Very few people have actually seen an iPad, let alone picked one up or tested one out. But Apple's highly-touted touchscreen device -- scheduled to debut this Saturday -- is already capturing the imagination of consumers and developers.

Some are projecting that Apple could sell between 200,000 to 400,000 iPads in the opening weekend alone, while high-tech analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford & Bernstein estimates that Apple could sell five million iPads in the first 12 months, according to BusinessWeek.

Apple is being extremely tight-lipped about the iPad launch, with Reuters reporting that Apple's retail store employees have yet to see the device. Meanwhile, some developers we've talked to are under strict orders from Apple not to tout their upcoming applications until Saturday.

Nonetheless, Seattle area developers -- some of whom have released hit iPhone apps in the past -- are hoping to jump on the latest Apple bandwagon. That was evident at Seattle Startup Weekend IV, held earlier this month at Adobe's Fremont campus.

At the event, two of the 13 teams focused efforts on new iPad applications. Seattle attorney and Startup Weekend veteran Eric Koester helped create AppandSeek, a Concentration-style game designed to help people discover new apps. Koester and crew also developed an iPhone app for the game, but he's most bullish about AppandSeek's prospects on the larger iPad screen.

"I’m a believer in the iPad after playing with the emulator this weekend," said Koester. "Very cool stuff. I was lukewarm, but the potential of the device in the living room is pretty sweet I’d say. This proved it to me."

Other Seattle area startups -- such as online recipe services AllRecipes.com and BigOven -- also are planning iPad applications. BigOven, for example, plans to charge an introductory price of $4.99 for its iPad app which allows cooks to access more than 170,000 recipes, according to the company's Facebook page. It plans to have the app available this Saturday.

Amazon.com also is reportedly working on a Kindle application for the iPad, an interesting twist given the competition between the two companies.

Sprella's fashion app for the iPad

And iPhone app developer Michael Schneider also has submitted a series of apps for the iPad, including the self-help app "Deep Relaxation with Andrew Johnson." Greg Whelan and Sunil Gowda of Sprella LLC, a small Seattle development studio, plan to launch an iPad app this weekend for Vancouver, B.C.-based fashion designer Dace.

The developers used their new app-creation platform, dubbed Catalyst, to create the iPad app.

"We don't think our story is so much about this one app, much as we're excited about it, as much as it's the first of many we'll be releasing built using our platform," said Whelan. "Our business is a bet that the iPhone, Android devices and the iPad are going to be incredible devices for mobile marketing and commerce."

Meanwhile, here's video of the EggStuff iPad pitch from Startup Weekend.