Companies Race to Create Gambling Apps for the Apple iPad

With the recent release of the Apple iPad, game developers have been in a rush to create gambling apps for the device. March 27th was the deadline for any game developer that wanted their game to be ready in time for the iPad’s big debut.

21 Online Casinos claims that a device like the tablet PC would provide a great opportunity for online gaming sites, particularly because they provide a more comfortable and realistic experience for the player. They’re much easier to read and navigate than a mobile phone, yet not as bulky as traditional laptop technology.

According to 21 Online Casinos, “The truly exciting thing about the iPad is the potential for more interactive online casino games. For instance, players can actually push the buttons on the slot machines themselves or rub the screen to play scratchcards. The format would allow players to interact with games in the same way they would at an actual casino and would also allow for a more user friendly gaming experience.”

One potential downside is that because the iPad would still run on Apple’s operating system, download-based casino apps can’t be accessed on the device, only browser-based applications. But who knows… maybe a successful online gambling experience will influence Apple to think about modifications in the future.

Via GamingSupermarket.

ABC and CBS to Have Free Streaming on Apple iPad, Hulu Still Considering

The ABC and CBS television stations will allow iPad owners to stream free online content on their devices. The catch is that there will be commercials interspersed within the programming, so for those of you out there that can’t stand commercials, be forewarned. ABC will allow free streaming through an app from Apple’s App Store while CBS will offer “free” programming through a browser-based method, i.e. their website.

Hulu hasn’t yet confirmed their stance on streaming free content on Apple’s iPad. According to Jason Kilar, their Chief Executive, the company is “certainly open to subscriptions as a complement to an ad-supported model.” Hulu has been rumored to be considering a subscription model quite a bit.

As consumers of online content yourselves, what do you have to say about this? Any comments?

Via Dvice.

HTML5 Will Be a Game Changer

The Apple iPad was released today and companies are interested in new and innovative ways to allow consumers to view video content on these multimedia machines. Most of the current computing technology makes use of flash players, but Apple and Adobe don’t get along quite so well. On the contrary, Apple thinks that Adobe software crashes too easily and consumes way too much memory.

Considering the facts, Apple’s argument makes sense. The process for creating a flash video with Adobe’s Flash CS4 is a relatively straightforward process, but the code used to create such a video takes up 318 lines. Using HTML5 to complete a similar task would only take one. Unnecessary lines of code is one of the factors that contributes to the high crash rate that Apple is referring to.

HTML5 is still relatively new technology, but it will have a significant impact on the way content is viewed in web browsers in the future. Jeff Whatcott from Brightcove, a video publishing platform, says that “HTML5 is about video in the browser, and today it is primarily about video in web browsers on mobile platforms like Apple iPad, iPhone, and others.”

Via TheHuffingtonPost.

Apple iPad Will Help the Future of Browser-Based Gaming

As usual, Apple’s newest piece of hardware, the iPad, is quite impressive. With a sleek 10″ touchscreen, this netbook-rival device will quite possibly be (or maybe is even already) an eyesore and a hot commodity for gamers.

According to Trip Hawkins, the president of Digital Chocolate (a video game developer based in San Mateo, California), the iPad will change the portable gaming market. The market for games and gaming will expand as individuals who were not big gamers in the past start playing browser-based games through social networking sites (like Facebook) and/or downloading games from the App store.

The base price for a 16 GB Apple iPad with wi-fi capabilities is currently $499, but maybe in the future when demand is high enough, the price of a unit will decrease. For an Apple iPad with the same amount of storage in addition to 3G capabilities, the base price is $629. If you’re interested in checking out some of the features of the device, visit Apple’s website.