App Smart: Retail Store Apps Help Navigate Aisles – App Smart

Apps from big-box stores like Target can help shoppers find an item, but there are drawbacks.

As a parent, I don’t find the process much better. Wandering around a big-box store in search of a pencil sounds like a game show in which the lucky winner gets to hand over a credit card.

I recently tried to determine whether mobile apps could make the process less frustrating or costly. The answer was a qualified yes.

Of the apps made by big-box stores, those from Best Buy and Target sped up the shopping process slightly, as did Westfield Malls, a new app from Westfield, a mall developer. Others, for Sam’s Club, Staples and Wal-Mart, were less helpful. (At least the apps themselves are a bargain. They’re all free, on both Apple and Android.)

The better ones suggest that they can help you find an item in the local store. Some also offer prices on those goods, but they’re often inaccurate.

I assigned myself the task of finding school backpacks, T-shirts and a 64-gigabyte iPod Touch, and I drove to a stretch of road in suburban Connecticut with a mall and nearly every one of the big-box stores.

Of all the apps I tried, Best Buy’s was the most reliable and filled with features. I used it to find the nearest store and to check the availability of the iPod Touch before driving there.

The app suggested it was in stock, and it was correct. The price inside was $399, but when I pointed out to a sales associate that the app showed it for $370, he said they “can match” the online price.

“Can, or will?” I asked.

“Will,” he said.

From now on, before making a significant purchase at a big-box store, I will download the store’s app so that I have quick access to their online prices.

Like most other apps on my list, Best Buy provides an app-size version of the week’s sales circular for specific stores, and it allows you to collect items on a wish list. Users are also supposed to be able to retrieve product details while in the store by scanning the so-called QR code, a new alternative to bar codes, on many labels.

That sounded promising, so I gave it a try. I repeatedly tried scanning QR codes on five different products, and each time the app returned an error message. So much for that.

Target’s mobile app was also fairly good but a bit more uneven than Best Buy’s. When it came to basic searches for product, the app was good on inventory but bad on prices.

It showed that my local store had the iPod, for instance. But when I arrived, the store’s price was $395, $25 more than the price I saw on the app. I checked my phone again and, in gray print beneath the $370, saw that it was an online-only offer.

Worse still, when I clicked for more information on the iPod, I found out that I couldn’t retrieve an in-store price from the app.

Target doesn’t offer QR scanning, but you can create wish lists and have coupons sent to your phone via text messages. My coupons were for women’s jeans and macaroni and cheese, neither of which I needed.

At least Target knew that the iPod was in my local store. The Sam’s Club app suggested that the iPod wasn’t available, but it was (at a cool $349, no less). Wal-Mart’s app suggested the iPod was available in the store, but it was not.

Staples was less ambitious. Its app posted products but didn’t try to predict in-store availability, and the prices, according to the app, “may vary by store and online.” That’s not very useful.

Home Depot isn’t exactly a back-to-school shopping destination, but as a big-box store, it’s worth mentioning. The app’s product search feature is fast and it includes a long list of video tutorials and even a tape measure function. Plus, the store map is good for charting out shopping trips.

But I digress. Back to school we go.

Few people know, or care, who owns the nearest mall, but it may be worth your while to look it up. Westfield, one of the bigger mall developers in the United States, recently introduced a useful iPhone app that tries to offer information on store inventory.

With my younger son and daughter in tow, I tested out the app at a Westfield mall in Milford, Conn., which includes a Target. We found a bench, opened the Target and Westfield apps and searched for T-shirts and backpacks.

Westfield’s product search function was spotty. I typed “women’s graphic T-shirts,” and the app produced no results. I tried related search terms, and came up empty until I tried “Graphic T.”

More than 23,000 T-shirts appeared, so I sorted the results to show only one result per retailer. Fifteen appeared — inexplicably, the ones at Target’s didn’t make the list — so my daughter chose an Aéropostale shirt for $24.50.

Using the app’s map, we quickly found the store and the shirts, which were on sale (two for $15).

Still on the Westfield app, we searched for backpacks and found a promising one at Target: the Sumdex Impulse Full Speed, for $68. We walked to the store and wandered through one section of backpacks.

No Sumdex. We browsed through a second section. No Sumdex.

