With just weeks before iPad makes its retail debut, Apple has opened the floodgates to the development community.

All submissions for launch need to be made by March 27th. Apple will then let companies know whether their app has made the cut in time for launch day.

Ready, set, go

"iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today," the company said in an email circulated to developers, according to AppleInsider.

"Submit your iPad app now for an initial review by the App Review Team and receive feedback on its readiness for the grand opening."

Apple also sets out further conditions in the email, the firm advising that studios build and test apps using iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5, as only these "will be accepted for this initial review".

Pros and cons

The advantages of making the App Store in time for launch are obvious, with new consumers eager to try out the apparent wealth of software on their new piece of kit.

However, getting apps ready for iPad's initial sales rush is reportedly a difficult task, recent chatter suggesting only the biggest publishers have had access to the hardware, the rest developing without complete knowledge of significant issues such as RAM, fillrate and GPU.

[source: AppleInsider]