Why is the iPad's iBooks App a Download?

With the release of the iPad right around the corner, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the device itself. Yesterday evening, a friend and I were discussing some of the rumors that are surrounding the iPad. At some point in the discussion, he asked me if I had any idea why Apple made the the iPad's iBook application a download from the App store. When he said this, I had no idea what he was talking about, but when I went to the iPad page, this was stated very clearly.

The iBooks app is a great new way to read and buy books.1 Download the free app from the App Store and buy everything from classics to best sellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to start reading. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich color, so it’s easy to read, even in low light.

I couldn't understand why one of the iPad's main features would not be preloaded on the device itself. But after a few minutes of thinking, I was able to come up with a possible answer to the question. -- If you go into the App Store today, you will find several E-Book applications available for the current iPhone, which is exactly why Apple cannot preload the iBook App on the iPad.

As per Apple's current SDK agreement, developers cannot develop an App that competes directly with an Apple application that is standard on the device. If Apple preloaded the iBook App on the iPad, they would be forced to pull all of the other E-Book readers in the App store as per their own contractual agreement; making the iBook application "opt in" avoids this issue. This is purely speculation on my part, but I think this is a plausible answer to the question.  

Why do you think the iPad App is not included with the iPad?

Where do you get your Apple theories?

We all know 9to5mac, TUAW, AppleInsider, and MacRumors. They deliver Apple news, and rumors. But do they provide perspective, and thought? www.bitefromtheapple.com takes their news postings and analyzes them, correlating them with Apple's past actions to best predict what the tech giant will do. Visit us everyday for the best perspective on Apple there is to offer.

We will also be giving away a weekly prize. So, go to out website as much as possible, and, if you see the red button in the sidebar (which usually isn't there), click on it to get a prize!

Will the iPad gain more hardware features before it's released?

There is a possibility that the Apple iPad will gain more features before it is released. The current rumors going around is that the iPad was intended to have a camera, but, ultimately, Apple decided not to include it, because it was glitchy, or wasn't implemented well.

I disagree.

Just about every other Apple product has a camera built in. It would require almost no effort do put one into the iPad. In fact, there is a hole in the iPad frame that perfectly fits and iSight camera. I think that Apple truly did intend to put a camera into the iPad, but it wasn't because it was glitchy, or didn't work. I think it was done to speed up FCC approval.

The FCC said that they're concerned that the iPad is going to bring down AT&T due to the increase of data traffic. Because they have to approve every cellular device before it can go on sale, they would have the power to halt the iPad if they saw it a a threat to cellular bandwidth, due to major data usage. The iPhone OS 3.2 SDK showed support for video calling, and most likely, if the iPad had a camera, that's what it would do. Video streaming takes up huge amounts of bandwidth, and the FCC would definitely not approve the iPad if it could do video calls.

My father is a holder of numerous patents, and deals with government regulations very often in his medical practice. According to him, it is easier to get the bare minimum approved, and slowly add on more and more features. If you try to get all the features approved at once, chances are, they will not be approved.

I think once Apple gets the iPad approved by the FCC… Read more

MacPad

On January 27, 2010, Apple released the iPad. But could it be possible that Apple is just getting started, and is preparing to release a Mac version of the tablet?

View the original article here.

Mentioning my previous article, The Future of Computing, I discussed the possibility of a fully touch-based OS for a fully-fledged computer; not a mobile device. Well it makes perfect sense to put a touchscreen onto a type of device that runs a touch OS.

I don't believe this will be released [necessarily] this year…I think this will be released with OS 10.7, which I think will have support for touch input (10.6 has some support for that. It supports gestures on the trackpad). However… Read more

The iPad's Niche Market

There is a lot of hype about Apple’s new iPad. Their newest tablet device. But who is this iPad for? The problem with tablets is that’s hard to figure out who they’re for. In my personal opinion, the iPad will come in handy for a lot of people. Here are some of the instances where an iPad would work well. 

One market of people this is for is for people who travel a lot. Let’s face it, you’re on the plane for 8 hours, it’s cramped, and you don’t adequate room for your 17” MacBook Pro. So you pull out your iPad. Since it has a reported 10-hour battery, you can read your favorite eBook, play 2x apps or surf the web with either 3G or WiFi.

The second use for the iPad would be for around the house. Whether you’re looking for a recipe in the kitchen with the AllRecipes Dinner Spinner, or finding out the name of that song on IMDb in the living room. I think the iPad is a really good around the house type of computing device. It’s small enough to where it is easy to carry around and will get the job done for all the little computing odds and ends you need to take care of. 

The third and final market in my opinion of for kids. Mainly ages 10-14. The iPad has been speculated to be just an iPod touch of steroids. Since the iPod touch has flourished in the market, I imagine it would be very popular among young adults. Since it is compatible with all App Store apps, it would be a very smooth transition for those coming from a smaller iPod. 

So in conclusion, who do you think the iPad’s niche market is? You know my opinion, so I want to hear your opinion. Leave a comment below. 

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