We walked for a few minutes until we found an employee who could direct us to any other backpacks, and he pointed us to a wall of them. No Sumdex backpacks existed at the store.

I gave up on Westfield and opened the Target app, which showed several Sumdex models available.

Online only.

The apps didn’t fail us completely. I turned from the backpacks to find my daughter racing toward a package of pens. “Those are my favorites,” she said, then looked around at all the school supplies nearby. “This is so much fun!”

Quick Calls

Cut the Rope: Experiments ($1 on iPhone and $2 on iPad) is as big a hit as the original, and every bit worth the download. Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse (free on Apple), for parents of teenagers, simulates dating-abuse situations and offers resources for more information.

App Smart: Retail Store Apps Help Navigate Aisles – App Smart

Apps from big-box stores like Target can help shoppers find an item, but there are drawbacks.

As a parent, I don’t find the process much better. Wandering around a big-box store in search of a pencil sounds like a game show in which the lucky winner gets to hand over a credit card.

I recently tried to determine whether mobile apps could make the process less frustrating or costly. The answer was a qualified yes.

Of the apps made by big-box stores, those from Best Buy and Target sped up the shopping process slightly, as did Westfield Malls, a new app from Westfield, a mall developer. Others, for Sam’s Club, Staples and Wal-Mart, were less helpful. (At least the apps themselves are a bargain. They’re all free, on both Apple and Android.)

The better ones suggest that they can help you find an item in the local store. Some also offer prices on those goods, but they’re often inaccurate.

I assigned myself the task of finding school backpacks, T-shirts and a 64-gigabyte iPod Touch, and I drove to a stretch of road in suburban Connecticut with a mall and nearly every one of the big-box stores.

Of all the apps I tried, Best Buy’s was the most reliable and filled with features. I used it to find the nearest store and to check the availability of the iPod Touch before driving there.

The app suggested it was in stock, and it was correct. The price inside was $399, but when I pointed out to a sales associate that the app showed it for $370, he said they “can match” the online price.

“Can, or will?” I asked.

“Will,” he said.

From now on, before making a significant purchase at a big-box store, I will download the store’s app so that I have quick access to their online prices.

Like most other apps on my list, Best Buy provides an app-size version of the week’s sales circular for specific stores, and it allows you to collect items on a wish list. Users are also supposed to be able to retrieve product details while in the store by scanning the so-called QR code, a new alternative to bar codes, on many labels.

That sounded promising, so I gave it a try. I repeatedly tried scanning QR codes on five different products, and each time the app returned an error message. So much for that.

Target’s mobile app was also fairly good but a bit more uneven than Best Buy’s. When it came to basic searches for product, the app was good on inventory but bad on prices.

It showed that my local store had the iPod, for instance. But when I arrived, the store’s price was $395, $25 more than the price I saw on the app. I checked my phone again and, in gray print beneath the $370, saw that it was an online-only offer.

Worse still, when I clicked for more information on the iPod, I found out that I couldn’t retrieve an in-store price from the app.

Target doesn’t offer QR scanning, but you can create wish lists and have coupons sent to your phone via text messages. My coupons were for women’s jeans and macaroni and cheese, neither of which I needed.

At least Target knew that the iPod was in my local store. The Sam’s Club app suggested that the iPod wasn’t available, but it was (at a cool $349, no less). Wal-Mart’s app suggested the iPod was available in the store, but it was not.

Staples was less ambitious. Its app posted products but didn’t try to predict in-store availability, and the prices, according to the app, “may vary by store and online.” That’s not very useful.

Home Depot isn’t exactly a back-to-school shopping destination, but as a big-box store, it’s worth mentioning. The app’s product search feature is fast and it includes a long list of video tutorials and even a tape measure function. Plus, the store map is good for charting out shopping trips.

But I digress. Back to school we go.

Few people know, or care, who owns the nearest mall, but it may be worth your while to look it up. Westfield, one of the bigger mall developers in the United States, recently introduced a useful iPhone app that tries to offer information on store inventory.

With my younger son and daughter in tow, I tested out the app at a Westfield mall in Milford, Conn., which includes a Target. We found a bench, opened the Target and Westfield apps and searched for T-shirts and backpacks.

Westfield’s product search function was spotty. I typed “women’s graphic T-shirts,” and the app produced no results. I tried related search terms, and came up empty until I tried “Graphic T.”

