Yesterday, Hugh Hefner announced that Playboy magazine would be available uncensored on the iPad, but what he failed to mention was that it would be in the form of a web app, not a native application from the App Store.

We are releasing a web-based subscription service with Bondi Digital Publishing that will give users access to every issue of Playboy both past and present. The service will be iPad compatible and will utilize iPad functions.

The Playboy spokesperson went on to say that they “also have plans to release a non-nude version of a Playboy-branded iPad app in the coming months that adheres to all of Apple’s policies and guidelines.” So the above tweet by Hugh Hefner back in August still holds true.

So any concerns that Apple may be relaxing or removing their current restriction against nudity can be dropped. It looks like if you want porn, you’ll still have to go to Android – or just launch Safari.

[Forbes]

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner announced on Twitter today that Playboy magazine would be hitting the iPad this March and followed up with replay saying it would be uncensored (we take that to mean the nude centerfolds will indeed be present in the app).

Big news! Playboy–both old & new–will be available on iPad beginning in March.

@hughmcook Playboy on iPad will be uncensored, Hugh.

Back in August Hefner tweeted that Playboy would be on iPad Playmate-free because Steve Jobs had a “things about nudity”. If his tweet to day proves to be true, this would mean Apple is either relaxing or removing their current restriction against nudity (part of their broader adult content restrictions). How much and how far that relaxation or removal might go is unknown — though we doubt Apple will allow the App Store to turn into a porn store given Steve Jobs’ past comments. They might, however, once again be testing the possibility of an explicit section?

Also unknown is whether or not Playboy magazine will use the rumored iTunes subscription service which is supposed to debut alongside Rupert Murdoch’s centerfold-free The Daily iPad app at some point in the not-so distant future.

So what do you think, did the Playboy patriarch just reveal a huge change coming to the App Store or is he just trying to get some buzz for his app, and no changes are being planned?

[@hughhefner x2 via TechTrackr]

Playboy magazine is coming to iPad by the nudity isn’t coming with it. According to founder Hugh Hefner, who broke the news on Twitter, the reason is:

Steve Jobs has a thing about nudity

So yes, you really will be reading it for the articles.

[@hughhefner via 9to5mac]

Last week the first iPhone (and iPod touch) app to feature nudity was live in the iTunes App Store. Technically, however, it was simply a change in the server behind the app — the developer added nude images.

Subsequently, however, the app became unavailable. The developer first reported that their own servers couldn’t keep up with demand for the newly nudified images, but it turns out Apple laid the hammer down on the “soft-core porn” app:

Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.

Given that Apple has included new parental controls and App Store restrictions in iPhone 3.0, including a declaration for nude content, and given the eternal argument that nudity is available for age-appropriate viewers via iTunes movies, is there some contradiction still at work? Or is Apple drawing the line artificially close for now while it watches and gauges reaction?

[via CNN]