New York Times updates iPhone, iPad apps to offer in-app subscriptions

The Gray Lady herself has assented to Apple's rules about in-app subscriptions, so you can now subscribe to the vaunted New York Times right from the mobile apps on Apple's iPad and iPhone. We're still not talking about the print edition, so you can't log in on your phone and then have the paper show up at your door, but you can subscribe to the digital edition from right inside the apps themselves. The prices break down into three different rates -- for just the smartphone app and the digital edition, you'll pay $15. The tablet and digital subscription is $20, and "All Digital Access," which means the digital edition and iPhone and iPad subscriptions, will run you $35.

As is the case with in-app subscriptions, the deal will go straight through your usual iTunes account. Because Apple has tweaked the rules since they were introduced, the NYT doesn't have to offer the exact same prices both in and out of the app, so the online deal is a little sweeter -- it's offering the first four weeks of the subscription for just a buck. But iTunes has its own benefits -- if you allow iTunes to share your information, the NYT is giving away a week's worth for completely free.

Either way, you've got plenty of options, and that's the best thing for consumers in this fight anyway.