MacRumors

Apple has updated their website with a large banner declaring "iPad is Here". Apple has posted hands on videos with several of the launch applications including The Elements, Marvel Comics, The Wall Street Journal, Epicurious, At Bat 2010 and several more.

Today is iPad launch day. MacRumors forum readers awaiting their UPS shipments for the iPads are following this thread as they await delivery, while those actually going to a local retail store are meeting up with others.

We'll have coverage of the iPad launch, impressions and more as the day progresses.

While you Wait - Here are some Free apps to download to test out your new iPad

- Adobe Ideas for iPad - Adobe Ideas is your digital sketchbook, letting you capture and explore ideas anywhere you go.
- iBooks - iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books, designed exclusively for iPad.
- USA Today for iPad - The latest news stories, scores, weather and photos you've come to expect from USA TODAY are now available in a beautiful new way, on your iPad.
- ABC Player - Watch your most loved ABC shows for free on the ABC.com Full Episode Player for the iPad!
- AIM for iPad - AIM is redefining social networking add a location to your status, post to your favorite social networks or chat directly with your Facebook friends.
- NYT Editors' Choice - Enjoy the award-winning journalism of The New York Times with the unique functionality and navigation of the iPad.
- Twitterific for iPad - Twitterrific is the friendly, award-winning Twitter client that's beautiful to look at, easy to use and full of elegant features.
- Harbor Master HD - Enjoy the best selling game Harbor Master on the beautiful big screen of the iPad.
- Smiles HD - SMILES HD is all new and redesigned for the iPad. It's based on SMILES, the award winning strategic puzzle and arcade matching-game.
- Labyrinth 2 HD Lite - The sequel to the original labyrinth game is available for your iPad, now with new levels fitted perfectly for the bigger screen.

Netflix's blog reveals that they are indeed working on an iPhone version of their app that allows subscribers to stream video to their mobile device:

Steve Swasey, VP of Corporate Communications, here. Terrific response to our news today about Netflix on the iPad. For those of you asking whether Netflix will be on the iPhone and iPod Touch: We wouldn't invite you to dinner without planning to serve dessert. In other words, we're working on it so stay tuned.

Netflix generated a lot of headlines when news of their iPad app was revealed on April 1st. No word on when the iPhone version will become available.

Just in time for the iPad's release tomorrow, Apple has approved an update to Amazon's Kindle application to include support for the iPad (iTunes link).

The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, providing users the ability to read Kindle books using a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. You can discover and read over 450,000 books in the Kindle Store, including the latest best sellers and new releases. You can also read your Kindle books on your Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Kindle, and Kindle DX. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across all of your devices, so you can pick up right where you left off no matter what device you are reading on.

Notably, the app is a "universal" application, meaning the same application can be used across all iPhone OS devices including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Amazon had previously announced that it was preparing an iPad-optimized version of it's Kindle software, which will now compete with Apple's iBook application.

The iPad goes on sale tomorrow at 9:00 am at Apple's U.S. retail stores.

A closer look at the FCC images reveal that the obscured chip parts were actually blacked out with a layer embedded in the PDF. A quick manipulation reveals the actual underlying chips that had been covered for "confidentiality".

Unsurprisingly, the main processor is an Apple A4, but the new images reveal that Apple is using Toshiba Flash memory and a Broadcom BCM5973 chip. iFixit is doing a full analysis of the newly revealed images. Perhaps the main point of interest is that the battery is not soldered in place.

Engadget reports that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has published a number of photos of Apple's iPad as part of the company's application for approval based on radiation emission requirements. The photos had been submitted in mid-March with Apple's application but were kept from public view due to a confidentiality request from Apple.

With the iPad they didn't just bother to test out the radiation and maybe take a little peek for themselves under the covers, but instead disassembled the whole machine on camera. Unfortunately they took it upon themselves to cover over the specific chips, so we'll have to wait for one of those pro bono teardowns to get the full lay of the land, but it's still a unique look at the makeup of this thing.

As the report notes, information that remains confidential has been covered in the images but it is still interesting to see the internal components such as the large, thin battery that is nearly as wide as the device itself.

In February, we profiled Intrinsity, a company made up of former Exponential Technology employees that was gaining attention for its efforts to speed up ARM CPU designs. Intrinsity had cooperated with Samsung to announce the 1GHz Hummingbird processor back in July, and due to Apple's increasing reliance on ARM processors for its mobile devices, we speculated that Apple and Intrinsity may cross paths in the future.

EDN first reported that Intrinsity has been acquired and speculated that Apple could have been the buyer. We have since discovered evidence that this is likely the case. A couple of Intrinsity employees and one of the founders of Exponential (Jim Blomgren, Paul Miller, and Mark Nodine) have begun listing Apple, Inc as their current employer on their LinkedIn profiles:

The job changes are dated April 2010, and a further search shows a total of 13 former Intrinsity employees on LinkedIn listing Apple as their current employer. Consequently, Apple has either recently acquired Intrinsity or recruited some key talent from the company.

