Firemint Announces Flight Control HD & Real Racing HD
Popular game developer Firemint has announced that two of it’s games will be making it’s way to the iPad for the April 3 launch date: Flight Control HD and Real Racing HD. Check out the article below to see video, game information and comments from Firemint CEO Robert Murray on each of the games.
10tons LTD Announces Azkend HD & Sparkle HD for the iPad
10tons LTD announced that Azkend HD and Sparkle HD will be available for the iPad at launch on April 3. 10tons is excited about their new games on the iPad. Tero Alatalo, CEO of 10tons, said, “We’re sure everyone will find both our apps absolutely gorgeous on the iPad.” Looks like there is a lot [...]
Pangea Software Announces iPad Game Lineup
Pangea Software, one of the leading app developers for the iPhone and iPod touch, has announced that five of their most popular titles will be available for the iPad at launch. The Pangea apps for the iPad are: Enigmo Deluxe, Cro-Mag Rally, Bugdom 2, Otto Matic, and Nanosaur 2. Check out more info on each of [...]
Ammoin HD – Custom Crafted Puzzle Game for iPad
Ammoin HD is a simple and highly addictive puzzle solving game that has been custom crafted for the iPad. The gameplay is familiar from the iPhone/iPod touch version, which is available in the App Store. But, the large screen of the iPad takes the well-thought-out graphics and usability to a new level. You can see [...]
Virtual Horse Racing 3D HD: A First Look
Our friends over at Natenai.com have given us a first look at another of their upcoming iPad games – Virtual Horse Racing 3D HD. Virtual Horse Racing 3D HD is actually a game where you bet on horse racing. So for those out there that love to bet and need a change up from the [...]
Screenshots of Yahoo!’s upcoming iPad app have surfaced, thanks to a report from Mac Stories. From the screenshots we can see that Yahoo! didn’t just port over and combine their existing iPhone apps, but completely redesigned their app from the ground up. The results are stunning. The interface is very clean. In fact, I think the look and feel of the iPad app is actually nicer than their actual web interface.
From the screenshots it appears as though users will be able to access videos, news and more. The video is broken into several categories including; Business News, Entertainment News, Today’s News, Jib Jab, Tech Ticker, Tech News, Sports, Kid Movies and more.
More details are sure to surface soon. But perhaps the best news, the iPad app will be free.
Erik Slivka at Macrumors.com did some digging around and managed to get a screenshot of a few of the already approved iPad apps. These iPad apps should be available at launch. From what has been found, it appears that there will be a good number and variety of iPad apps at launch. However, the vast majority of the leaked apps are iPad versions of existing apps. It remains to be seen how many original iPad apps will be available at launch.
According to the Macrumors report, app prices will range from free to $14.99. Of course, app pricing and availability are subject to change.
For those with an iPad on order, the good news is there should be a variety of titles to add to your iPad at launch. Check out the full list of titles below and a video showing the iPad App Store.
In a somewhat surprising move, Amazon announced today that it would be offering a Kindle app on the iPad. Kindle is Amazon’s e-book reader, and has been the hardware of choice for those wanting to read books, magazines and newspapers on the go. That could change with Apple’s upcoming release of the iPad. Although the iPad isn’t elusively an e-book reader, it does offer that functionality and appears poised to be the stiff competition for the Kindle.
While Amazon’s decision to offer software for it’s rival may not be shocking to everyone (they do after all, offer a Kindle App on the iPhone), the announcement does raise a few eyebrows and some questions. Is Amazon’s support of the iPad the first sign of the death of the Kindle? Or is this simply in line with what Amazon has done with all mobile devices – offer Kindle functionality on multiple devices. For those that believe that the Kindle has a long life ahead, they would take the latter stance and suggest that Kindle on the iPad represents growth. Those believing that this could be the end of days for the Kindle would argue that rivals typically don’t play nice – at least not until they have to. Think Apple and Microsoft, iPhone and Android, Amazon and iTunes…
Barnes & Noble, the bookseller with the nations largest revenue, announced that it is woking on an iPad App. In a statement on their website, Barnes & Noble said, “…our new B&N eReader will give our customers access to more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore, as well as the existing content in their Barnes & Noble digital library.”
Although Barnes & Noble has it’s own dedicated e-book reader, the Nook, they have continued to make software to support other platforms such as the Blackberry and the iPhone.
The B&N eReader is expected to be available around the iPad’s release, on April 3. Perhaps best of all, the B&N eReader will be free.
See the video below posted on Gizmodo about PadNotes – a new iPad app that allows you to write, draw, highlight, or text on any document, using any image or PDF as a background. Padnotes can be used for taking notes, filing out forms or drawing and then the document can be exported over a network.
While this is not necessarily a new concept for the iPad, it begins to show just how useful the iPad could become in our everyday lives. Not only can students carry their textbooks, pens, pencils, and paper in less space than a single paper textbook, professionals can have access to all their documents with the ability to edit them on the go. Also, even moms will never be without a full entertainment suite for the kids!
And this is just one of the (many sure to follow) document apps, that could change the way we do so many things.
