AT&T: Enterprise Loves the iPad

Apple (AAPL) says it sold 3.27 million iPads in the third quarter of its fiscal year. So who’s buying them? Early adopters, of course, but evidently a fair number of enterprise customers as well, according to AT&T CFO Rick Lindner.

“One thing that’s been encouraging and a bit surprising so far is the level of interest from business customers,” Lindner said during the company’s earnings call Thursday. “Right from the beginning with the iPad, we’ve had a number of our business customers express interest. A number of them have trials going on…. Businesses see the opportunity in many cases to use the iPad potentially in place of laptops for many of their people that travel.”

That’s a very different reception than the one given the original iPhone, as Lindner noted. “When we first introduced the iPhone, the businesses–and in particular CIOs of our business customers–were reluctant, and they kind of pushed back on bringing the iPhone into their infrastructure,” he said. “And over time that, as you know, has changed dramatically, and now we have businesses that are developing applications and putting their own applications and content down on the iPhone base within their companies.”

Lindner’s final take on the iPad’s performance to date: “So far it’s been very good.”

I’ll say. AT&T (T) says it activated 400,000 to 500,000 iPad 3Gs in the device’s first two months at market.