iPad on sale April 3: Will newspapers be ready?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on March 5, 2010 at 1:58 PM

Apple's iPad will go on sale in the United States April 3, and will be available for pre-order beginning March 12, TechCrunch reported early this morning. The "magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price" will start at US$499, Apple's Web site states.

The Wi-Fi models will be available April 3, but Wi-Fi + 3G will be available in late April in the United States, according to Apple's press release. All models will be available in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Why Apple is releasing the 3G-enabled iPads later remains an unanswered question, and PC World speculates this is because AT&T, the wireless carrier for iPhones and now the iPad, "needs the extra time to prep the new Micro SIM cards that the iPad will use for 3G." PC World also pointed out that time is running out for magazines to have their digital, multimedia magazines ready for the launch.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that although the iPad has been described as tailor-made for traditional media, newspaper and magazine publishers are facing obstacles on exactly how to share revenue with Apple for their iPad versions. This vital piece of the puzzle will decide whether publishers will succeed in cashing in on the iPad, turning traditional content into interactive media.

"The iPad is a great new device that opens up tremendous growth opportunities for us and other content providers," Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger said after Jobs unveiled the iPad in January, BusinessWeek reported. "When people have a great experience, they consume more of the content they like, whether it be sports, books, games, TV or movies - and they are willing to pay to do so."

A survey by ChaneWave found that the top planned uses of the iPad are: surfing the Internet (68 percent), checking e-mail (44 percent), reading e-books (37 percent), reading magazines/newspapers/periodicals (28 percent), watching video (24 percent), according to wireless and mobile news.

Newspapers are still releasing iPhone apps. Will they be waiting for consumers on the iPad when it is released, or will they follow up in the years to come?