David Wertheimer, executive director of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, was bullish on the prospects of the iPad as a harbinger of change in mobile personal computing. Wertheimer said the device appeared impressive, but the prospect of hundreds, if not thousands, of independent software developers making new applications for the iPad is what could help it succeed.
For Apple’s popular iPhone and iPod Touch devices, consumers can choose from more than 140,000 applications in the company’s App Store to run on the handheld sets. Those same applications will work on the iPad, and that huge library of apps will help Apple distinguish its iPad from other tablet competitors, Wertheimer said.
“I think what you saw today was a launching pad, and we will only know the power of the rocket that launches off this
pad when we see the apps that get developed for it,” Wertheimer said. “The base device provides a really powerful
foundation, but what will make this device compelling for people will be the applications.”
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