If the Apple iPad, and the tablet computer in general, represents the future of magazines, and one where publishers can make real money, then as this infographic shows there’s a long way to go, but with new apps being launched almost daily that’s fast changing.

For instance did you catch the launch of the New Yorker magazine’s iPad app yesterday? The beautifully bizarre introductory video from ‘Rushmore’ star Jason Schwartzman showing the app off is so worth a watch.

In its editor’s note, accompanying the launch of its iPad app, the New Yorker hit the nail on the head — no one does know where this is going exactly.

“We’re at once delighted and a little bewildered about this latest digital development and our place in it: delighted because of the quality of what the tablet provides and the speed with which the magazine can be distributed, but bewildered, too, because we’d be liars if we said we knew precisely where technology will lead.

“These are early days. Right now, editing for the iPad feels similar to making television shows just after the Second World War, when less than one per cent of American households owned a television. And yet the general flow of things is clear: the digital revolution is already both long-standing and swift; there will be many more iPads sold; and competitors will inevitably follow. Some may even be roll-up-able.”

Infographic from Printingchoice.com.