MacRumors

Apple's iBooks application is now available (iTunes link) on the App Store. The Free download offers both a book reader as well as an online bookstore to purchase new books. Features include:

- Complimentary copy of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
- Read a free sample of any book on the iBookstore
- Change font size, pick from five different included type faces
- Highlight your favorite passages with the built-in bookmarking feature
- Accessibility features such as speaking words on a given page

You must own an iPad to use iBooks and the iBookstore is only available to U.S. customers.

Due to the timing of the news on April 1st, there had been some doubts about the truthfulness of the announcement that Netflix would be offering a free iPad app that allowed streaming movies to the iPad.

The app is now live in the App Store and can be accessed directly via this link (iTunes). The app is free and the description is as follows:

Get Netflix on your iPad. Just download this free app and you can instantly watch TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix.
- Watch as often as you want
- Its part of your Netflix unlimited membership
- Resume watching where you left off on your TV or computer
- Browse movies and manage your Queue right from your iPad
Not a Netflix member? Start your FREE trial today.

No word on if iPhone and iPod Touch compatibility is forthcoming

Gizmodo notes that the first batch of iPad applications have become visible in the App Store. Applications can be purchased and downloaded, but obviously require an iPad to be functional. Downloaded iPad apps appear in a separate section of the "Apps" pane in iTunes, below iPhone and iPod touch applications.

Apple has also updated the Terms and Conditions for the App Store, reflecting the addition of iPad functionality and also clarifying that various types of iTunes gift cards and other credits are managed by a separate company known as Apple Value Services, LLC.

The early list of iPad apps can also be viewed at Appshopper.com. Notable early iPad apps includes:

Mirror's Edge for iPad, AIM For iPad, Super Monkey Ball 2 for iPad, Things for iPad, USA Today for iPad, The Wall Street Journal, ABC Player, Keynote, Pages.

The Associated Press reports that Amazon has struck new eBook deals with book publishers Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins just days before Apple's iPad and associated iBookstore launch in the U.S. The new deals are reportedly similar to other reworked Amazon contracts such as that made with Macmillan in late January that will allow for higher sale prices and more publisher control over pricing that Amazon's earlier system. The Amazon deals are also reportedly modeled on publishers' arrangements with Apple for distribution through the iBookstore.

With Apple's pricing model, some e-books will cost up to $14.99 initially -- $5 more than Amazon charges for some popular e-books -- and Apple is insisting that publishers can't sell books at a lower price through a competitor.

Apple's iBookstore is launching with titles from major publishers such as Penguin, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan. One big publisher, Random House, has not yet struck a deal with Apple.

Apple's push toward an agency model where publishers retain control over pricing is supported by many publishers who have feared that Amazon's low pricing for certain eBook content, which has even had the company selling eBooks at a loss, threatens the long-term viability of the publishing industry.

Not all publishers are convinced, however, that Apple's plans are best for the industry, as Random House is holding out as it consults with its authors agents to consider the ramifications of such a change.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the iPad are set to be the cover story for the upcoming issue of Time, and as part of the coverage, British actor/comedian Stephen Fry describes his visit to Apple headquarters to learn about and play with the iPad, as well as to meet Jobs himself. Yesterday, Fry posted a video of the unpacking of his iPad and associated accessories.

While Fry's lengthy Time article offers little in the way of new information on the iPad, it does provide an interesting glimpse into the Apple mystique, and his conversations with Jobs and other Apple executives share some of the giddy excitement and nervousness that many Apple fans would likely feel if granted inside access to Apple's devices and top minds.

I have met five British Prime Ministers, two American Presidents, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson and the Queen. My hour with Steve Jobs certainly made me more nervous than any of those encounters. I know what you are thinking, but it's the truth. I do believe Jobs to be a truly great figure, one of the small group of innovators who have changed the world. He exists somewhere between showman, perfectionist overseer, visionary, enthusiast and opportunist, and his insistence upon design, detail, finish, quality, ease of use and reliability are a huge part of Apple's success.

