With Apple Inc. set to release its much-anticipated iPad tablet computer on Saturday, local software developers are already creating programs for the new device.
The iPad, with its 9.7-inch LCD touchscreen, looks like a jumbo-sized iPod Touch. Apple CEO Steve Jobs describes it as “magic and revolutionary,” and he is said to hope the tablet will revolutionize personal computing in the same way the iPhone shook up the smartphone industry.
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It remains to be seen how robust demand will be for the iPad – which start at $499 and will be on sale at the Providence Place mall Apple Store and some Best Buys – but surveys indicate consumers are paying attention.
A poll of 2,176 consumers by ComScore Inc. found “very high awareness of the iPad out of the gate” at 68 percent, with 15 percent of respondents saying they were seriously considering buying one in the next three months.
“The iPad has more in common philosophically with [Microsoft Corp.’s] Xbox or [Nintendo Co.’s] Wii than it does with a laptop or desktop computer,” said Jonathan Stark, a Providence consultant who recently published a book about mobile Web development. It is “built on a closed and proprietary ecosystem that is highly customized to a very specific set of hardware features.”
However, Stark expressed doubt about whether a large number of iPhone app developers were building iPad apps now, since almost no one has been able to try the hardware yet. “It would be absurd to spend any significant amount of time building apps for a device you’ve never touched,” he said.
“That said, there are probably a lot of folks who are basically porting their iPhone and Mac apps over to iPad in hopes of capitalizing on the initial gold rush,” he added.
One company that will be ready for the iPad’s first day is Lincoln-based nFinity Inc., which scored an early success on the iPhone App Store with its voice-recorder program QuickVoice. The company has already built an iPad version and it will be available on Saturday, spokeswoman Kerrie-Lynn Corcoran said.
“We ordered an iPad the other day and are looking forward to getting our hands on it,” Corcoran said in an e-mail, adding that the company may develop other apps once the device is released.
Providence-based mobile software company Cronk Software Inc. has put the finishing touches on an iPad version of VegEZ, a vegetarian recipe iPhone app, which it crated for client All Art Media Inc. Joel Evans, Cronk’s founder, said he appreciated what the larger screen allows.
“Instead of having to swipe through multiple screens, the user can now view the ingredients and preparation instructions, along with the instructional video, all at the same time,” he said in an e-mail. “Thanks to the iPad’s display, a user can prop it up in the kitchen and make cooking the interactive experience it’s designed to be.”
Evans also said Cronk is “the first of many apps that we’re working on for the iPad, so stay tuned.”
Stark – who advises clients to build Web browser-based apps whenever possible because they can work across different devices – said the “$64,000 question is whether or not the talented solo developers and small firms will jump on board and be able to make money beyond the first six to 12 months.”
Like Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle, the iPad likely is just the beginning of an “explosion” of new devices set to appear on the market, Stark added.
“There are going to be touchscreens of all shapes and sizes everywhere in the next year or two,” he said. “I think some developers will be reluctant to put all their eggs in one basket by building iPad apps.”