More than 23,000 T-shirts appeared, so I sorted the results to show only one result per retailer. Fifteen appeared — inexplicably, the ones at Target’s didn’t make the list — so my daughter chose an Aéropostale shirt for $24.50.

Using the app’s map, we quickly found the store and the shirts, which were on sale (two for $15).

Still on the Westfield app, we searched for backpacks and found a promising one at Target: the Sumdex Impulse Full Speed, for $68. We walked to the store and wandered through one section of backpacks.

No Sumdex. We browsed through a second section. No Sumdex.

We walked for a few minutes until we found an employee who could direct us to any other backpacks, and he pointed us to a wall of them. No Sumdex backpacks existed at the store.

I gave up on Westfield and opened the Target app, which showed several Sumdex models available.

Online only.

The apps didn’t fail us completely. I turned from the backpacks to find my daughter racing toward a package of pens. “Those are my favorites,” she said, then looked around at all the school supplies nearby. “This is so much fun!”

Quick Calls

Cut the Rope: Experiments ($1 on iPhone and $2 on iPad) is as big a hit as the original, and every bit worth the download. Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse (free on Apple), for parents of teenagers, simulates dating-abuse situations and offers resources for more information.

Rumor: Spotify has 70,000 paid US users one week after launch (Digital Trends)

Spotify launched in the United States a week ago, by invitation, and has received a lot of coverage recently, including some rave reviews. The music streaming service may be used freely with the ads, but also offers two subscription options paid, starting at $ 4.99. Despite the obstacles to access in time for Spotify is available in the U.S., Billboard now claims that 70,000 users have subscribed to a paid subscription.

The main attractions of having a paid subscription is the removal of ads between songs, the word game, and the ability to listen to the service on your mobile device.

It is difficult to assess the success of the launch of Spotify is experienced, as all his nearest competitors in the market for years. For example, Rhapsody, approximately 800,000 paying subscribers, but it launched in 2001. Napster was reported to have 761,000 subscribers before it was bought by Best Buy 2008th Fellow newcomer RDIO is reportedly less than 100,000 paying subscribers, so Spotify has a good job of playing catch in the same week.

In a recent comparison made ​​by Digital Trends, we found the most well rounded Spotify service from Pandora, Spotify and Grooveshark. Even with a bug, could Grooveshark Spotify pass just in our comparison, winning three of the six categories.The fault was with the users lose their "favorite" songs, which is annoying, but do not break a game bug. The whole product is still very strong, and it is easy to see why the service has become so popular so quickly.

HP targets Apple’s iPad with new tablet (AFP)

HP targets with new iPad tablet

NEW YORK (AFP) – U.S. technology giant Hewlett-Packard launched its new tablet PC TouchPad on Friday, seeking to dethrone the dominant iPad collapse and revive its fortunes.

The TouchPad is available at major U.S. retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart and Amazon.com, HP said in a statement.

Is expected to soon go on sale in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Canada later this year, will be available in Italy, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.

Unlike the iPad, the touchpad supports Adobe Flash Video. Used webOS operating system developed by Palm, the pioneer of mobile devices, HP acquired last year for $ 1.2 billion.

The trackpad debuted mixed opinions, suggesting will have difficulty against the iPhone and its many imitators.

Last month, Apple said that it has sold 25 million iPads since the publication of the first version of the product in April 2010. Apple launched the next generation of its second iPhone in March.

Besides iPhone covers the market for Tablet PCs now Samsung Galaxy tab BlackBerry Playbook, Motorola Xoom and dozens of devices with Google's Android operating system.

HP's shares have fallen 12 percent since the beginning of the year than many analysts warned that the Palo Alto, California-based company surpassed by younger, nimble rivals like Apple and Dell.

MacBook Air rumor roundup: Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and back to black? (Digital Trends)

It’s become evident in the last month or so that an update to Apple’s popular MacBook Air laptops is likely just around the corner. Releasing newer, updated models around this time of year would be in keeping with the company’s prior patterns, and rumors have been coming at us left and right. Something else that has bolstered these rumors is the fact that Best Buy is no longer shipping the most popular MacBook Air models. The most expensive version of the laptop is still available, and the computers can be purchased in-store, but it’s pretty clear that Best Buy is trying to clear out its stock of MacBook Airs, meaning that they must be expecting to receive updated models in the very near future. The update seems like more of an inevitability now than a rumor, but there are still no concrete details on what improvements and changes to expect. While we won’t know for sure until the official announcement, we’ve rounded up some of the rumors on what the new MacBook Airs might have in store.

