The much-anticipated The Guardian iPad app went live last night on Apple’s App Store. As reported earlier this week, the tablet app is an attempt to restore the sense of editorial hierarchy from a newspaper that traditional newspapers have struggled to replicate on digital media devices.
Earlier this week, The Guardian’s editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger said the new iPad app will be less of a breaking-news app and will instead offer readers more of a reflective read. “This digital journey is changing everything we’re thinking about journalism,” Rusbridger said.
The new app was created specifically with iPad users in mind and embraces the paper’s award-winning content and design.
The Guardian iPad edition is available on Newsstand, a key feature of iOS 5 that allows consumers to find digital newspaper and magazine products in one dedicated place on the App Store, and organise them in one easy-to-organise bookshelf.
Guardian subscribers will receive new issues automatically on their iPads. Latest issues and most recent cover art will simply appear in Newsstand.
Inside the new Guardian iPad app
Features of the app include full offline reading and viewing for all articles and pictures, the ability to share stories via Facebook, Twitter and email, swiping to navigate between sections or stories; and related web articles open in an in-app browser.
The new app will be characterised by strong photojournalism, video content and interactive advertising slots.
“The Guardian iPad edition is a new, fresh and appealing form of our newspaper content,” explained Rusbridger.
“By the time you’ve put on your coat and picked up your keys it will have downloaded to Newsstand – giving you a clean, portable, inviting version of The Guardian. The single daily download and the hierarchy of articles will suit people who love The Guardian’s newspaper content. To that, we’ve added a selection of relevant web articles – a unique digital interpretation of our newspaper and yet another step on our digital-first strategy.”
Access to The Guardian iPad edition will be free for the first three months via a sponsorship deal with Channel 4, after which users will be able to sign up for a monthly subscription for stg£9.99 through In-App Purchase on the App Store.
Guardian six- and seven-day print subscribers will continue to receive free access to the app after the three-month period via their current subscriptions.
The Guardian iPad edition is available for free for three months from Newsstand in iOS 5, from the App Store on iPad, or through iTunes.
The Guardian’s iPhone app has been awarded the 2011 prize for ‘world’s best designed app’ by the Society of News Design. Since launching in January 2011, the app has been downloaded 550,000 times, with 91,000 users going on to take out subscriptions.
