When Apple Inc.'s first iPhone came out in 2007, many companies told their employees that the device wasn't appropriate for the workplace. The iPad is a different story.

The company's tablet-style device seems to be sidestepping the resistance that the iPhone and other consumer-oriented devices have faced in the corporate environment. Indeed, many businesses have raced to snap up iPads.

One example is the Chicago law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, which banned the iPhone when it first came out yet preordered 10 iPads in the run up to the tablet's release in April.

'We made sure that we knew as much about these devices as possible,' said Michael Barnas, the firm's director of application services. The technology department now offers access to its internalsystems for more than 50 iPad-toting attorneys, and anticipates issuing iPads as an alternative to laptops as soon as next year.

Apple, which said it sold more than three million iPads through the end of June, attributes some of the device's success to businesses. The Cupertino, Calif., company's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said in July that 'very surprisingly' half of the Fortune 100 are testing or deploying iPads.

More than 500 of the 11,000-plus applications built specifically for the iPad are in the business category. A free app from Citrix Systems Inc., which allows people to accessinternal corporate programs from the iPad, has been downloaded more than 145,000 times.

'Everyone in IT is jumping on this one,' said Ted Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research. 'Rather than wait for people to start complaining they're saying why don't we get a few of them in and see what they are good for.'

Companies have often imposed policies against consumer-oriented technologies -- ranging from thumb drives to Web-based email accounts -- because of worries that include keeping corporate data secure and other impact on internal computing systems.

But many employees defied rules and used these tools anyway, partly out of a belief they improved productivity, said Mr. Schadler. In many cases, IT departments eventually relented and relaxed their rules.

Businesses are behaving differently with the iPad, in large part because the new device is starting out as more of a known quantity from a technicalstandpoint. The iPad runs the same operating software as the iPhone, which has been enhanced with a number of business-friendly features.

The iPhone, at the outset, faced the hurdle that it didn't work with Exchange, the Microsoft Corp. email software that is a mainstay of the business world. Nor could information-technology managers remotely erase data on the handset in the event it was stolen or lost.

But Apple has addressed these and other issues, including the ability for companies to encrypt information on iPhones and set up secure ways for employees to connect to corporate networks.

The latest version of the operating system used by the iPhone and iPad adds features that make the devices easier for a tech department to manage, including the ability for businesses to distributeinternally developed apps without going through Apple's App Store.

IPads, with list prices ranging from $499 to $829, are also less expensive than the laptop computers most companies buy. They also have advantages over laptops for certain chores, such as when employees work standing up or give demonstrations.

Ben Worthen

• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
• resistance [ri´zistəns] n.抵抗；抵制；耐力 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
• application [,æpli´keiʃən] n.申请；申请书；应用 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)
• belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)
• stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• distribute [di´stribju:t] vt.分配；分布；散播 (初中英语单词)
• expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• appropriate [ə´prəupri-it, ə´prəuprieit] a.适宜的 vt.私占；拨给 (高中英语单词)
• environment [in´vaiərənmənt] n.郊区；周围；条件 (高中英语单词)
• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中英语单词)
• internal [in´tə:nl] a.内部的；国内的 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• differently [´difrentli] ad.不同地，有差别地 (高中英语单词)
• technical [´teknikəl] a.技术的；专门性的 (高中英语单词)
• chicago [ʃi´kɑ:gəu] n.芝加哥 (英语四级单词)
• alternative [ɔ:l´tə:nətiv] a.二中选一的 n.选择 (英语四级单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli] ad.最后，终于 (英语四级单词)
• standpoint [´stændpɔint] n.立场；观点 (英语四级单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən] n.翻译；说明；译本 (英语四级单词)
• category [´kætigəri] n.种类；部属；范畴 (英语六级单词)
• impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)