Summary Box: Media companies drawing early benefits from iPad apps

Summary Box: Media companies encouraged by iPad

PRIME SPACE: Ads in newspaper and magazine applications on the iPad are going for up to five times as much money as what similar advertising costs on regular websites.

WHAT IT MEANS: This suggests the iPad could give publishers a meaningful way to make money online.

EARLY INFORMATION: For now, tablet computers still aren’t widespread enough to make a dent in publishers’ fortunes; Apple says it has sold 2 million iPads since their April 3 debut. Online ads still amount to a small fraction of print ad revenue for media companies overall.