Jacob Burch, Lon Harris and Mark Jeffrey hosted a special edition of This Week In iPad (episode 9) on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 with guest Zach Taylor from the Vancouver, BC iPad meet-up.

The hosts discussed the iPhone 4 announcement, iOS 4.0, Adobe and Greystripe’s solution for Flash ads on the iPad, Samsung’s Android tablets, alleged racial profiling by Apple staffers, the adoption of the iPad as a restaurant menu and MediaWeek’s usage statistics about iPad editions of magazines.

A number of viewer questions were also answered and a preview of the ThisWeekIn iPad application was shown.

Meet-Up Check-in

Zach Taylor (@ehrestaurant) from the Vancouver, BC meet-up was the first guest to check-in via Skype (0:35). The Vancouver meet-up took place in a restaurant. Taylor shared his experiences in using the iPad as a mobile computing device and that he wished more Vancouverites had iPads. ThisWeekIn CEO Mark Jeffrey joked that Canadians aren’t buying iPads because they cannot be used to make igloos. Taylor suggested that his contemporaries believe the iPad is a large iPod touch. Harris suggested that similar skepticism was prevalent in the U.S. during and shortly after the iPad U.S. release and that Canadians  will “figure what it’s all aboot.”

The News

The hosts discussed the iPhone 4 announcement made by Steve Jobs during the WWDC Keynote on Monday (5:00). Features include a new video call application called “Face Time,” a thinner design, the iOS 4.0 operating system, a higher-resolution screen and better battery life. Harris referred to the iPhone as evolutionary, saying that Apple “hasn’t reinvented the wheel” and that his excitement for the iPad tempered his excitement for a new iPhone. Jeffrey discussed potential uses for the Face Time video calling application adding that the mobile aspect of the iPhone may lead to a wider adoption of video chat.  Burch expressed excitement about the device’s Retina display and the overall build of the device.

The gold master release of iOS 4.0 (formerly iPhone OS) was also discussed (15:00). New features of the iOS 4.0 include the new iAd advertising platform, multi-tasking, a unified inbox, application folders, an iBooks update, and integration with Bing. The hosts discussed the downsides of multi-tasking on the Android platform and why Jobs believe that iOS 4.0 is “multi-tasking done right.”

Sales figures and other data that Jobs mentioned during the WWDC keynote were also mentioned (18:00). The hosts discussed whether or not Jobs’ claim that 95% of applications are approved within a week of submission is correct. Burch commented that he has heard from developers that Apple has improved their response time significantly since the launch of the App Store.

Harris read an article (24:52) discussing the partnership between Adobe and Greystripe to translate Flash ads into HTML5 so that they can be viewed on the iPad. The software works by detecting the user’s web-browser and swapping out a flash ad and replacing it with an HTML 5 ad if necessary.

Samsung’s 7″ and 8″ Android-based Galaxy tablets were discussed (27:45). The host expressed confusion as to why Samsung would release both 7″ and 8″ versions of the tablet.

New York AG Andrew Cuomo’s investigation alleged racial profiling by Apple staffers, who were reportedly asking Asian customers to see passports before they would sell them an iPad. Some have suggested Apple may have been trying to prevent the iPad from being sold on Chinese black markets. The hosts said that the practice was indefensible. Apple reportedly had a questionnaire designed to help prevent illegal exports of the device.

The adoption of the iPad as a menu in an Australian restaurant was discussed (31:50). Customers can view a detail listing of menu items and place their orders via the iPad. Harris believed that the most interesting part of the menu was the app’s pending ability to manage inventory and hide items from the store which are sold out. Burch said that using a touch-screen ordering device makes sense in a fast food environment but the hosts agreed that using tablet ordering devices takes out a human element of the ordering process. Harris said that the automated ordering system is reminiscent of Richard Lester’s 1968 film, Petulia.

Finally, a story about Zineo, a magazine reading application for the iPad, was mentioned. MediaWeek says that iPad users spend an average of 80 minutes with each edition of a magazine that they purchase, however desktop users spend half of that time with each edition. MediaWeek also said that advertisers are still waiting for solid data to determine how much time readers are looking at their ads on iPad magazine ads.

Viewer Questions

“S.S.” asked whether or not developers have been slow in releasing iPad applications (41:30). Jeffrey commented that iPad applications should not take any longer to make than iPhone applications. Burch commented that Yelp and Facebook do not have iPad applications. Four Square also does not have an iPad application. Jeffrey said that we expect wide availability of iPad applications because of our experience with the iPhone and that the release speed of developers is likely comparable to other mobile platforms.

Brad Thompson asked the hosts for iPad case recommendations, specifically one which would also hold a Bluetooth keyboard. Burch recommended getting the Apple case and then a bag for the keyboard. The hosts also spoke favorably of the iPad case. (We at iPadWeekly like InCase’s Convertible Book Jacket.). The hosts discussed the need for a Bluetooth keyboard.

ThisWeekIn iPad Application Preview

The hosts also demoed ThisWeekIn’s coming iPad application (46:00) which is currently being developed by ThisWeekIn’s developers. The application features access to stream recent episodes of ThisWeekIn shows and provides show notes for each episode. CEO Mark Jeffrey says that he expects the application to launch in the next few weeks. Initially, live streaming will not be available on the app.

Closing

Brandon Purdey (@PurdyBR) from Ontario won a $50.00 gift card to the iTunes store (50:00).

Harris mentioned Wednesday’s This Week in Startups Meetup which began at 6:00 PM Pacific on Wednesday, June 9th.

AppMakr CEO Scott Suhy will be the guest on the Thursday episode of This Week in iPad.