April's end wraps up a busy week for app news. In this App Industry Roundup, prepare for the next version of the iPad, Steve Jobs starts a war with Adobe, a man who helps orphans "finds" a funny iPhone and a special plea from Wolverine.

The iPad 3G is shipping

It may take a few days before you can cradle a spanking new iPad 3G in your hands, but the wait is almost over. The network-friendly wireless touch-screen wonder goes on sale at Apple stores and select Best Buy locations Friday at 5 pm. If you ordered one online, it may be in the mail as you read this and will arrive shortly. The 3G version of the iPad allows users to stay connected to their iPad no matter where they are, as it uses AT&T's wireless network to reach the Internet. It has Wi-Fi, too, like the first version of the iPad.

However, the cost of the iPad 3G is significantly higher on two fronts. First, the iPad 3G costs $130 more than a comparably sized version without 3G, plus the monthly network connection starts at $15. If there's a silver lining, that monthly fee is not tied to a contract so you can cancel 3G service at any time.

Adobe wars continue 

You can certainly kiss any dreams of Flash support coming to Apple's iStuff anytime soon. Steve Jobs made it clear Thursday in a highly unusual public essay on why the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad don't support Flash, the most popular video format used on the web. The public diss by Jobs caused a kerfuffle among the technorati while it also sent Adobe shares downward. Shares fell 1.4 percent on Thursday and Friday has not started well, as Adobe shares have shed more than 2 percent as of this writing, trading close to $34 a share.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen fired back at Jobs in an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal. Narayen handled the interview professionally and laid out a compelling case against Apple. Apple's restrictive policy toward Flash will make it "cumbersome" for developers who are trying to make products that work on many devices, Narayen said. Developers are going to have to have "two workflows" ...  one for Apple devices and one for others.

On the other hand, Apple has done quite well without Flash support since the iPhone went on sale in June 2007. As analyst Michael Gartenberg points out here, if not having Flash on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch is "a deal breaker for you, than these aren’t the devices for you." 

Lost iPhone finder: sinner and saint? 

Wired Magazine's Threat Level blog outed the dude who found the "lost iPhone" in a bar and then sold it to Gizmodo for $5,000. The iPhone finder is 21-year-old Brian J. Hogan and, according to a statement from his attorney, the admirable young man "regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone.”  

Hogan didn't talk to Wired, but his attorney -- Jeffrey Bornstein -- said he works part time at a church-run community center giving swimming lessons to children and volunteered at a Chinese orphanage last year while he was enrolled in a study-abroad program. “He also volunteers to assist his aunt and sister with fundraising for their work to provide medical care to orphans in Kenya,” Bornstein told Wired. 

Just be careful what you leave behind at the orphanage.

Do adamantium claws work with touch screens?

Even though Marvel Comics introduce a very fine comic book app for the iPad, that doesn't mean you should abandon the paper version. Indeed, Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, an event celebrated by fans and practically every comic book store. Comics are a great way to introduce reading to children. If you don't believe me, just ask Wolverine.