This is the third iPad app the publication has launched. However, it's the first that will let existing subscribers -- more than a fifth of whom own Apple's tablet device -- completely transition from print, says Dan Shar,VP and general manager of digital at Fairchild Fashion Media, the owner of WWD. That transition will be further aided by the app's design which, unlike the tablet versions of most newspapers, more closely resembles its print edition than its website. As such, readers will need to zoom in to read most of the articles in portrait mode, but overall, existing subscribers should be pleased with the experience.
"In our research... we [found] that readers really wanted to get the same sense of completion they receive from reading the daily paper," says Shar. Additional web content is located separately on the home screen.
The app is available gratis as part of WWD's $169 per year print and digital subscription. An iPad-only subscription can now be purchased for $129.99 per year or $12.99 per month. Issues are automatically downloaded to subscribers' iPads at 12:01 a.m. on weekdays.