It doesn't come as a big surprise considering Murdoch's stated plans to charge for mobile access to News Corp. content and Apple's desire to woo publishers onto its shiny new iPad platform.
Still, it's solid confirmation from the chief himself. The Q&A also demonstrated the degree to which the iPad is being kept under wraps: "We've been allowed to work on one, and it's under padlock and key. The key is turned by Apple every night. But we will be on that with The Wall Street Journal," Murdoch told the crowd at the Real Estate Board of New York luncheon where he divulged the details.
Moreover, the iPad won't be the only game in town. Murdoch also said that within the coming year, newspapers and other print media will have at least half a dozen devices on which to offer their content. These are likely to include e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle as well as a veritable fleet of other tablets on deck, many of which will be running Google's Android operating system.