New iPad Paper Goes On Sale In New York
An i-newspaper designed exclusively for the computer tablet market is being launched in New York.
The Daily is a collaboration between News Corp and Apple.
iPad subscribers will be able to download the bespoke digital edition onto their tablets for a subscription of about 66p a week.
The Daily will not be updated throughout the day with breaking news but will be a single daily edition, much like a traditional newspaper.
Industry analysts believe a 'circulation' of around 800,000 subscribers will make the project economically viable.
With no printing or distribution costs and a lower price than print equivalents, they say The Daily should be competitive.
It is thought its chances of succeeding will be boosted by huge iPad sales - around 40 million are expected to be in use by the end of this year.
The Daily is produced by a team of journalists brought together from other News Corp titles.
Dan Sabbagh, head of media and technology at The Guardian, thinks News Corp can use its expertise in television and print media to deliver a strong product.
"This is an exciting project," he said. "When Rupert Murdoch tries to launch anything he doesn't do it by halves.
"They've sunk $30m (£18.74m) into this, there are 100 journalists working on The Daily.
"They should be able to merge video and text because they own TV stations and newspapers so they have everything they need.
"The question is do people want this product? I find the sales forecasts for iPads very optimistic."
New technology is increasingly being used to provide a news fix.
Researchers at the University Of Missouri questioned 1,600 respondents to gauge changing news-reading habits.
Some 89% said they relied on their PC for all breaking news and current affairs.
That figure was just slightly lower for iPad owners.
Some 84% used their tablets for the same reason and 70% of iPhone users said the device was their news source.
If the project is a success, more publishers may turn to the bespoke online market, heaping more pressure on falling newspaper sales.
But the death knell for print has been sounded before.
Retired print journalist John Torode has worked for several newspapers.
He accepts habits are changing but believes newspapers can never be replaced by online editions.
"It is about having something tangible. I think everybody likes to have something real.
"It is a record, it's there in your hand. You can fold it up and stick it in your pocket. It's there with you on the bus.
"For me a newspaper is real in a way that dots and dashes never will be."
How we choose to be informed is like the news itself - changing all the time.
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