Probably no fortune 500 companies have ever used one of those either.
I work with a pretty decent chunk of the fortune 500, and I would disagree.
What I've seen is an aversion to the iPads, but there are certain places where they can't keep them out. If wireless is authenticated on AD or PSK, it's very difficult to stop them(though there are a growing number of options). If the executive has the power to override IT policy on approved devices, they have no choice.
For what it's worth, it's commonly referred to as the "Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)" movement or "the iPad problem".
Very few have truly accepted and encouraged iPad use since it's not an enterprise device. If you do have IT sponsorship for it, most companies are having to draw new lines around it rather than simply owning it like they historically did with Blackberries. Examples: you have to pay for your own, it has to be managed by MDM and have wipe privileges, you will have to access all applications through VDI, etc.
That said, enterprises aren't thrilled end users can take them home and sync them with their own iTunes and mess with what IT has built on the tablets. Plus Apple's grip on all aspects of the device don't lend to being controlled by MDM very well.
Enterprises are still looking for a replacement for Blackberry, and Microsoft is looking poised to make a shot. Apple doesn't seem interested in compromising their product to fit into the enterprise market.
What does the presence of iTunes have to do with the ridiculous suggestion that you can only "screw around with iTunes" on an iPad? The logic of your and greedo's replies boggles.
"In fact, iTunes doesn't even exist on the iPad, so you don't really know what you are talking about, at all.
(edit: Two instant downvotes on this, but I notice nobody is refuting my facts.)"
Considering that Bud was spouting out of a bodily orifice, the rest of his argument is suspect as well. This, despite the fallacy of jrockway's argument deserves to be corrected.
You state that users from Fortune 500 companies that use massive amounts of iPads never use iTunes and that "iTunes doesn't even exist on the iPad"... and that is something you state as "facts" that would need to be refuted.
Is that how zero platform bias blindness revealed itself to you. Can we keep this sane instead ?
For a great look at iPad use by doctors read this Wired article. "Canada’s Ottawa Hospital uses close to 3,000 iPads, and they’re popping up everywhere — in the lab coats of attending physicians, residents, and pharmacists. "
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2011/12/apple-ipad-doct...
(I did have one doctor that insisted on using an iPad. It took him forever to type notes to the point of it being extremely irritating. Transcribe your notes later!)