This weekend, a flood of iPad application sneak-peeks and previews choked my RSS reader. There’s also a curious update on e-book pricing in the iBookstore, and finally some news on the iPad’s Camera Connection accessory. So let’s get started!

Sneak Peaks

I can’t do this from here in the UK, but if you’re across the pond you might want to spend some time exploring iTunes Preview. Some applications have started to appear multiple times with the suffix HD or XL in their titles. According to iPhone Alley, these iPad-optimised versions do not appear in the iTunes app store… yet. But since it is thought developers are using the initials to denote iPad-versions of their software, it’s a great indicator of what’s in store this weekend.

App store analytics website AppAnnie reported on Saturday that it had discovered the iPad feed for the app store. A series of shared screenshots suggest we can expect iPad launch day availability of popular apps such as Awesome Note, Flight Control, Cro-Mag Rally and the much-anticipated versions of OmniGraffle and OmniGraphSketcher from Mac stalwarts The Omni Group.

Also on Saturday, MacRumors.com reported that FileMaker’s personal database software Bento will be appearing in an iPad friendly form. Mac rumours Arnold Kim writes;

Bento for iPad can be used as a standalone app or will wirelessly synchronize with Bento 3 for the Mac. The App comes with dozens of ready to use database templates that can be customized for your own usage. The iPad version of Bento is priced at $4.99, the same as the current price for the iPhone version.

Oh, while we’re on the subject of sneak peeks, Gizmodo shared screenshots over the weekend of what they claim to be Yahoo’s upcoming iPad-centric website redesign. Okay, so that’s not exactly an app sneak peek, but the design is compelling, and, as Gizmodo’s Jack Loftus writes, is “…much sexier than anything Yahoo’s ever managed on their homepage over the last decade or so.”

One final sneak peek for you; Vimeo user Federico Viticci posted a video of the iPad app store itself… running in the iPad simulator. At the time of writing, the video has been viewed more than 73,000 times, and is taking a while to load, so if you do head on over there, be patient! Here’s a clue as to what to expect; cover flow, large, finger-friendly icons, horizontally scrolling preview screenshots and, overall, very much the same experience you have come to expect from the app store application on the iPhone.

Book Prices

Just how much will books cost on the iBookstore? Nobody really knows for sure. There has been talk of an upcoming e-book price war; publishers Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, McMillan and Hachette Book Group have all put pressure on Amazon to change its pricing policies in the wake of Apple’s iPad announcement. The standard price for a new Kindle e-book is $9.99 —  and that’s too low as far as these publishers are concerned; they want to charge up to $15 for bestsellers.

Back in February the New York Times reported that, while publishers would be able to set higher prices for new titles on the iBookstore, Apple had;

…inserted provisions requiring publishers to discount e-book prices on best sellers — so that $12.99-to-$14.99 range was merely a ceiling; prices for some titles could be lower, even as low as Amazon’s $9.99.

Apple wants the flexibility to offer lower prices for the hottest books, those on one of the New York Times best-seller lists.

Last week the website App Advice published what it claims to be screenshots of the iBookstore; they revealed that most bestsellers in the iBookstore were listed at $9.99. It made perfect sense, given the New York Times quote above.

So it’s interesting that the latest leak indicates that prices are slowly climbing from $9.99 to $12.99. Make of it what you will, Gizmodo offers several possible explanations.

Camera Connection Kit

The Mac Observer reports that the iPad Camera Connection Kit finally appeared on Apple’s online store on Saturday.

Essentially a couple of little plastic dongles, the camera connection Kit allows iPad users to directly connect an SD card or camera (via USB cable) directly to the iPad and import photos into the iPad’s Photo app. The Camera Connection Kit costs $29 and can be pre-ordered from Apple’s online store here.

So that’s the weekend’s juiciest iPad rumors. If you’re expecting an iPad to arrive with you on the weekend, I envy you more than you can know. We still can’t pre-order iPads in the UK, so I shall have to enjoy these final days to ‘first launch’ vicariously, through you. So hit the comments with detailed descriptions of your excitement and anticipation — leave nothing out. Oh, and be sure to mention how you also think $30 is way too much for a couple of plastic dongles.

Citing specifically a piece that ran Monday (subscription required) in the Wall Street Journal, which claimed to confirm that the Apple tablet existed and would be announced in January and released in March, Martellaro talks about Apple’s use of “controlled leaks,” a process by which it is able to release information without hurting its reputation for never discussing pre-release products. Martellaro is in a very good position to know about what goes on, because he was himself told to do the same thing on multiple occasions.

Here’s how Martellaro describes the order coming down from on high:

The way it works is that a senior exec will come in and say, “We need to release this specific information. John, do you have a trusted friend at a major outlet? If so, call him/her and have a conversation. Idly mention this information and suggest that if it were published, that would be nice. No e-mails!”

The key to a successful intentional leak is to ensure that deniability exists on all sides. Often, information floated in leaks isn’t final, and something about the product will change before production actually occurs, and if there’s no trail and no evidence to point to, both Apple and the news outlet are protected against claims of having disseminated false information. Official leaks are published after the close of the stock market to avoid accusations of stock manipulation.

