The Guardian announces subscription-based news app, is rumored Newsstand looming?

AppleInsider reports that, on Thursday, The Guardian announced it will be replacing its current app with an all new version "soon." Although the current version of the app will continue to work (but eventually be discontinued), the new app is to introduce The Guardian's award-winning video, reader comments on articles, improved live blogs and landscape reading.

Jonathon Moore, the mobile product manager for The Guardian wrote, "We'll be launching the new app globally for the first time and although we can't confirm exactly when it will be available, we're working towards a pre-Christmas release."

However, the more interesting side of this story is that the new app will be subscription-based, costing £2.99 for six months and £3.99 for a year.

Although Moore didn't indicate that the new app's pricing structure had anything to do with any changes in the way the App Store delivers news content, it certainly does coincide with the rumored December 9th (or thereabouts) press event -- supposedly announcing an App Store news subscription service (featuring Steve Jobs as well as News Corp's Rupert Murdoch introducing The Daily -- unless it has in fact been delayed).

Publishers have been seeking a better way to deliver their content on the App Store for some time now. Is the much-speculated App Store Newsstand (perhaps similar to the iBookstore) about to be introduced in time for the holiday season? We're holding out for December the 9th!

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Source: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/12/02/guardian_revea…

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AppleInsider reports that, on Thursday, The Guardian announced it will be replacing its current app with an all new version "soon."...

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glad

As I already use the iPhone app daily since it was released, I am looking forward to the Â£3.99 per year app, which l am happy to pay for. I hope they do release an iPad version sometime next year.

December 03 2010 at 9:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

mack

Hopefully the new version will be for the iPad which is far better for newspapers and magazines. The Guardian must be about the only newspaper that has an iPhone app which only works on the iPad in double pixel mode.

December 03 2010 at 1:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to mack's comment

Stephen

There doesn't seem to be any mention of the iPad in their announcement; in fact I'm sure I've seen this story before somewhere - the only new part is that they specified "before Christmas". I'm not convinced this has anything to do with any kind of new model for buying subscriptions on the iPad. It's more to do with the fact that The Guardian made a mistake by selling their app for a (low) one-time fee, and need to find a way of monetizing the maintenance of this app over a longer period. So they will sell a subscription as an in-app purchase, like how you can already subscribe to monthly content in other apps (e.g. BBC Listener is one which springs to mind).

Having said that, hopefully there is some kind of change coming for the iPad....

So far, newspapers have made a lousy, half-assed job of trying to sell their content on the iPad. Most of them fail to download images for offline reading; they crash; they sometimes have bafflingly ridiculous navigation quirks; they basically fail. Newspapers definitely need Apple to set up an iBooks-type app for them to deliver their content, because they're clearly incapable of developing stable and effective apps on their own.

December 03 2010 at 3:18 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply