Apple, News Corp. unveil The Daily for iPad
updated 11:50 am EST, Wed February 2, 2011
Heralds in-app subscriptions
Media conglomerate News Corp. has formally launched The Daily, an iPad-only news publication. The app is described as an "all-media" offering, combining text, photo, video and interactive elements. The latter includes things such as a special weather and sports trackers, integrated Twitter feeds, and 360-degree panoramas. Articles can be shared via Twitter, Facebook or e-mail.
New issues will typically come once a day, although updates can be delivered midday if necessary. It will cost 99 cents a week, or $40 a year. The first two weeks are being offered for free through a Verizon sponsorship.
To support the publication, Apple is introducing a new subscription model. Previously it was only possible to download iOS newspapers and magazines on a per-issue basis, or in conjunction with an outside subscription. The company is believed to be cracking down on the latter choice, forcing publishers to offer in-app purchase options.
The Daily app should go live in the App Store at 12PM Eastern time.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2008
not ready for prime time
I hope they also unveil an update pretty soon. Crashes, blank pages, image drawing issues. Version 1 is a bit of a mess in my experience. Flipboard is a far better experience as an app, though obviously the content model is completely different.