It’s coming up on three weeks since Apple announced its highly anticipated iPad device, and the news frenzy surrounding the announcement has begun to die down. As is the trend with many new devices, the response to the iPad has covered both extremes, from fans who claim the device will change the world, to haters wondering why anyone would spend a dime on it. One thing that is certain is that iPhone application developers are excited by the possibilities provided by the new tablet device, and now a new fund raising collaboration, AppFund, is looking to capitalize on this excitement.
AppFund is a joint venture of Daniel Klaus, the co-founder of Music Nation, and Kevin Wendle, co-founder of CNET, E! Online and one of the six founders of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Depending on the complexity of each deal, the pair of execs plans to provide anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000 towards the development and marketing of iPad and tablet device applications – a market they believe will “revolutionize entertainment, games, content, and communications.”
“This year alone Apple is reporting that iPhone applications will grow to over 200,000,” the duo said in a press release. “In that there is an expectation that developers will port their ideas to the iPad, we look forward to providing funding and thought capital to the entrepreneurs willing and able to harness this new and exciting marketplace.”
While this is an interesting collaboration of these two media and Internet executives, AppFund is not the first of it’s kind. Just two short days after Steve Jobs’ iPad announcement, we told you about the Northern Film & Media which would be looking to provide up to $64,000 to U.K application developers for iPad apps. The New York-based AppFund says they are willing to consider ideas both domestically and from abroad and is encouraging those with app ideas to submit them soon; they plan to help release several apps for this summer.
Ever since Apple set the standard in the smart-phone market, the company has high expectations placed on them for their devices – expectations some say Apple has failed to surpass with the announced iPad. Still, the success or failure of the iPad is still yet to be determined. Will we see the long lines forming outside of Apple stores before the device’s release? Or will the price be too high to penetrate the market the same way the iPhone has? AppFund is banking on the former.
