Apple makes big demands of software developers who want an early crack at the iPad. Would-be testers of the tablet-style computer, due to be released Apr. 3, must promise to keep it isolated in a room with blacked-out windows, according to four people familiar with the more than 10-page pact that bars partners from disclosing information about the iPad.
To ensure that it can’t be removed, the iPad must also remain tethered to a fixed object, said the people, who asked not to be named because their plans for the iPad have not been made public. Apple won’t send out an iPad until potential partners send photographic evidence that they’ve complied.
Cupertino [Calif.]-based Apple shrouds its products in secrecy to build marketing mystique and keep rivals from getting an early look. In a practice known as seeding, the computer maker lets in select partners who can develop and test features such as games and digital book-reading tools to add allure to a product that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says may generate $4.6 billion in sales next year. “It sinks or swims on the content,” says Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf. “Apple wants to have as much in the way of applications on the device sooner rather than later.”
Bending to Apple’s demands may be a small price to pay for inclusion among software programmers who get a jump start on applications for a potentially best-selling product. Munster expects Apple to sell 3 million to 4 million iPads in the first year. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment. A copy of the so-called nondisclosure agreement could not be obtained by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Contending with Leaks
Apple has always required developers to keep prerelease versions of its devices under lock and key. The company is known to alter products it sends out so…