Apple Inc.’s iPad, scheduled to hit shelves this spring, could be a shot in the arm for the Valley’s fledgling application development community.
Mike Gagnon, co-founder of app development firm HyLo Inc. in Phoenix, said the new product creates many opportunities because it gives people new ways to interact with mobile applications.
“Anything that brings a richer Web experience to mobile consumers will result in the development of more creative native and Web-based applications,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll see some positive consumer adoption numbers with the iPad, allowing developers to take full advantage of the new platform.”
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple announced the iPad in late January after much speculation the company would enter tablet personal computer market. The device is designed with the same touch screen used on the iPhone, and it will be able to access many of the iPhone’s 120,000-plus applications.
Several Valley businesses and entrepreneurs already have developed iPhone apps, and having the iPad use the same platform means they can adapt their software for the newer product relatively easily.
Brad O’Hearne, owner and developer at Big Hill Software in Phoenix, said his company already has looked at adapting its iPhone apps for the iPad and creating new ones.
“We immediately saw potential for it, and the potential is huge,” he said.
O’Hearne said the iPad could be used across a broad swath of industries that Apple has yet to engage, from health care to supply-chain operations. Any job that requires a clipboard could use networked iPads instead, he said.
“We’re moving to the corporate untethered environment,” he said.
The iPad represents challenges for businesses looking to unlock the device’s potential, particularly those hoping to use its ability to connect to 3G wireless services as most smart phones do.
Basic iPads will come with the ability to connect to Wi-Fi networks, which are available at sites ranging from homes to coffee shops. Upgraded iPads, which cost about $140 more, will come with the ability to tap into AT&T’s 3G network, which already serves the iPhone. That will cost users about $30 a month.
As more wireless devices enter the market, from Amazon.com’s Kindle to smart phones to the iPad, network traffic could compound quickly, said Carole Downs, co-founder of Smartcomm LLC, a Phoenix-based consulting firm that concentrates on the wireless industry.
“It will depend on how it’s used,” she said.
Qwest Communications International Inc., which provides the fiber-optic cable support that connects the cellular network to the wired network, sees a good deal of growth in providers seeking more bandwidth to handle so many mobile devices, said Cliff Dinwiddie, Qwest’s director of wholesale business development.
Qwest has received numerous requests from wireless providers of all sizes to upgrade their connections to the Internet. Although Dinwiddie wouldn’t say which companies Qwest was doing work for, he said hundreds of sites are being upgraded across the Denver-based company’s 14-state territory.
IPhone users, particularly in New York and San Francisco, have complained about dropped service and problems connecting to the Web. AT&T Wireless, which has an exclusive deal to provide wireless services for Apple products, has continued to expand its network, particularly in the Phoenix area, said AT&T spokeswoman Erika Ulring.
AT&T is looking at more efficient ways to package data and upgrade its network. Representatives would not say how much the company has spent to upgrade its 3G service in the Valley.
