Apple, known for courting consumers with sleek designs and easy-to-use software, is making inroads with corporations that say the iPad can make workers more productive without putting sensitive customer information at risk. SAP, Tellabs and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz are using the tablet-style computer for tasks as varied as accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and calling up on-the-spot auto-finance options.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January, touting its ability to deliver games, video, music, Web access, and digital versions of books and magazines. Yet companies say it's widely applicable at work, too. "This iPad thing has taken the world by storm," says Ted Schadler, vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester Research and author of Empowered, which explores how employees use new technologies. "It came in as a consumer product and very quickly the people who actually bought them were businesspeople."

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