MacWorld Abuzz About Ipad Talk

Apple may have decided not to show up at this year’s Macworld trade show, but the show was still abuzz with talk about its new iPad tablet computer, as several companies touted iPad accessories that they plan on offering.


Grace Chng tries out a new Apple laptop at Macworld.One example: External battery maker HyperMac’s large banner above its exhibit area mentioned iPad as one of the Apple products it is providing an external battery for — even though it doesn’t have one ready yet.

In contrast to some of the criticism by bloggers about the iPad’s lack of key functionality — such as support for Adobe System’s Flash software — many Macworld exhibitors and attendees expressed enthusiasm about the device. Ben Lewis, a sales engineer for Cisco Systems, who was demonstrating the company’s WebEx Meeting Center app for the iPhone, said they were excited about the iPad’s easier-to-use interface (“Why do you need to see nested folders in a file structure?”), as well as the bigger screen size which would allow them to add more features. Mr. Lewis said he is personally already planning on buying the $829 iPad 64-gigabyte model with 3G and Wi-Fi.

(More: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/02/12/macworld-abuzz-with-ipad-talk/)

App Developer 2ergo Working On Four Apps for Ipad

"I believe the iPad will be about sitting in front of the TV whilst watching TV, browsing a 'magazine'," says Colin McCaffrey, the product director at 2ergo, one of the industry's leading mobile app developers who made the apps for The Guardian, Fox News, Arsenal FC and others – told me in an interview. "It will switch on in a second, you'll be straight in to your content – it will be almost exactly like a magazine that you pick up from the coffee table."


iPhone developers are getting to grips with the new software developers kit that includes iPad features, and 2ergo is already working on firm iPad app projects for four clients. But there don't seem to be a significant technical upgrades from the iPhone version.

"The good thing about iPad is all the existing iPhone apps will work," McCaffrey says. "The new SDK allows you to take advantage of a larger screen. It's going to be even more of an opportunity for newspapers and magazines to monetise their content from a subscription point of view. It looks very much like a magazine."

(More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/feb/15/apple-ipad-app-2ergo)