Apple hustles to secure iPad content

CUPERTINO, Calif., March 20 (UPI) -- Apple Inc. is racing to secure media content for its new iPad with hundreds of thousands of units pre-sold and soon to be released, officials said.

Apple is trying to convince more potential collaborators to offer television programs, digital newspapers and other content for downloading to the device, scheduled for release April 3, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The media interests are weighing the advantages of working with Apple against potential threats to their current sources of revenue, industry experts told the Journal.

Apple is tempering some of its initial ambitions for the tablet-style device amid reports consumer interest in the iPad is so strong that Apple could sell more iPads in the first three months than it sold iPhones in the three months after the smartphone's debut, analysts said.

Apple officials declined to comment, the Journal said.

Apple is touting the new 9.7-inch touch-screen device as a revolutionary product that would let people play games, surf the Internet, watch video, and read books and newspapers.