“That includes people like Michael Groves, who is half of a two-person development team at Wandering Pig Studios,” Ogg reports. “He currently has two apps on the store, TapBox and a snow globe app. Groves, like most of his peers, is excited about the iPad. The extra screen real estate on the 9.7-inch device is a big deal, mostly because apps that were a no-go on the relatively small iPhone screen might actually work on the iPad. ‘We’re starting to work on a game we originally positioned as an iPhone app, and it died because of the screen size issue. Now it will be our next project,’ on the iPad, Groves said.”
“But bigger isn’t necessarily better in all cases,” Ogg reports. “Cameron Daigle, a Web and interaction designer for Griffin, which makes all sorts of Apple accessories, says that like moving from a cramped apartment to a three-bedroom house in the suburbs, it will probably take app makers awhile to get used to all that space.”
Ogg reports, “There are other things developers need to think about too. Increased size also equals increased weight–the iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds, the iPhone 3GS at just one third of a pound. Apps that require any sort of movement or shaking, like the Bump app for example, won’t be a natural way to use the iPad.”
Full article here.
The iPad developer’s challenge: Deciding which of two devices to target.
The Android and WinMo developer’s challenge: Deciding which of dozens of incompatible devices, with little hope of seeing any revenue, to target.
@ Tommy Boy
Not to mention the windows mobile people are cheap techie wannabes that probably wear their phones on their belts…
@ Tiger Leopard
I wanna sport my iPad on my belt. (w/ pride!) How do ya like me now tech-nerds? Mine’s bigger than yers!!
(just for the record, I’ve always kept my iPhone safely hidden in my jeans pocket..)
Perhaps the author should talk to a larger app company who might have more than a snow globe app.
The developers will very quickly realise that iPad is a device that will allow creation of desktop-class applications with a revolutionary new user interface paradigm. Instead of making narrow-focus single-use tiny iPhone-type applets, we should be seeing true desktop functionality, with applications such as:
GIMP, Pencil, Blender, SketchUp, 3D Home Designer… or
Gantt Project, GraphViz, Sidenote, Luca, Scribus… or
Plot, FrakKalk, RobotProg, Books… or
Celtx, FrameByFrame…
And that’s only open-source. We should also expect titles such as Filemaker, Delicious Library, Adobe CS 4 suite (and it may well include titles such as Premiere, AfterEffects, Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop…), MS Office, then eventually, 3D titles, such as Maya, Lightwave, 3DS Max, as well as Apple’s own Final Cut (likely Express at first), Logic Express, etc.
Remember, folks, five years ago, an iBook G4 had lower specs than our iPad of today, yet it ran all these titles (the current versions of the time, obviously). Hardware doesn’t present serious limitations here. Developers will very quickly figure this out.
iPad has a chance of becoming an incredibly powerful mobile platform with desktop-class applications. Mac OS will slowly be pushed into the high-end, heavy-duty lifting. MacBooks and smaller, weaker MBPs will likely be disappearing soon, once these apps end up on the iPad. And yes, I have no doubt, Apple will properly open up API for development of add-on hardware for the additional functionality (USB, FireWire, analogue/digital/multi-track audio, analogue/HDMI video, etc). This shouldn’t take more than a year or two (just like it did with the original iPhone).
“Though the iPad has been dismissed by some as an oversized iPod Touch”
The iPad IS essentially an oversized iPod Touch – that’s a good thing. After all, it is empirically true that people love the iPod Touch/iPhone experience. The oversized part allows certain functions (reading a lot of text, viewing movies) and tech features (battery life, processor) to be be improved relative to the Touch.
“But bigger isn’t necessarily better in all cases,” Ogg reports. “Cameron Daigle, a Web and interaction designer for Griffin, which makes all sorts of Apple accessories, says that like moving from a cramped apartment to a three-bedroom house in the suburbs, it will probably take app makers awhile to get used to all that space.”
Uh, taking a while to get used to something does not support the idea that the new thing is not better.
@ iWill,
If you really want to flaunt your Apple iPad pride, take a fashion tip from the Hebrew High Priest of old:
OS 3.2 for iPhone or will it be iPad only and the iPhone has to wait for 4.0?
OK, discuss.
“But bigger isn’t necessarily better in all cases… like moving from a cramped apartment to a three-bedroom house in the suburbs, it will probably take app makers awhile to get used to all that space.”
I think it’s interesting that Google’s phone went for maximum resolution.
A lot of people criticized Apple for sticking with their original screen real-estate, even as other phone’s screens gained higher and higher resolutions. Of course this was to create one huge, consistent platform. We now see it has other benefits.
Apple has giving developers more room to tackle bigger app/UI issues with the iPad.
Unless Google’s future tablet has a whoppingly huge resolution (which isn’t going to happen) the move from phone to tablet in Google’s world, won’t bring with it the same new “elbow room” to expand the complexity of the UI (it will only be like moving from a 2 bedroom to a three bedroom).
@ Sir Gill Bates
Oh Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Could an “Urim and Thummim” App now be in the offing?
.:.
@ iWill,
Yeah, top it off with a diamond embedded, gold front tooth and you have the ultimate in bling.
As for Uma Thurman, I believe she’s a Buddhist.
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@Sir Gil:
Ain’t that an eBrew iPriest?
@ Sir Gill
And, is that Steve’s funny hat?
@ macerroneous,
Yes. And I wish he had worn the hat with his tux at the Awards. Now that would have been a fashion statement.
I’m trying to picture two people “Bumping” iPads…
Uhm, yeah.
is that an iPad in your pocket, or are you glad to see me?