Sandy Bridge

The most pervasive rumor about the new MacBook Air models is that they will all include the latest-generation Intel CPUs, which use the “Sandy Bridge” platform. The second-generation of Intel’s Core i-series processors are designed to use up less power as well as provide enhanced graphics and of course, speed. If none of the other rumors are true, this one seems the most likely to be included on the new machines.

Thunderbolt

The other likely-to-be-true rumor floating around is that the new MacBook Air models will include Thunderbolt ports like its big brother the MacBook Pro. If you’re unfamiliar with Thunderbolt, it serves the same function as a USB port, but allows for much, much faster transfer of data. Thunderbolt ports are able to transfer data at up to 10GBps, which is pretty much lightning-speed in comparison to your typical USB port.

Color

We’ve heard several rumors that the new MacBook Airs will be available in a black finish, but we’ve also heard mutterings that Apple tested out the darker color and that it was nixed by the big bosses. Contrasting rumors make us think this is probably just wishful thinking and speculation, but it won’t be a shocking move either way. With the sleek aluminum body, we’re not sure who would pick a black model over the original finish anyway.

Timeline

With the rumor mill running strong and several legitimate hints at an imminent release, Apple fans are waiting with bated breath for an official announcement. While there have been several false alarms from faulty sources in the past couple weeks, many think that Apple won’t release the new MacBook Airs until they can be preloaded with the new Mac OS X Lion. The launch date for the new operating system is set for sometime in July, so we’re expecting that the new Macbook Air models will start shipping soon or immediately after the Lion launch.

Price

There has been talk about Apple lowering the price point on the MacBook Air, but all it really amounts to is analysts debating whether that would help Apple’s market share or not. We haven’t heard any actual hints that the price will go down, so we chalk this up to analysts having fun with all the Apple speculation and coming up with things to talk about. If Steve Jobs wanted to eat into the PC market, a $799 price point (what analysts say would be the ‘sweet spot’) might do the trick, but we’re not sure that fits with Jobs objectives anyway. Since most of this is all talk, we’re expecting that the new MacBook Airs will come in at the same prices they are selling for now.

While there is always potential for surprise, we expect that Apple will play it safe by introducing updated MacBook Airs, complete with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt ports, alongside the launch of Mac OS X Lion. The rest we will brush off as typical Apple speculation and rumor-generation. In the meantime, we suggest you take a look at the previews of Mac OS X Lion, because it doesn’t look like there will be any new Apple laptops today.

Laptop Users Still Prefer USB Modems (PC World)

Mobile data users still overwhelmingly prefer USB modems for keeping PCs and other devices connected on the go, but they may turn more to built-in cellular radios and portable Wi-Fi hotspots over the next five years, according to ABI Research.

Despite the growing market for connected tablets and the availability of laptops and netbooks with high-speed cellular modules built in, worldwide shipments of USB modems still surpass embedded 3G and 4G modules by three to one, ABI said in a report Monday. But by 2016, that ratio may change to near parity, said ABI analyst Jeff Orr.

Mobile operators including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Clearwire give shoppers the option of buying a laptop or netbook with an integrated cellular module. Those computers let subscribers go online almost anywhere without using up a USB port or carrying around a separate piece of hardware that sticks out of the side of the system.

Built-in modems lock buyers into one carrier or network technology for the life of the device, which most consumers and enterprises don't want, Orr said. They buy USB modems because they can be easily discarded when a better network comes along, he said. Prices are low and often there is no early termination fee for getting out of the carrier data contract.

"That device becomes almost disposable," he said.

One problem with built-in modems is that wireless technology changes faster than most users want to change computers. For example, the past three years — a typical PC lifetime — have seen the construction of both a WiMax and an LTE network in many cities around the U.S., offering 10 times or more the speed of 3G networks.

The market for embedded modems is still fairly small, according to ABI. In 2010, only about 5 percent of laptops worldwide shipped with built-in cellular modems, Orr said. Among netbooks, 17 percent came with modems, but overall shipments were much smaller for netbooks than for laptops. Meanwhile, 40 percent of tablets came with such modems, but the overall tablet market was smaller still.

