Advertisers, for now, willing to pay up to 5x more for spots on publishers' iPad apps

Advertisers are apparently willing to pay up to five times as much to buy ad slots on publishers' iPad applications as they are for regular website advertising, according to an AP story.

This doesn't mean Apple's tablet computer will live up to its hype as a potential lifeline for the media industry. Online ads still generate a small fraction of news companies' advertising revenue, and it's an open question whether print ads will return to what they totaled before the recession.

But early evidence suggests the iPad is at least offering publishers a way to get more money out of advertisers. That bolsters the hope that portable touch-screen computers could start turning the economics of digital advertising in publishers' favor.

The story says the exuberance about and allure of the iPad may not last, however:

There is no guarantee publishers can keep this going. For instance, one reason JPMorgan Chase & Co. leapt at the chance to sponsor The New York Times' app for the first 60 days was the opportunity to showcase its Sapphire credit card to early buyers of the device. That card is aimed at the top 15 percent of earners, and people who bought the iPad (for $499, at least) presumably have extra cash.