PadPressed, a plug-in for website platform WordPress, can make any WordPress site function like a native iPad app.
The plug-in allows readers to "swipe to advance" — navigating to next or previous articles using finger motions; switch between categories by touching a large icon associated with the categories instead of using dropdown menus or text links; and share content via e-mail and built-in social networking options like Twitter and Facebook.
The plug-in also makes the website "accelerometer aware," so that it can switch between landscape and portrait modes depending on the orientation of the iPad.
Users can set a featured category on their home page that will allow readers to swipe through featured articles or simply see them autoplay at the top of the page.
In order to see and use these iPad-friendly features, readers do not have to download anything. They can simply access the site via an iPad. The plug-in automatically formats the site’s logo to look like an iPad app so that readers can add it to their home screen if they wish, rather than bookmarking the site.
The plug-in is compatible with any WordPress theme and costs $49.99, which includes future updates.
PadPressed creator Jason Baptise told technology blog TechCrunch that the company chose to work on a WordPress plug-in first because 8.5 percent of all websites are WordPress sites.
"Next we’re doing Tumblr, Posterous, Moveable Type, and then custom CMSs," Baptiste said.
To see an example of a PadPressed site, check out Baptiste’s blog (on your iPad — the site looks quite different on a regular desktop): jasonlbaptiste.com
For real estate professionals looking for a streamlined way to view content from their friends and acquaintances on the iPad, there is a free application called Flipboard.
The app bills itself as a personalized, social magazine that connects to Facebook and Twitter and arranges the content your friends post into an easy to consume, magazine-like format.
That content can be articles, images, photo albums, and/or video and users can also choose from Flipboard’s own collections of public content. The app allows users to share content and reply to content directly, without exiting the app.
The popularity of the app — launched a week ago — overwhelmed the service, prompting the company to quickly upgrade the app with a reservation system. Users sign up for a setup slot upon
