Hiawatha Bray

Some developers that have created iPhone apps are working on apps for the iPad, which went on sale last Saturday. Steve Jobs runs Apple Inc, one of the world?s biggest and most successful consumer electronics companies. Gregory Raiz runs Raizlabs Corp, a small software development shop in Brookline. They need each other.

On Saturday, Apple?s new iPad tablet computer went on sale. To become the world-shaker Apple says it will be, the radical new device will need the kind of exciting and innovative software that has helped the company sell millions of its iPhones and iPod Touch devices. And around the world, companies large and small plan to prosper by placing their software on the Apple tablet in the form of applications?small programmes, often called apps, that perform specialised tasks. Global giants like online marketplace eBay, retailer Amazon.com and game developer Electronic Arts Inc are tailoring their mobile software to the new machine.

So are Raiz and other Boston-area software developers. ?It?s a new market, and it?s emerging,? said Raiz, whose company already makes a host of iPhone apps. ?It?s definitely strategic for us.?

There?s little doubt that the iPad will be a hit; the only question is how big. On Monday, analyst Katy Huberty of investment firm Morgan Stanley predicted that this year Apple would sell between 8 million and 10 million iPads worldwide.

But Sarah Rotman Epps, consumer electronics analyst for Forrester Research in Cambridge, was more conservative, predicting sales of 2 million in Apple?s primary market: the US. ?Device sales, at least in the first year, will be modest, but the cultural impact of the device will be outsized,? said Epps. ?Consumer behaviour in general will change, even among consumers who don?t buy the device.?

Epps predicted that the iPad will spur greater sales of electronic books, for example, and not just for the iPad, as more people use laptops or desktop computers to read them.

Raiz agrees that the iPad has vast potential as an e-reader, so Raizlabs is working with magazine companies that want customised electronic versions of their publications. The company is also developing a board game for up to four players that uses the iPad?s large screen as the playing surface and on-screen icons as game pieces. Raizlab?s first iPad app, Sketchpad HD, will let users take notes and make color sketches with a fingertip. ?Pending approval from Apple, it should be available on day one,? said Raiz, and it will sell for 99 cents through Apple?s online store.

In Cambridge, developers at Abhav LLC are also building electronic reading software, but for newspapers. Abhav?s chief executive, Muthu Arumugam, said the company is working on an iPad app called Iris that will aggregate news stories from newspapers around the world. Americans will be able to read US newspapers at no charge, while paying extra to read stories from other countries.

In addition, Abhav is targeting a unique market: the citizens of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, where citizens celebrate the New Year in mid-April.

?It?s almost like a Chinese calendar, where they have a whole different system,? said Arumugam, a native of Tamil Nadu. Abhav already makes Kalandar+, a 99-cent Tamil calendar app for the iPhone, and will introduce a scaled-up version for the iPad.

Software maker LogMeIn Inc already makes an iPhone app called Ignition that can control a user?s personal computer from a remote location. Andrew Burton, the company?s vice president of access, said that an iPad version of Ignition would be available by Saturday and that those who have already paid $29.99 for the iPhone version will be able to install it on their iPad at no additional cost. Burton also said that the iPad?s bigger screen will make it much easier for users to remotely operate their computers. For instance, the big screen will allow a user to see entire documents and spreadsheets at a glance.

But while some developers are racing to roll out iPad apps, others are taking their time.

?We decided not to jump into the fray at the initial launch,? said Dan Gilmartin, vice president of marketing at Where Inc of Boston. The company, formerly known as uLocate, is a leading maker of location-based software for the iPhone and other smartphones.

People use ?Where? software to find nearby restaurants, hotels, and other points of interest. But Gilmartin said it?s not yet clear whether consumers will mainly use the iPad at home or on the road. ?Gas prices on your mobile device is great,? he said, ?not necessarily when you?re at the kitchen table or on the couch at home. So we?re taking a little bit of a wait-and-see.?

Reasons to buy an iPad, or wait

Dwight Silverman

Apple started selling its latest hot toy last Saturday, the tablet computer it calls the iPad. But given the frenzy of hype that accompanied its launch, you probably know that. If you weren?t standing in a line outside an Apple store, or watching anxiously for the UPS man to deliver your pre-ordered iPad, you may still be intrigued enough to think: Is this something on which I want to drop at least $500?

I?ve been living with an iPad for a few days, and to help you decide, I?ve distilled my experience with the tablet down to three reasons to buy now, three reasons to walk away and three reasons to wait a while.

Why you should buy an iPad? Is it the best tablet? With its stylish design, easy-to-navigate interface and zippy performance, it kicks previous attempts at tablet computing to the curb. That?s because Apple has designed its software from scratch to be controlled via touch, rather than retrofitting a desktop operating system. Combined with the fast processor Apple designed for the iPad, the interface moves fluidly under your fingertips. And the aluminum case, with its gently curved back and hard edges, adds to this natural feel.

It?s great for media. The iPad makes it a joy to read books, play games, listen to music or watch video. It?s designed as a media consumption device. For example, one of the best iPad apps is the one from Netflix, which?if you have an account with the video service?will let you stream movies over the tablet?s 802.11n Wi-Fi connection. Apple?s own iBooks e-book reader app looks like a physical book, complete with page-turning animation and a two-page layout if you turn the iPad on its side.

It?s all about the apps. Although the iPad has only been available for a few days, there are already several thousand apps designed for it, and developers are taking advantage of the extra screen real estate to do some impressive things. For example, check out the Weather Channel?s very cool iPad app, which puts on one screen details that required multiple screens on the iPhone version.

Why you should not buy an iPad? It?s expensive. Apple may call the $500 starting price ?unbelievable?, but that?s still a serious chunk of change for most people. And, that?s just for the iPad with 16-gigabytes of memory. Each jump?to 32- and then 64-GB?adds another $100. And if you want an iPad that connects to AT&T?s 3G network (available later in April), add another $130 to each model. Then you?ll be paying additional charges to access that network. Finally, the apps for the iPad generally are more expensive than their iPhone counterparts.

You may not need it. Do you already have a smartphone and a notebook computer? The iPad may duplicate either of these devices. For example, if you?re thinking about replacing a notebook, keep in mind that it can?t print, lacks a physical keyboard (though you can pay another $69 for a docked or Bluetooth keyboard) and it can?t run more than one non-Apple programme at time.

It?s a closed system Like the iPhone, the only apps you can put on your iPad are those approved by Apple. The software for the iPad is subject to the same screening process used for iPhone apps, which has been criticised for being inconsistent and sluggish. The good news: iPad apps seem to be getting expedited approvals. I?ve already seen updates to titles that were available when the device went on sale.

It?s missing key features I?ve already mentioned some iPad limitations above, including its lack of multitasking. Also MIA: a still or video camera and the ability to sync via Wi-Fi. It requires a USB cable to transfer movies, music, contact, photos and other data. Finally, it doesn?t support Flash, Adobe?s ubiquitous platform that makes many Web-based applications and video possible. With the exception of Flash, these could appear in a future software update. In fact, Apple will preview the next version of itsiPhone/ iPad software at its Cupertino, California, campus on Thursday.

Is it a 1.0 product ? Common tech wisdom says never buy the first generation of a new device. If you wait for iPad 2.0, you?re apt to get more features and a more refined tablet for the same or less money. Other tablets are coming Finally, Apple?s innovations inspire other companies to imitate. There?s little doubt that, if the iPad is a success, you?ll see other computer makers ?borrowing? its ideas. In fact, many new tablets have already been announced, including the Windows 7-based Slate coming later this year from HP. More choices come to those who wait.