During the interview, Jobs offers a sentiment shared by Fry that the revolutionary and immersive nature of the iPad can not truly be felt until one gets their hands on and uses it. Unlike smartphones, which were a relatively obvious evolution for mobile phones, the new generation of tablet devices which are being led in mindshare by the iPad must create their own market space, and to do so the experience must be compelling.

"I think the experience of using an iPad is going to be profound for many people," he says. "I really do. Genuinely profound." That rings a bell. "I've heard it said that this is the device for you," I reply. "The one that will change everything." "When people see how immersive the experience is," Jobs says, "how directly you engage with it ... the only word is magical."

Fry closes his profile with an interesting observation that it is a shame that his good friend Douglas Adams is no longer alive to see what is the closest device yet created to his famed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

MacRumors has received word that a number of independent Apple resellers will also be planning to carry the iPad beginning this Saturday. While there are over 150 resellers with over 300 retail locations organized under the Apple Specialist group, details on which locations will have the iPad for sale have yet to be made public.

According to the report, the resellers are subject to a nondisclosure agreement with Apple that has precluded them from advertising iPad availability or even confirming that they will carry the device.

In addition to these resellers, the iPad will be available through Apple's retail stores and approximately 675 Best Buy locations offering the "store-within-a-store" Apple Shop concept.

As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has just posted a new page highlighting websites that it considers "iPad-ready" due to their embracing of non-Flash web standards that make them compatible with the forthcoming device.

iPad features Safari, a mobile web browser that supports the latest web standards - including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Here are just a few of the sites that take advantage of these web standards to deliver content that looks and functions beautifully on iPad.

The page currently features a dozen such major websites, including CNN, The New York Times, Virgin America, and Flickr.

Like the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad does not support Adobe's Flash technology, which has served as dominant means for displaying rich Web content. Apple has been pushing content providers to utilize other technologies to display such content, claiming that Flash is buggy and insecure while also crippling battery life for mobile devices.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that both ABC and CBS are preparing to deploy free, ad-supported streaming of their television content to the iPad, with CBS planning to utilize browser-based streaming while ABC will deliver its content through a standalone application that has already appeared in the App Store.

By Saturday, CBS plans to have full episodes of the reality series "Survivor" ready for an iPad-specific version of its CBS.com Web site. It also plans to offer promotional clips of several other shows, including crime-solving drama "The Mentalist" and sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."

"We're working very hard to make as much of it available as possible," Neil Ashe, president of CBS Interactive, said in an interview. "Over time, it'll be the same as online."

The report notes that episode streaming from the networks will serve to sidestep Apple's iTunes Store, where users can purchase commercial-free episodes of their favorite television shows. Apple has reportedly been urging networks to reduce iTunes pricing for their shows to $0.99 in order to stimulate demand, but the networks have resisted such encouragement, and today's report claims that a number of media companies have rejected the idea. It reportedly remains unclear whether any company will adopt the reduced pricing by the iPad's launch on Saturday.

Meanwhile, The New York Times repeats claims that Hulu is considering bringing its content to the iPad in the form of paid subscriptions.

Mr. Kilar declined to talk about any future Hulu products, but he waxed enthusiastic about the coming wave of ultra-portable tablet computers like the iPad.

"Typically media consumption in the house was confined to the living room or home office," he said. Tablets, he added, "allow consumers to serendipitously discover and consume media in every room of the house."

A February report indicated that Hulu was pursuing non-Flash technologies for bringing its content to the iPad, with subsequent claims noting that such an offering would likely be subscription-based.

As reported by Bloomberg, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) yesterday announced that it has agreed to investigate Apple's complaint against handset manufacturer HTC regarding alleged patent infringement. The complaint, filed one month ago, has been seen as an attack on Google's Android operating system, and while Google is not included in the complaint, it has said that it will stand behind HTC.

"By instituting this investigation, the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case," the agency said in a statement announcing the decision. Cupertino, California- based Apple claims that HTC is using Apple's proprietary iPhone technology in its phones without permission.

For its part, HTC has announced that it will "fully defend" itself against Apple's claims, noting its history of leadership and innovation in the mobile phone industry.

