• Meebo. Instant messaging has become an essential means of business communication. supports all major instant messaging networks and enables you to keep in touch through instant messaging from your iPad. Meebo overcomes the with Push notifications that work even when the app is closed, and it automatically reconnects if the signal is lost to make sure you stay in touch.

• Freshbooks. Business professionals that need to track and log their time for billing purposes will appreciate Freshbooks, especially if managing multiple clients simultaneously. The is another example of an app developed to function properly in spite of the lack of multitasking. The Freshbooks task timer will continue to run in the background while you use your iPad for other functions. It also works even with no Web connection--queuing time entries until a connection is available.

This is an exceptionally small sampling of what is available. Granted, out of 150,000 plus apps available, there are far too many that make fart noises, or display a flickering lighter, or some other moronic thing. However, despite the repeated mantra that the iPhone and iPad are not for business, there is also a diverse and growing selection of apps designed specifically to change that perception.

Aside from standalone apps, there are also much more comprehensive solutions that can deliver a more complete business environment to the iPad. Accessing Google Apps from the iPad via the Web, and the , offers business professionals cloud-based access to a plethora of valuable business and communications tools.

Organizations can use Array Networks Desktop Direct, along with the , to establish a remote desktop connection from the iPad, directly to the user's desktop. Desktop Direct provides a direct portal to the desktop--so the user can access all data and run all applications on the desktop directly from the iPad.