But embedded modems could start to gain popularity as tablet sales grow and as the incremental cost of the modems shrinks, Orr said. One thing that could cut that price is shifting some of the cost to an activation fee paid only if the customer decides to sign up for service, he said. There are already laptops available from U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy with WiMax built in, with no requirement for the buyer to sign up for Clearwire service.

Meanwhile, portable Wi-Fi hotspots that use cellular data networks may dwarf both embedded and USB modems by 2016, Orr said. These allow users to connect several devices to the 3G or 4G network simultaneously and pay only for one data plan. All that's needed on each device is Wi-Fi.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com

iPad 2 at Best Buy? Blink and it’s Gone (PC World)

Of course, Best Buy and Toys R Us iPad promote 2s this week, but do not count on finding a pill from your local department store at the next.

A few phone calls this morning confirmed that many stores have limited quantities available at equipment (if any), and they were sold earlier in the day.

I called the three best buys me the next in the area around Portland, Oregon to see if I could waltz and buy the new Apple Tablet.

I had no luck.

None of the shops had any in stock when I called about 11:30 Pacific time. One said it was conditional and would later supply this week. An employee from another store said some units had to sell the business were gone in an hour after opening.

The local Toys R Us has not received iPad 2s for sale and is unsure when they would get but, according to an employee by the electronics section.

Just for fun, I called a few stores out of state for comparison.

Near dell'iPad at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., a Best Buy in Mountain View has played an automated message stating that he did not iPad2s and does not accept reservations. In San Jose, has been exhausted and a store in Manhattan has been sold, but now accepting reservations only.

In short, if you do not tear iPad 2 this morning, probably nobody will ever be any time soon.

Best Buy is selling the device in the store and online vendors, including Apple Store online, for example the device will be available within ten days earlier.

If you want to keep an eye on the products in the store, you can now withdraw IPAD 2 at the Apple Store, AT & T, Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us, Walmart and Verizon Wireless.

Good hunting.

Security breach widens at retailers, others (AP)

NEW YORK – Best Buy Co., TiVo Inc. and Walgreen Co. are the latest in a seemingly endless list of companies to warn of weekend hackers access to customer files, including e-mail addresses obtained.

The companies all use the same marketing and communications vendor, Epsilon. It is a leading marketing firm that more than 40 billion emails every year and has more than 2,500 customers, including seven of the Fortune 10th Epsilon, headquartered in Dallas, issued a brief statement on Friday saying “a full investigation was underway” after the discovery of the violation of a number of customers customer data. The company said that the data obtained are limited to names and email addresses, and that no other personally identifiable information about the names were in danger. ”

Epsilon spokeswoman Jessica Simon refused further comment late Sunday.

The company said Epsilon informed them of the crimes and told them that the compromised files do not contain personally identifiable information stored by the marketer. However, hackers are using these e-mails to lure customers with more personal information such as Social Security Number.

Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain tweeted a link to a statement Sunday saying it was doing its own investigation of the violation. It also reminded customers of e-mails requesting confidential information to ignore. And the Delaware-based Barclays Bank, which issues Visa credit cards in the name of LL Bean, sent emails to its customers warning of any crime, but assured them that their credit card number is safe. But, he warned the subject of spam in search of personal information could.

TiVo and Walgreens issued similar warnings Saturday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and supermarket operator Kroger Co., which also use Epsilon to send e-mail, said Friday that they had been affected by the breach. JPMorgan said the cases do not require any financial details of a client. Kroger said that even a database of names and addresses of customers e-mail has been violated, did not have information related to consumers 1-2-3 MasterCard Rewards account involved.

Security breach widens at retailers, others (AP)

NEW YORK – Best Buy Co., TiVo Inc. and Walgreen Co. are the latest in a seemingly endless list of companies to warn of weekend hackers access to customer files, including e-mail addresses obtained.

The companies all use the same marketing and communications vendor, Epsilon. It is a leading marketing firm that more than 40 billion emails every year and has more than 2,500 customers, including seven of the Fortune 10th Epsilon, headquartered in Dallas, issued a brief statement on Friday saying "a full investigation was underway" after the discovery of the violation of a number of customers customer data. The company said that the data obtained are limited to names and email addresses, and that no other personally identifiable information about the names were in danger. "

Epsilon spokeswoman Jessica Simon refused further comment late Sunday.

