Developers Finally Get to See Their Handiwork on iPad
Apple’s famous secrecy meant many developers who worked for weeks on iPad software applications didn’t have actual devices to work on. Saturday, then, was their first chance to try out their handiwork on an iPad, instead of on a computer simulation.
Graham Clarke of Glasshouse Apps was the 18th person into Apple’s flagship New York store so he could buy an iPad and see the company’s “Early Edition” news aggregation app. The app crashed on his first try, he said. To his relief, Mr. Clarke reloaded and the app worked perfectly. “It’s pretty amazing just how smooth it is,” Mr. Clarke said.
Travis Boatman, the vice president of worldwide studios for video game firm EA Mobile, was in New York buying three iPads, with 60 more waiting for him at EA Mobile’s headquarters in Los Angeles. Mr. Boatman said it was “very hectic” developing five iPad games in roughly two months, with the handicap of not having iPad devices to work on.
He said employees worked nights and weekends, and went through so much pizza that the bills “exceeded the cost of the iPads we bought today.”
