Kiwi software developers see business opportunities in iPad

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Kiwi iPhone application developers are planning to develop software for Apple's new iPad but say the device may not be the hit the iPhone is.

The iPhone application market is estimated to be worth as much as US$2.4 billion (NZ$3.5b) a year and while most iPhone applications will work on the iPad, Kiwi software developers say the device, which was released in January and has a 9.7-inch LED touch-screen, has new promise.

Tristan Clark, co-founder of iPhone software development firm Launching Pad Games, says it will develop an iPad version of its next iPhone adventure title and the new game will probably work better on the bigger device.

"The large screen makes it easier to move around with your fingers and not obscure the screen.

"You get to have much more detail and graphics, and simply having a big screen lets you do a lot more touch controls a lot more easily."

Developers could potentially charge more for iPad applications, he says.

"It would be nice if it's seen as a place to get premium games. With the iPhone you get so many 99 cent time-wasters ... but the iPad is being targeted as an e-reader and a device for more lengthy sessions, you can imagine playing chess on it.

"If you have more large-scale and involved games there's a lot more scope to charge more."

Apple's challenge will be to create a defined market for the iPad – which sits somewhere between a smartphone such as the iPhone and a laptop, he says.

"I already have an iPhone and a laptop and right now I just can't justify having something between those two. But a lot of people are saying it will be very useful."

Most iPhone applications will work on the iPad without any customisation, but Launching Pad Games may tweak its Zoo Lasso iPhone game for the iPad if necessary, Mr Clark says.

Layton Duncan, director of Christchurch iPhone application developer Polar Bear Farm, says it is developing large applications for the iPad.

"Our most significant product in the works is a business-focused application to allow companies to easily and quickly bring their existing information systems on to the iPad and iPhone."

The iPad could be particularly useful in mobile sales, medicine and in education as a learning tool, he says.

Polar Bear Farm is investigating creating hardware accessories for the iPad, so physics students could use iPads to log data and control experiments, and so the iPad could be used as an interface for machinery.

It is unlikely developers will be able to charge a premium for iPad applications, he says. With the iPhone the cheapest applications are ranked higher in Apple's App Store because they are downloaded more, making it harder for higher-priced applications to move up the rankings, and the situation will probably be the same with the iPad, he says.

iPhone software developer Peter Watling, from Christchurch firm Orsome, says applications that "did not make sense" on the iPhone will work on the iPad. "You've got such a big surface to deal with, there's a new opportunity to be manipulating items on screen and grouping them together."

The company's TV Guide software and Bubblewrap game – which has been downloaded more than 10 million times – will probably be suited to the device.

Peter Vullings, of Palmerston North company Pixelthis, says it has already had inquiries from clients wanting customised iPad applications developed. Specially developed applications will probably have more functionality than iPhone software and could sell for more, he says.

"A Photoshop-style application on the iPhone will be very limited by design because you don't want to squeeze all the features of Photoshop in there. By contrast it makes sense to include these features in the iPad version."

The jury is still out as to whether the iPad will emulate the iPhone's success, Mr Vullings says.

"I fail to see the attraction of the iPad beyond its cool styling and brand factor, but there will be the diehard Apple aficionados who will love it."

Jos Ruffell, portfolio manager of PikPok, a subsidiary of Wellington games firm Sidhe, says its Birdstrike iPhone game – in which players make Gerald the flightless bird fly as high as possible – would be ideal for the iPad.

The device would allow Birdstrike users better control over the gameplay and allow them to become more attached to characters in the game.

The iPad could make mobile gaming more social, Mr Ruffell says. "Much like a board game, numerous players can be involved with one device."

Touch-screen interaction is the way personal computers are heading but it is hard to say whether the iPad will trigger a revolution, he says.

- © Fairfax NZ News