Apple demands secrecy from early iPad testers

Apple is offering select developers an early hands-on testing period with the iPad, but only under highly-specific secrecy terms, according to a BusinessWeek report. Citing people familiar with the 10-page agreement that must be signed by each developer wanting early access to an iPad unit, Apple is forcing developers to take extreme measures to ensure the secrecy of their pre-launch testing. According to the report, the iPad must be kept isolated in a room with blacked-out windows, and must also remain tethered to a fixed object to eliminate the possibility of it being taken out of the isolated environment. Furthermore, all developers wanting a pre-release iPad for testing must also provide photographic evidence of compliance with the above terms before Apple will send a unit out, and the developers are barred from revealing that they have been given a pre-release unit for testing. Apple will launch the iPad on April 3.