The ITC holds the power to ban imports of devices from companies found to be engaging in unfair business practices, including patent infringement. While the vast majority of such complaints are resolved before any import bans are applied, the ITC complaints serve as a popular tool for companies to address these issues in a venue that moves at a faster pace than the traditional legal system.

As noted by AppAdvice, one of the launch apps for the iPad App Store will be a Free Netflix application that will allow current Netflix customers to stream video directly to their device. The authenticity of the app is confirmed on AppShopper. From the app description:

Get Netflix on your iPad. Just download this free app and you can instantly watch TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix.

- Watch as often as you want
- Its part of your unlimited Netflix membership
- Resume watching where you left off on your TV or computer
- Browse movies and manage your Queue right from your iPad

Not a Netflix member? Join today and get a 2-week free trial.

The Free Netflix application will be available in the iPad App Store on launch.

Today is April 1, 2010 and represents April Fools' Day -- so readers should be wary of hoaxes and claims at both news and rumor sites today. For example, Australian Macworld reports that Apple is dropping its computer line in favor of iPhones, iPods, and iPads, while ThinkGeek announced an iPad Arcade Cabinet:

Today also represents Apple's 34th anniversary -- Apple was founded on April 1st, 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak -- and this week is the peak of publicity and excitement over the upcoming release of Apple's iPad.

While we avoid tainting our news stories with April Fools jokes, we've provided our own Aprils Fools' Day surprises in the past, including our Big Bunny Bundle and Page 3 rumors.

Stephen Fry has been posting video and images from his brand new iPad this evening, but one set of images has been particularly revealing. Fry posted a screenshot from the app revealing that Autodesk SketchBook Pro is already available for the iPad:

Autodesk does currently have a mobile version of their Sketchbook App for iPhone and iPod Touch, but a Pro version taking advantage of the iPad's larger screen is intriguing.

Meanwhile, MGS Development has posted images revealing their upcoming sheet music app for the iPad called forScore:

ForScore will come with over 1300 pages of score, from 18 world-renowned composers, and almost 300 different pieces. The app will include the ability to make notes to yourself as well as a visual metronome. No word on pricing.

For those desperate to see an unboxing video of the iPad, here's the first, from Stephen Fry. Fry, a well known friend of Apple, must have gotten one of the early shipments including all accessories:

Meanwhile, those looking for something a little more depth should really take a look at this video from PCMag. PCMag posted this excellent walk-through and review of the iPad. The hands on demo of the unit shows many of the iPad's features.

Apple's built-in apps and several 3rd party apps are demoed and shown in real time. The narrator reports that over 1000 apps will be available for the iPad at launch.

The early iPad reviews are in from those seeded with pre-release units from Apple. The general conclusion seems to be very positive but with the well known limitations (no Flash, no USB, no multitasking, etc...). Apps are to be a big differentiator for the iPad and an early list of iPad apps are available on AppShopper.

David Pogue / New York Times

Pogue attacks the iPad from two different perspectives: techie and "everyone else". If you're a techie, Pogue says that a laptop will do more for less money. But, if you like the concept of the iPad, "you'll love the machine". Pogue did test the iPad's battery life and found it could play movies continuously for over 12 hours.

Walt Mossberg / All Things D

- "a whole new type of computer"
- Mossberg found the iPad a "pleasure to use" and had less and less interest in using his laptop the longer he used it, reserving their use for writing/editing longer documents or watching Flash-requiring web videos.
- Impressed by the battery life which was longer than Apple's 10 hour claim.
- No trouble with the on screen keyboard.
- Pages is a "serious" content creation app but only exports to Word and not always accurately.

Edward Baig / USA Today

- "The first iPad is a winner."
- Onscreen keyboard fine for emails or quick notes, but not for lengthy articles.
- Most will use the iPad for consuming content rather than creating it.
- "Apple has pretty much nailed it with this first iPad, though there's certainly room for improvement."

Andy Inhatko / Chicago Sun Times

- "The iPad user experience is instantly compelling and elegant."
- "It feels more as if the iPad is filling a gap thats existed for quite some time."

ABC Video