More than 20,000 Apple iPad applications are in the process of being created, according to data released April 1 from Flurry. The researcher calculated a significant spike in developer support for the iPad since it was introduced in January. That bodes well for the ecosystem of the much-hyped tablet computer, which is scheduled to be available to customers from Apple stores and Best Buy April 3. Also, several application makers, from Disney to Netflix to Cisco, have thrown their hats into the iPad ring.
More than 20,000 Apple iPad applications are in the process of being created, according
to data released April 1 from application research firm Flurry.
Flurry, which monitors new project starts by developers within its system,
said it calculated a significant spike in developer support for the iPad since
it was introduced in January. That bodes well for the ecosystem of the
much-hyped tablet computer, which is scheduled to be available to customers
from Apple stores and Best Buy April 3.
Apple, which added a toggle switch to its online iTunes store that allows
consumers to view and download apps developed for the iPad, currently lists
over 2,000 iPad-specific apps.
In these pie charts, Flurry notes that iPad made up 22 percent of new
projects starts within Flurry over the last two months. Interestingly, the
charts show that Google Android's share of new project starts decreased from 18
percent in 2009 to 10 percent over the last 60 days.
While it would tempting to conclude that Android developers are fleeing
Google's platform, iPhone development also declined a touch, from 78 percent to
67 percent over the same period. Indeed, Flurry said it counts nearly 300 new
Android projects in March, which is a 50 percent increase over February.
"Android's percent has declined because iPhone and iPad growth is
increasing at a rate faster than that of Android," Flurry's Peter Farago
noted. Appcelerator has its own estimates on platform development, which readers can see here.
Still, it's possible the iPad is attracting developers from both Android and
iPhone platforms. What can consumers get to run on the iPad? Gizmodo has a list
here. ReadWriteWeb has its own list.
Wolfram
Alpha: The computational search engine has tailored a computational app for
the iPad. Enter queries in the middle and see results render below the search
bar.
Box.net: The cloud content management provider also has an
iPad app to let users access and share content with friends and colleagues. It's
not polished yet, but it's getting there.
Cisco: Cisco WebEx
Meeting Center
for the iPad lets users
Yahoo Entertainment App for iPad: Brought to you by the Web
company that refuses to die, this app lets users access entertainment
content, television listings, videos, news and more.
Disney:
Disney Publishing Worldwide has built two "Toy Story" apps for the
iPad. These include video from the films, karaoke, voice record features and a
feature that lets kids finger-paint on the iPad.
Netflix: 'Nuff said. Everyone believes this will be a killer app, letting couch potatoes
stream content to a mini TV in their laps.
Meanwhile, Amazon told the Wall Street Journal (paywall warning) it will produce an iPad
app that will let users read their Kindle ebook purchases on the device, but
it's not clear when the Kindle iPad app will be available.
Companies that aren't building apps for the iPad are saying so. Microsoft
told BusinessWeek it won't make Office for the tablet.
At least, not right away. We expect that to change if the tablet and
platform become a smash hit, as many expect.
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