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Apr. 8, 2010

Apple's brand new iPad has been breached already. Using a variation of the iPhone method and demonstrating just how much the two devices have in common, some hackers were able to exploit some rather serious security holes in the iPad.

Not only that, but the attacks were completed in less than 24 hours after the iPad was launched Saturday with much fanfare. Apple managed to sell 300,000 iPads on its launch date.

The security hole that was discovered enables the potential hacker to install everything from Wi-Fi scanners to porn (pornography is prohibited by Apple) although for the moment it just allows a remote terminal connection. But some Internet security observers say it's rather simple to cause more damage if the hacker is more knowledgeable.

Worse, the iPad security hole that was discovered even allows Palm OS applications to run on it.

For now, it still seems that few iPad owners are rushing out to buy newspaper subscriptions. PaidContent reports that the newspaper and magazine subscriptions through which the iPad was supposed to change the world, are curiously absent from the lists of most popular paid applications.

Some suspect this could be caused by early adopters being used to getting content for free.

So far, more than 140,000 mobile apps have been developed for the iPhone, and the number is growing rapidly. And since Google and Microsoft have now entered the mobile phone market as well with the Android and Windows Mobile 7, there’s just no telling how much faster the number of mobile apps will grow to.

With all these new apps, wireless carriers will need to adopt an approach that takes into account the fact that data will also be the primary driver of revenue in this market for the foreseeable future.

One of the most heated debates at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was around the role of the wireless carrier in an app store world, and it’s a conversation that isn’t likely to go away soon. Gartner earlier this year forecasted that consumers across the globe will download approximately 4.51 billion mobile apps in the coming year, up approximately 2 billion from 2009’s numbers.

Gartner also predicts that app store revenues will grow to almost $7 billion in 2010, but that free mobile applications will still represent well over 80 percent of downloads this year and is expected to approach 90 percent in less than three years from now.

Apple says it's already shipped 300,000 iPads, but that includes stocking shops and it would be interesting to know just how many are still sitting on shelves.

Gizmodo wandered around some local Apple stores and was surprised to find them well stocked for the revolution, so if didn't get your iPad yet and you happen to live in the U.S., then you should be able to pick one up easily.

The type of buyers that are interested in newspaper subscriptions won't be buying an iPad in the first week. They'll be waiting to see how it develops, unlike the early adopters rushing to jailbreak the device as a techie's toy.

Some are now saying that it could be a while before we can say if Apple really has created a new computing platform.

In view of this security breach, some of the people that were hesitating to get their iPads over the weekend, maybe this will cause them to rethink if they really need it now rather than later.

But some think that this still won't slow down sales of the new iPad, at least not in the next coming week.

Time will tell, and we will keep you posted.

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Source: WLR.