Filed under: iPad
Apple is now accepting iPad app submissions
Do you believe in miracles? If you clap your hands, will Tinkerbell appear? Are you willing to submit an application developed solely in a simulator and hope that it will work on real hardware? With real customers? In a real App Store? Well, now is your chance to find out.
If you're thinking about waiting: don't. Apple states that "[o]nly apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store." An Apple spokesman further confirmed that "[W]e are looking forward to having an amazing line up of apps available when the iPad ships on April 3." The iPad App Store will launch at the same time as the iPad device.
Developers have expressed both excitement and concern about this development. iPhone developer Scott Lawrence told TUAW "I think it's pretty risky, knowing how 'accurate' the simulator is with respect to actual iPhone performance." Most developers insist on testing not only on hardware but on a wide range of models and firmware installations before an app is generally released. From software compatibility to hardware, the simulator approximates but does not equal actual device performance.
As I have written elsewhere, the simulator uses many Macintosh frameworks and libraries, offering features that are not actually present on the iPhone. Applications that appear to be completely operational and fully debugged on the simulator may flake out or crash on the device itself. You simply cannot fully debug any program solely by using the simulator and be assured that the software will run bug-free on the iPhone. Here at TUAW central, we're assuming (or at least hoping) that Apple will be testing device builds on real devices.
iPhone developer Greg Hartstein points out, "I'm not sure Apple really had a choice. Even with a store of 150,000 iPhone apps, Apple knows that new users are going to want to see what the iPad can really do rather than simply use their iPhone apps larger." With our impatient culture, it's make or break for the iPad. Apple needs to put its best face forward and get the most exciting apps it can out there for its new iPad community, despite access limits to early development units.
As one of our commenters writes, "Let the farts begin!"
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Paul said 3:12PM on 3-19-2010
Let the Farts Begin!
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shennyleisha said 9:54PM on 3-19-2010
And so, the hype continues.. Another case of Apple marketing. Wondering how many thousands of folks will have buyer's remorse, once they figure out the limitations of this device. For me, I'll just wait 6 months for the used ones to start showing up on eBay and Craigslist. Not worth the sticker price, much less the monthly recurring data charge… Opinions: http://bit.ly/ipad-preorder-best-or-worst
iDarbert said 3:15PM on 3-19-2010
Is there even a reason (except making use of the accelerometer) why apps running in the simulator shouldn't run as expected on actuall hardware?
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Alan Taylor said 3:21PM on 3-19-2010
It makes a big difference. Performance for one thing.
Also, iPhone OS is case-sensitive, the simulator is not. So potentially none of the interface could work on an actual device if the developer has his images with a capital letter but all lower case in code.
Plus, the mouse is incredible accurate for clicking around - some buttons might seem perfect on the simulator and be a pain to actually try to use on the device.
The list goes on.
iDarbert said 3:50PM on 3-19-2010
I see, good to know, does using the case sensitive file system help?
I sorta assumed the system does a good job at detecting the actual target of a tap in the actual device but I guess it might not be the case.
Performance always seems comparable to me, but I never develop graphics intensive apps or anything similar so maybe that's where it comes in handy.
I'm guessing Apple would warn developers if such mistakes were made so they have time to resubmit, it's kind of a pain but it's still better than not having any iPad apps at launch.
Vexorg said 4:01PM on 3-19-2010
Multitouch gestures are another one that the simulator is very limited in being able to handle. The sim allows an option-click on the screen to simulate two fingers, but the second "finger" is always in symmetry with the other mouse pointer, so multi-finger gestures other than pinch generally can't be done in the sim.
Alan said 4:13PM on 3-19-2010
And lets not forget that the simulator can use all the memory your Mac has! Less experienced developers might not have tested what happens then the OS triggers a low memory warning!
iDarbert said 4:38PM on 3-19-2010
Fair enough, looks like only basic apps can expect to be fully tested on the simulator rather than an actual device
Joachim Bean said 3:32PM on 3-19-2010
Let's hope that there will be workable way that Apple actually tests iPad apps. I don't know how well this is going to work for developers.
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Gazoobee said 3:32PM on 3-19-2010
Developers seem to find something to complain about with every announcement made. Perish the thought that they might look at the glass half full instead of half empty for a change.
How can you expect that developers be supplied with copies of a product that doesn't actually exist yet? It's not shipping, and by all accounts the hardware is still being tweaked as we speak, and the same for the OS. This is just the reality of the situation. Why you insist on turning it into another controversy or "problem" that Apple has stuck the developers with is beyond me.
Sure, it would be better to be able to test on the hardware, but that isn't likely to happen. It isn't personal, it probably isn't even intentional. This is just some stuff that happened, not a giant conspiracy from Apple to screw over developers.
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Scott D. Yelich said 3:41PM on 3-19-2010
I have a call that is returning landscape ... in the sim -- but the (sim) device
is clearly portrait. What will the actual device return in this instance (when launching, the app is in portrait)? who knows.
Scott
ps: I *hope* it's portrait!
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starq said 4:07PM on 3-19-2010
" ...but Apple has not given any further information about a specific date. TUAW has contacted Apple by e-mail to ask about the exact date but has not yet heard any response back ..."
Call me clairvoyant but I'm gonna take a wild ass guess and say April 3rd!
(No email necessary)
" ... we're assuming (or at least hoping) that Apple will be testing device builds on real devices ..."
Call me psychic but I'm gonna say that the odds of Apple NOT testing iPad apps on actual devices are as likely as photgraphing Ballmer standing in line on launch day.
Sorry. I kind of sound like the lame Tuaw trolls Jordan and Joanna D in this post but this just seems common sense.
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Montana Leet said 2:57AM on 3-20-2010
I actually like Jordan. I heavily disagree with the stances he takes on most Apple products, but I think rather than trolling, he just says what he thinks. Joanna D's intent is clearly to just aggravate.
veeroods said 6:32AM on 3-20-2010
Hmm, think I will just stic with my Iphone, it fits in my pocket
LOL
Jess
www.anonymous-VPN.eu.tc
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zTop said 3:37PM on 3-23-2010
I think I will wait to see how this all plays out before jumping in the iPad market. I dont know if the app Heart-EKG http://www.surichtech.com/mobile/ can be ported to the iPad. Would be cool though.
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lisa123 said 1:45AM on 5-11-2010
I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on an iPad last week and I must say, so far so good. It's an incredible piece of technology and I think it will change the way we read, watch movies, listen to music and more. I just want to find more apps and sites related to iPad, which seem to be hard to trace online. I see on FriskyMongoose that the ipad review index www.dozenipad.com is the only place ranking ipad apps and blogs. The best thing about iPad is going to be video and HTML5. Most of the video sites such as youtube and vimeo can be accessed by the iPad and I think it'll improve the ultimate viewing experience.
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