Dragon, Disney, gogoDocs, SplitBrowser apps coming to iPad
updated 11:20 pm EDT, Thu April 1, 2010
Devs announce multitude of iPad projects
Developers have announced a multitude of iPad apps that will be available on the App Store when the device arrives on Saturday. Nuance, ABC, Disney, Sounds Broken, and Elastic Fiction have received approval for various titles. Nuance has converted the iPhone app Dragon Dictation for the iPad. The free utility (for a limited time) allows users to speak and save drafts of documents, e-mails, notes, status updates, and more. The larger screen size is utilized by Dragon Dictation Notes, a feature which allows dictated text to be viewed and managed.
Confirming earlier reports, ABC has established its own Player app that provides access to ABC.com's library of episodes. Users will be able to view ad-supported, free episodes from approximately 20 ABC series streamed across Wi-Fi connections.
Disney has created two "Toy Story" read-along apps for children. Each book features video from the films, karaoke, voice recording, and songs from the movies. Users will also be able to play original games or finger paint with up to 10 fingers on the screen. The "Toy Story" app is available for free, while "Toy Story 2" costs $9 and comes with a free subscription to disneydigitalbooks.com. The company is also developing "Disney Princess," "Phineas & Ferb," "Winnie the Pooh" and "Toy Story 3" titles for the iPad.
Elastic Fiction's SplitBrowser app takes advantage of the 9.7-inch display, providing two browser pages with independent toolbars. A division bar allows users to resize pages in portrait or landscape mode, while multi-touch input controls zoom, scroll, images, links, and videos. The app is already listed on the App Store for $2.
Sounds Broken has brought its gogoDocs Google Docs reader onto the iPad platform. The utility retains the same basic functionality as the iPhone variant, allowing users to create and edit documents. The iPad version brings support for the new "upload any file" feature of Google Docs, with support for MS Office and iWork files that were not converted on upload. The app also allows users to work with audio and fullscreen video, while automatically syncing content in the background. The app is currently priced at $5 and listed in the Productivity category.
Previous estimates suggest the number of available iPad apps has already hit 1,350, although the number is expected to climb as the April 3rd launch date approaches.
ABC Player
"Toy Story"
SplitBrowser
gogoDocs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
Kids should love being able to
use the iPad by tapping and swiping. I doubt if you'd give a little tyke a netbook to use. I doubt if they'd want anything to do with it. Here, son, just read through the Windows 7 OS starter manual and you'll be using "Toy Story" in no time at all. Just joking around, but you get the point unless you're a geek.