Update: LinkedIn's listings have been updated to remove mention of the employees in question now working for Apple. Mark Nodine's profile still mentions, however, that he is working for Apple as of April 1st.

Google today announced that it has rolled out a new iPad-formatted mobile interface for Gmail, building on the HTML5-based mobile format used for the iPhone to create a two-column interface like that used for Apple's Mail application on the iPad.

We're releasing an experimental user interface for the iPad built on the Gmail for mobile HTML5 web app that we launched last year for the iPhone and Android devices. Those devices have large screens compared to other phones, and tablets like the iPad give us even more room to innovate. To take advantage of the iPad's large display, we've created a two-pane view with your list of conversations on the left and messages to the right.

iPad users will be automatically presented with the new format when they navigate to gmail.com on the device.

Google has also taken the opportunity to promote its other contributions to the iPad, including the YouTube application originally found on the iPhone that has been redesigned for the iPad. The iPad's Maps application also takes advantage of such features as terrain view that are not available on the iPhone version of the application.

Finally, Google notes that it is providing a mix of desktop and mobile interfaces for its web-based services on the iPad, based on its determination of which interface "works best" with the device. Everything is currently experimental, however, and decisions and features are subject to change over time as Google continues to play with the iPad and users offer feedback on how to improve its offerings.

Bloomberg yesterday reported that Microsoft executive Stephen Elop claims that the company has "no current plans" to develop a version of its Office productivity suite for the iPad. Microsoft's Mike Tedesco had claimed in mid-February that the company was "looking at" the possibility of bringing Office to the iPad, but this new report suggests that any such move would be relatively far down the road, if it happens at all.

"We never say never, but we have no current plans" to develop a version of Office for the Apple iPad, Elop said. Last year Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it would create a version to work on Nokia Oyj's smartphones, since millions of Office users already own those devices.

An iPad edition of Office would likely be built by a unit within Microsoft's consumer business that creates versions of Office that work with Apple's Macintosh personal computers. Kristen Woody, a spokesman for that unit, says it "doesn't have anything to share at this time."

Apple has developed iPad versions of its iWork productivity applications, bringing Keynote, Pages, and Numbers priced at $9.99 each to the App Store just in time for the iPad's launch.

iPhone developer Nate True has announced his latest project called Wormhole Remote. Nate True is most well known as the creator Tap Tap Revolution during the days before the App Store. Tap Tap Revolution was later acquired by Tapulous and has evolved into the successful Tap Tap Revenge franchise. True has also authored many other jailbreak apps, but this project represents his first official App Store release.

Wormhole offers seamless wireless remote access to your desktop Mac using a Wi-Fi connection. The promise is the ability to move from your desktop computer to your iPad and back seamlessly and quickly while working.

While several VNC remote desktop solutions have been available for the iPhone, Wormhole seems to apply it in a more iPad/iPhone friendly way with individual window views of each of your apps. Instead of navigating an entire Mac OS X desktop interface on your iPad, however, you are able to switch to specific application windows. The application supports all the expected desktop keyboard (control, alt/option) and mouse (single, double, drag) functions. Click for full screenshots:

The first version of the app will be iPad-only and will launch for $5. The iPad version will later be updated for free to a Universal iPhone/iPad version ($7) while an iPhone-only version ($3) is also in the works.

The following developer video shows it in action. The video parodies Apple's own iPad videos. While it was posted on April 1st, we've been assured this is a real product:

Wormhole requires the installation of server software on the Mac to properly serve the windows to your iPad/iPhone. The first version will support Mac OS X Snow Leopard but there are plans to release server software for Windows and Leopard. The first versions will support local Wi-Fi networks only but True is working on optimizing it for 3G/over-the-air access. Wormhole for iPad has been submitted to the App Store. More details can be found at WormholeRemote.com.

Mobile analytics firm Flurry today released data showing the impact of the iPad on mobile application development in recent months, revealing that 22% of new applications starts registered with the company over the past 60 days have targeted the iPad. The data follows up on an earlier report just two weeks after the iPad's introduction that started to show the device's effect on developer interest.

Flurry's data shows that the new arrival of the iPad and continued growth for iPhone/iPod touch applications have sent total new application starts skyrocketing to over 3,000 in March, with those devices accounting for nearly 90% of the total. Despite continued growth in developer interest for the Android platform, it has been unable to keep pace in terms of share, falling from 18% for 2009 to 10% over the past 60 days.

The iPad will go on sale starting at 9 am Eastern on Sat, April 3rd -- less than 24 hours away. In the final lead up to Apple's latest product launch, we thought we'd ask our readers if they were actually buying (or planning on buying) an iPad or not. Sales projections have been promising, but we won't know for sure for some time.

So, are you buying an iPad?

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.