Maybe most interesting about Martellaro’s inside look at Apple’s marketing machine is his list of reasons for fabricating a leak like this one:

Controlled leaks are almost always the solution to a problem. In this case, it could have been that Apple needed to release the tablet information early because it wanted:

• to light a fire under a recalcitrant partner
• to float the idea of the $1,000 price point and gauge reaction
• to panic/confuse a potential competitor about whom Apple had some knowledge
• to whet analyst and observer expectations to make sure the right kind and number of people show up at the (presumed) Jan. 26 event. Apple hates empty seats and demands SRO at these events.

Suspicions are one thing, but confirmation is another entirely. This look inside the extremely successful Apple information control mechanism is very helpful when it comes to sorting fact from fiction in the rumor mill.

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Breaking Godwin’s Law at a sub-atomic level, incendiary Gizmodo cites an anonymous source describing how security finds leakers at Apple, not to mention creating a pervasive atmosphere of fear and dread, referencing “Nazi” tactics by the “Gestapo.” That is, if you believe it.

Reading like something by Fake Steve Jobs—only not nearly as entertaining—Jesus Diaz relays the experience of “Tom,” a supposed current or former employee of Apple. Tom alleges that Apple has “moles,” or informants, “working everywhere, especially in departments where leaks are suspected.” When a leak is strongly suspected, members of the Team Apple World Police “Apple Worldwide Loyalty” arrive and an “operation” takes place.

What’s described is effectively a lockdown. Employees are forced to remain at their desks. Their cellphones are collected, and anyone needing to contact the outside is monitored. Interviews are done. NDAs are signed. If security finds the suspected leaker, and “they usually do,” the person is fired after questioning. Of the questioning itself, “Tom” has no first-hand experience.

“There is a lot that goes behind doors that I don’t really know about. I do know, however, that they really interrogate people that are serious suspects, intimidating them by threatening to sue.”

Setting aside logical inconsistencies in the article like cameras being forbidden at Apple yet every employee having an iPhone, and legal questions such as confiscating personal cell phones, “Tom” asserts this type of corporate behavior is common at Apple. With 35,000 employees, it seems difficult to imagine that were such invasive tactics the norm, that it could be kept a secret, or at least made public by more than one guy through e-mail.

Looking at comments about Apple at GlassDoor.com, a website where employees can rate their employers, there’s not a lot of Nazi analogies…though from reading Gizmodo’s article you’d certainly think there should be. There are negative comments, but in aggregate the opinion is positive. In a recent survey, Apple scored 3.9 out of 5.0 for fifth place in the top 10 tech companies to work for. As CEO, Steve Jobs had an approval rating of 91 percent, highest on the list. In contrast, Dell was rated lowest among tech companies with a score of 2.8, while CEO Michael Dell’s approval rating was 28 percent.

If you are waiting for some purple prose about working Dell tech support hell in some warehouse outside of Mumbai, you’ll probably be disappointed. There’s no fame or fortune in stating the obvious.

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The original source of one of the photos, iPodObserver, and the source of yet another that appears to be of the same casing, MacRumors, are both of the opinion that the case-back is made of metal, though I have my doubts. Metal casing would be a move backwards in iPhone development, since the original reason for switching to plastic was to improve signal reception by reducing interference. It could be a rough or rubberized plastic finish with the same shiny inlay as the current generation, though, which in my mind would be a sexy improvement.

Many suspect a new iPhone to be slated for a June release, marking the one year anniversary of the iPhone 3G’s official unveiling. Never before have images of the actual production model been leaked so early, which doesn’t say much for the authenticity of the photo. At the same time, the original source, iPodObserver, was responsible for leaking images of the iPhone 3G that turned out to be genuine, so they have a good track record. The apparent source of the photos is also China, which is where Apple has its manufacturing facilities.

If the photos are fakes, they’re very convincing ones. In fact, they already have me budgeting for this purchase come June. Yep, all it takes is photos of the back case that may or may not be real. I’m very weak.

More photos (from MacRumors):

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Ciarelli points to the many recent instances of early product leaks from other rumor sites which have not resulted in site closures or suits.  The following is from an interview conducted for the article:

“There’s no doubt that Apple has changed,” Jeremy Horwitz, editor in chief of iLounge, told me in an email. “Probably due to the awful PR its prior lawsuits generated, and because cease-and-desist letters only confirm leaks, Apple has wisely stopped going after the people who generate its ‘buzz.’”

Apple has not only become more mellow with product leaks.  The recent lifting of the restrictive NDA is yet more proof that Jobs and company are beginning to see that with rapid growth comes a necessary relaxing of control.  It was far easier to maintain a culture of silence when Mac users were a much smaller and less vocal group.  Increased sales, attention from the mainstream press, and the heightened degree of credibility accorded tech news and review websites and blogs have combined to create a consumer environment antithetical to secretive Apple corporate practice.

So what are the next steps?  More cooperation with companies and organizations like DisplayLink, and OpenClip seeking to develop utilities Mac users are hungry for but Apple seems unwilling to provide?  Let’s hope that a more open and communicative Cupertino is in fact on the horizon.

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