Kobo has just posted this video (see below) of its near-complete ebook reading app for Apple’s iPad.
Kobo on iPad from Kobo on Vimeo.
According to the Kobo blog, they’ve been hard at work on this since the iPad was announced two months ago. What was intended to be a slight tweaking of their iPhone app to suit the larger screen turned into a complete new app, built from the ground up to take full advantage of the iPad.
Kobo say they have yet to get their hands on an iPad so they’re relying on Apple’s developer tools, including the iPad simulator, to test it. They’re also relying on Apple to approve it since, like all Apps, it has to go through an approval process with Apple first. All going well, Kobo expects to be on the iPad at launch.
The iPad is due for US launch on Saturday April 3, right in the middle of Easter. Interesting timing … slow news day, plenty of photogenic crowds queuing for iPads? Other markets will follow in the coming months.
Meanwhile, not to be completely left out of the iPad hype, Amazon showed this snippet of its iPad App in the making.
The background colours of the reader sitting under the tree apparently change with the time of day, a nice touch. Apple certain has a way of getting designers’ creative juices flowing when developing for its platforms.
With this Kindle for iPad (once again, subject to Apple’s approval), Amazon’s Kindle reading and purchasing is now on its own Kindle hardware, PCs, the iPhone, Blackberry, Macs (just released a few days ago) and now the iPad. Interestingly, there’s still no Kindle app for Android. Nor, notably, does its Stanza iPhone app have an Android version yet — or an iPad version announced.
Others will be piling into the iPad with Barnes and Noble reputedly having a team of 14 developers at work and Skiff, the Hearst magazines initiative, also rumoured to be heading to the iPad. And, of course, Apple itself will be in the game with its iBookstore.