Penguin CEO John Makinson gave a first look demo at some forthcoming books to the iPad’s bookstore. Robert Andrews of PaidContent.co.uk reported that many of Penguin’s iPad books seem to hardly resemble “books” at all, but rather very interactive experiences.
In fact, Dan Nasowitz at Fast Company reports, “Penguin doesn’t even think these things are books. I know that because Penguin intends to sell this digital content in the app store, as individual apps, not in the iBooks bookstore.”
The children’s books demonstrated allowed readers to “interact” with the content of the book by shaking, dragging and touching objects to play music or sounds, color objects and open new pages.
The interactive features will not be limited to just kid’s books. According to Andrews’ report, the Vampire Academy“book” offers live chat between readers and is described as “an online community for vampire lovers”.
The Paris travel guide even has features designed for the iPad. It will switch to street map view when placed on a table.
But what about “regular” books? Makinson said that Pride and Prejudice could conceivably come with videos of Keira Knightly and Colin Firth (from the Pride and Prejudice movie).
According to Andrews’ report, Makinson feels that the iPad opens up new doors that the traditional ebooks do not offer at present. Penguin appears poised to take advantage of the new platform.
“We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do,” Makinson said. He believes this will make consumers more willing to buy ebooks. ”The iPad represents the first real opportunity to create a paid distribution model that will be attractive to consumers.”
Check out this video demonstrating some of Penguin’s upcoming books.
The Associated Press announced that they are working on an app for the iPad. According to the AP article by Sandy Shore and Michael Tietke, the iPad App will show custom packages of headlines, stories, photos and video from the AP and from newspapers and broadcasters that choose to contribute their content and share the revenue. AP members might even be able to use the same system to have their own iPad App featuring their own content. The AP is starting a new business unit named AP Gateway that’s primary focus is expanding AP mobile products. One of the first projects for AP Gateway will be the app for the iPad.
The AP will be looking for ways to generate revenue with their business unit. It is not clear yet whether the iPad App revenue will be generated by charging users a subscription fee, having advertisements, charging for the app, or some combination of the three.
The newest Hulu on the iPad rumor is not good news. Although reports indicate that Hulu probably will make it’s way to the iPad (which is a good thing), it most likely will come at a price. Peter Kafka of All Things Digital reports that Hulu execs are exploring scenarios for bringing some version of Hulu to the iPad, and the most likely is a subscription service. While you may not like this option, it might be your only choice.
For those of you thinking why would I pay for Hulu when I can just go to their site and watch for free? Unfortunately it’s not an option. People familiar with Hulu and Apple know that Hulu runs on Flash, and Apple’s mobile devices (iPhone, iPod Touch and now the iPad) don’t support Flash. Going to Hulu’s site will yield disappointing results – videos won’t load.
According to Kafka’s report, Hulu’s site actually looses money. Hulu has been free since it’s launch in 2008 and it’s broadcast owners want to figure out a way to turn a profit. One idea from Hulu exec’s is to turn Hulu from a free one screen service (your computer) to a three screen service (computer, TV, and mobile devices) that would require a subscription.
EverythingiCafe says that as soon as people start having to pay to watch on Hulu, they will flock to other free sources. Would you be willing to pay for Hulu on the iPad? For now, we can only wait, sift through the rumors, and hope that the iPad/Hulu story has a happy ending.
A new iPad app from Creston Electronics offers full home control. The app will work with existing Creston home control systems, and transform the iPad into a Creston touchpanel. A press release from Creston boasts that the app will provide real time control of Creston AV systems, lighting, shades, room temperature s and more. All from your iPad. The app will work over 3G or Wi-Fi.
Imagine being at work on an unexpectedly warm day and being able to turn on your air conditioning before leaving for home, knowing a cool house will await. Or being caught out later than expected and being able to turn on your lights so that you don’t have to worry about a dark empty house.
In the press release, Creston Director of Marketing Vincent Bruno said, “Crestron is committed to offering great solutions for integrating Apple products into the home, school and office. Our Mobile apps are fully compatible with the iPad, and we’re delighted to add the iPad to our selection of Apple-based solutions.”
Creston isn’t the only home automation company excited about the iPad. Sarvant also offers home automation control on the go. Sarvant currently has an iPhone app and they are very excited about the iPad. In a report to Tom LeBlanc of CE Pro Sarvant president Jim Carroll said, “When we look back on this two years from now, we’re going to say this was a watershed event, not just for Savant but for the industry in general.”
Although Sarvant’s Rosie home control app for the iPhone will work on the iPad, Carroll told Tom LeBlanc that they are working on an iPad version. “We can’t give a lot of specifics,” Carroll says. “We’re going to do some pretty cool things and take advantage of the additional real estate.”
Sounds like exciting things are ahead in the home automation industry.
It’s a whole new world for magazines! As Scott Dadich, creative director of WIRED magazine, points out in this video, there is a revolution in the way people consume journalism. With its multiple entry points, rich text environment, dual axis navigation, 3-D interactions, and integrated social features, it is easy to see why this is an exciting time for publishing. As Mr. Dadich states, “These changes are on par with the changes media experienced going from radio to television.”
Spend four minutes to watch this video and you just might agree that the way we “read” magazines will never be the same.
March 28th, 2010 
App Insider 
