There's been plenty of publishing-industry posturing to go along with the buzz since Apple announced the iPad in January.
Many companies have been quiet with their plans, opting for a wait-and-see approach. But much is coming to light -- some of it on Thursday, just hours before the device hits stores.
Here's a look at which publishers and media companies are doing what in the weeks and months ahead.
SEE ALSO: Hey iPad Seekers: Line up Early Saturday
Movies
Apple is making movies and music available on the iPad the same way it does on its other mobile devices: through the iTunes Store. The iPad doesn't have a DVD-R drive, so you can't play DVDs on the iPad directly. (There are, however, http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/index.php?showtopic=31332">workarounds if you have a geek in your family.)
And, apart from Disney, most studios have been uncharacteristically quiet ahead of the iPad launch. According to CNET, Apple "hasn't done much iPad-related planning with the studios."
Studio participation, in fact, is so far limited to the same kind of games you can already get on your iPhone, with an increased quality. Warner Bros. has created a $2.99 game for "Sherlock Holmes" that takes advantage of the iPad's 1024x768 touchscreen, and Paramount is charging $4.99 for a "Top Gun" game app.
But movie fans will have at least one new alternative: Netflix.The mail-order rental giant has developed an iPad app of its "Instant Watch" feature, which allows subscribers to stream from a library of more than 17,000 films via web-enabled set-tops, videogame consoles or online. Netflix subscribers who already pay $8.99 per month or more will have free access to the app, which is scheduled to be ready by Saturday.
Television
On Thursday, CBS and ABC said they were working on offering free iPad versions of certain TV shows – like “Survivor,” “How I Met Your Mother” and the "Late Show With David Letterman" -- on the iPad, the first networks to admit to doing so. According to one report in the Journal, the networks plan on streaming the shows via the iPad’s Wi-Fi Internet connection “with commercial breaks.” (ABC will use a dedicated app; CBS via the iPad’s Safari Web browser.)
According to the Times, NBC "is adjusting NBC.com so that it can stream TV episodes to the iPad as well."
Disney announced a slew of applications for the iPad: the ABC Player app that will allow users to watch free, ad-supported versions of 20 shows; an ESPN ScoreCenter XL application similar to the one that's been downloaded 5 million times on the iPhone; a pair of “Toy Story” read-along applications for the iPad launch, with “Disney Princess,” “Phineas & Ferb” and “Winnie the Pooh” on the way; and a Marvel Comics App that includes access to over 500 classic comic books. (That Disney is bullish on the iPad shouldn't be surprising; after all, as Peter Kafka notes, Steve Jobs is Disney's single largest shareholder.)
