“Apple iPods are becoming an important training and communication tool for some companies,” Anjali Athavaley reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“When Gaddis Rathel needed to learn Spanish for his job, his boss gave him an unusual tool to help: a black video Apple iPod, preloaded with language lessons,” Athavaley reports. “Last month, Mr. Rathel’s employer — ACG Texas LP, a Plano, Texas, franchisee of the pancake-house chain IHOP Corp. — started testing Apple Computer Inc.’s digital media player on a few employees to save money on Spanish-language classes. Now, rather than sit in a class on company time or read a textbook, Mr. Rathel uses the iPod for audio training in his spare time.”

Athavaley reports, “People used to hide their iPods from their bosses, if they used them in the office at all. Now the bosses are passing them out to their employees. Companies from health-care suppliers to fast-food chains are handing out free iPods so that employees can download audio and video files of CEO announcements, training courses and sales seminars.”

“Last summer, National Semiconductor Corp., a chip manufacturer in Santa Clara, Calif., spent $2.5 million on video iPods for its 8,500 employees, including those overseas, for training purposes and company announcements. At Capital One Financial Corp., a financial services company based in McLean, Va., more than 3,000 employees have received iPods since the company began using them in supplementary training classes,” Athavaley reports.

Full article here.

Related article:
National Semiconductor gives all 8,500 employees 30GB video-capable Apple iPods – June 12, 2006