The company said Epsilon informed them of the crimes and told them that the compromised files do not contain personally identifiable information stored by the marketer. However, hackers are using these e-mails to lure customers with more personal information such as Social Security Number.

Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain tweeted a link to a statement Sunday saying it was doing its own investigation of the violation. It also reminded customers of e-mails requesting confidential information to ignore. And the Delaware-based Barclays Bank, which issues Visa credit cards in the name of LL Bean, sent emails to its customers warning of any crime, but assured them that their credit card number is safe. But, he warned the subject of spam in search of personal information could.

TiVo and Walgreens issued similar warnings Saturday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and supermarket operator Kroger Co., which also use Epsilon to send e-mail, said Friday that they had been affected by the breach. JPMorgan said the cases do not require any financial details of a client. Kroger said that even a database of names and addresses of customers e-mail has been violated, did not have information related to consumers 1-2-3 MasterCard Rewards account involved.

BlackBerry to Match Apple on the Price of Its Tablet

The BlackBerry PlayBook is coming April 19 at a base price of $499, the same as an iPad 2.

But the success or failure of the BlackBerry tablet, which will have a base price of $499, is unlikely to be determined in the aisles of Best Buy, Staples, RadioShack or the other retailers that will begin offering it on April 19. Many analysts believe that the PlayBook’s main customer base, like that of the original BlackBerry smartphone, will be corporations and government buying in bulk at a discounted price.

“Maybe ‘PlayBook’ is a misnomer,” said Tony Cripps, an analyst with Ovum, a unit of Datamonitor, who is based in London. “R.I.M. would be crazy not to maximize its advantages in the enterprise market.”

The PlayBook will be the first tablet that is directly price-competitive with Apple’s offering. By comparison, both the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab cost more than the iPad 2. Hewlett-Packard, which is also expected to sell its TouchPad tablet to corporations, has not yet announced the price of its device.

While Best Buy began accepting advance orders for the PlayBook on its Web site on Tuesday, the primary buyers of the PlayBook are unlikely to be paying retail. From the first days of the BlackBerry hand-held, R.I.M. carefully cultivated relationships with the information technology departments within corporations and governments. Its products have long included security and control features that are of more interest to people who run computer systems than to the employees using the BlackBerrys.

Jeff Orr, an analyst with ABI Research, said that R.I.M. had been consulting with its large customers about the PlayBook for several months. “They’re playing to a market where they definitely have a closer relationship than Apple,” Mr. Orr said.

That has produced some initial corporate interest. Sun Life Financial, a large insurance and financial services company in Toronto, has agreed to buy about 1,000 PlayBooks and said that it had already developed an application for the devices.

But beyond the identical prices, R.I.M. and Apple have taken several different approaches to their tablets. The PlayBook, for example, has a 7-inch screen compared to the iPad 2’s 9.7-inch display. But unlike the iPad 2, the PlayBook can display Web pages that use Adobe Flash software. and it has a much higher resolution camera for video and still photography.

At first, the PlayBook will be available only in a version that connects to the Internet through Wi-Fi. R.I.M. has said that more advanced, and costly, models for use on wireless carriers’ networks will be available from Sprint this summer. Following Apple’s lead, R.I.M. said that in addition to the base model with 16 gigabytes of memory, the PlayBook will be offered as a 32-gigabyte version for $599 and a 64-gigabyte model for $699.

Despite the embrace of the iPad by consumers, the demand from businesses and governments for tablets remains, at best, unclear. “It’s still very, very early stages,” said Mike Abramsky, an equity analyst with RBC Capital Market, a unit of the Royal Bank of Canada, who said that small businesses currently accounted for most nonpersonal use of tablets.

Still, Mr. Abramsky expects that sales to corporations and governments will account for about 30 to 40 percent of all tablet sales by the end of 2012.

Mr. Abramsky said that many corporations would probably prefer the PlayBook because of their history with the BlackBerry smartphone. But at the same time, he said he also expected that companies would find ways to integrate iPads and tablets based on Google’s Android operating system, if for no other reason than to accommodate employees who bring their personal devices to work.