Corona is like a simpler version of Adobe's Flash, which Apple famously doesn't allow on the iPhone or iPad. Leroux estimates that 30 lines of Corona code, written in the Lua programming language, can accomplish as much as 300 lines of Objective-C, Apple's primary development language. Nonetheless, developers working with her firm also use Objective-C when necessary.

Greenman uses Objective-C, as do most iPhone developers. Other alternative development frameworks include PhoneGap, rhomobile and Unity3D.

Leroux sees a lot of promise in the iPad's more expansive canvas. "There really is an opportunity with the iPad," she said. "Enterprise apps may need a little more space than the iPhone's screen real estate."

But Apple's assistance may be required to fulfill that promise.

Gartner VP Ken Dulaney says that his firm's view of the iPhone and iPad is that while they're useful for e-mail and browsing, they're inadequate when it comes to enterprise security requirements. "The iPhone is just not in the BlackBerry or Windows Mobile world in terms of security," he said.

The problem is that Apple's iPhone SDK doesn't allow developers to create apps that run background processes, which are necessary for corporate security applications and policies.

Nonetheless, he says that enterprise customers are interested in iPhone and iPad apps and that the iPhone is being used in corporate settings. "Customers don't listen to us all the time," he said.

He expects however that the forthcoming Apple iPhone 4.0 SDK will address some of the security shortcomings. Even so, he says, the iPad's fragility -- even with the protective cases that are sure to follow -- will limit its use in environments where drop damage or other impacts might occur.

Zachary doesn't see security as a significant problem. "The concern about security is overblown," he said. Apple's security model, he said, is that each app acts as a virtual machine and is isolated from the others. "The risk of an iPad is more about the security of the network that it's on," he said.

InformationWeek has published a comprehensive look at Apple's new iPad device. Download the report here (registration required).