News Corp. Launches “The Daily” iPad Publication

In a world where print media is slowly receding into the shadows of new technology, it is clear that tablets devices are going to rule the future. Rupert Murdoch has obviously realized this with his launch of “The Daily,” a brand new news experience for the iPad. I have a had a chance to take a look at the product, and I would share some thoughts and screenshots on some key areas of the experience.

The Basics

You can access The Daily by downloading it onto the iPad through the App Store. A new ‘issue’ is published every morning, and will download automatically. Prices are very impressive, at $0.99 a week or $39.99 a year, which works out at a hare over 14 cents a day. The publication is going to be free for the next two weeks due to a sponsorship by Verizon, so you can try it out at no cost.

Content

The biggest benefit of having a news publication on the iPad is the ability publishers have to take advantage of the rich experience the device allows. In my experience of the first issue of The Daily, I have found some beautiful photos, well made videos, and interesting stories. The Daily is also able to pull in Twitter feeds relative to stories and allows users to follow links out to websites. Nifty animations accompany all of this rich content.

User Interface

The app features several ways to navigate through content, perhaps the ‘prettiest’ is the carousel view that allows you to swipe through various sections of the publication. You can tap on stories to view them full screen, and then swipe left and right to go between pages. The app also features rotation of the device to reveal special content such as landscape photography. Upon first use, I found a very slight learning curve to getting around, but within ten or so minutes it felt very natural and easy to use.

Advertising

Many who see that The Daily requires a subscription may argue that advertising is unnecessary and even greedy on the part of News Corp.. I don’t want to play fan boy to Murdoch, but I must say I think the advertising is warranted in the app. You see ads in your local print newspaper, and you still pay a price for that (which in fact is much more per issue than the weekly cost of The Daily). I did not find the ads annoying or obnoxious, and some were even fun and engaging. Many of the ads feature interactive elements or videos, which make them very bearable and even fun!