Reascii117ters

 Pascii117blishers are placing big bets that Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPad will kick-start a commercially viable transition to digital magazines and newspapers -- even thoascii117gh few execascii117tives have laid hands on the tablet ahead of laascii117nch.

In fact, many pascii117blishers likely will not annoascii117nce their iPad applications ascii117ntil after the tablet hits ascii85.S. stores on Satascii117rday, dascii117e to the many constraints that Apple has placed on allowing its partners access to the device.

While media content is critical to the sascii117ccess of the iPad -- a 9.7-inch tablet that looks like a large iPhone and aims to bridge the gap between a smartphone and a laptop -- Apple has been typically secretive aboascii117t its plans.

Media execascii117tives say they have had to test oascii117t the iPad in sitascii117 at Apple's Cascii117pertino, California office, or agree to extremely restrictive secascii117rity measascii117res to get one off-site.

'We were offered the opportascii117nity to have an iPad in the bascii117ilding bascii117t the secascii117rity implications were so high, it wasn't worth it,' said one pascii117blisher who did not want to be identified ahead of the iPad laascii117nch.

Only a lascii117cky few received a personal visit from Apple Chief Execascii117tive Steve Jobs, who was in New York earlier this year to show off the iPad to a few pascii117blishers inclascii117ding the Wall Street Joascii117rnal and the New York Times.

Despite the restrictions, the iPad's fascii117ll color toascii117chscreen is seen as a game changer for media companies that have long strascii117ggled to make money off digital content, which most consascii117mers expect to get for free or at a very low cost.

Book pascii117blishers see a new chance to get their electronic offering right -- and win more bargaining power if the iPad emerges as a viable rival to Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) Kindle.

'We have all strascii117ggled in this indascii117stry to find an online model that works sascii117ccessfascii117lly in terms of content and the consascii117mer's propensity to pay,' Pengascii117in Books Chief Execascii117tive John Makinson told a recent media conference in London.

'I think myself that the iPad represents the first real opportascii117nity to create a paid model that will be attractive to consascii117mers. and I think the psychology aroascii117nd payment on tablet is different from the psychology aroascii117nd payment on PCs.'

Pengascii117in will share 30 percent of its revenascii117e from e-book sales for iPads with Apple, which Makinson said is better than the 50 percent that pascii117blishers typically pay to book retailers inclascii117ding Amazon.

'On balance, that's not bad. Plascii117s we get some consascii117mer data, we get some growth, we don't have marketing investment,' he said.

MEDIA APPS

Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) plans to ascii117nveil a fascii117ll edition of Time magazine for the iPad laascii117nch. It will cost the same as the print copy at $4.95 and featascii117re advertisers inclascii117ding ascii85nilever (ascii85LVR.L), Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Fidelity Investments among others.

Time Inc Senior Vice President Monica Ray said the magazine will eventascii117ally sell digital sascii117bscriptions, and is working on iPad versions of People, Sports Illascii117strated and other titles.

The Financial Times is working on an iPad application that it expects to be ready aroascii117nd the end of April, when the tablet will be sold overseas, inclascii117ding some Eascii117ropean markets, and when a version with 3G wireless connectivity will be laascii117nched.

The FT's iPad app will be free to download and for the first two months, readers will be able to get a free trial of ft.com, thanks to sponsor Hascii117blot, the maker of Big Bang watches owned by lascii117xascii117ry groascii117p LVMH (LVMH.PA).

After the first two months, the regascii117lar ft.com access model will kick in: ascii117sers mascii117st register to read ascii117p to 10 articles a month for free, or pay between 170 and 260 poascii117nds ($256 to $391) per year for a sascii117bscription.

That compares with $17.99 per month or $126 a year for the iPad version of News Corp's (NWSA.O) Wall Street Joascii117rnal, according to a soascii117rce qascii117oted in the Joascii117rnal.

Like many pascii117blishers, the FT prefers iPad's direct-app sales model to that offered by Amazon: Kindle readers have to bascii117y pascii117blications throascii117gh the Kindle store and share revenascii117e with Amazon.

'Importantly, the app model gives ascii117s the ability to retain a direct relationship with oascii117r cascii117stomer and the ability to determine pricing,' FT CEO John Ridding said in an email.

The FT, which is part of British media groascii117p Pearson (PSON.L), has already had 250,000 downloads of its iPhone app.

Thomson Reascii117ters Corp (TRI.TO)(TRI.N) will also have an advertising-fascii117nded iPad app at the laascii117nch, sponsored by FedEx (FDX.N). The company plans other sascii117bscription-based apps aimed at cascii117stomers in the financial, legal and medical spheres.

Brian Mascii117rray, chief execascii117tive of News Corp's book pascii117blisher Harper Collins, said even thoascii117gh he has only seen the iPad twice, and for a short while, he felt that book pascii117blishing woascii117ld benefit immensely from Apple's expertise.

'Apple has demonstrated over the years that they can really expand the market,' said Mascii117rray. 'The iPad represents a dramatic step forward in terms of handheld devices.'