iPad magazine subscriptions on the horizon

Following the news of the upcoming Apple and News Corp subscription-based iPad newspaper The Daily, speculation is rife around when Apple will announce the launch of its iOS 4.3 update that’ll bring with it iPad magazine subscriptions.

Apple’ iOS 4.2 is only a day old, but according to MacStories the rumours have started that Apple is planning a mid-December release. The exact release date was apparently supposed to be December 13th, but this may be delayed because iOS 4.2 itself fell behind schedule.

Last week James Murdoch confirmed that News Corp. was working on an upcoming tablet-only publication, a “very exciting” project that was set to be released “soon”. Three days later, Rupert Murdoch himself told Fox Business about the app, called The Daily:

“News Corp. has spent the last three months assembling a newsroom that will soon be about 100 staffers strong. The Daily will launch in beta mode sometime around Christmas, and will be introduced to the public on the iPad and other tablet devices in early 2011. It is expected to cost 99 cents a week, or about $4.25 a month. It will come out — as the name suggests — seven days a week. The operation is currently working out of the 26th floor of the News Corp. Building on Sixth Avenue in a space that looks like a veritable construction zone. The staff’s permanent home will be on the ninth floor, and they’ll move down once it’s ready.”

Together with details revealed by Fox Business and WWDMedia, the Guardian reported The Daily was the result of a “collaboration that has been secretly under development in New York for several months” between Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch.

MacStories speculated that Apple’s involvement in the project might be the first step towards the implementation of iTunes recurring subscriptions for apps. MacStories also say that Daring Fireball’s John Gruber (whose sources are usually spot-on) has confirmed that “this initiative is going to launch with a press event, with Murdoch (and perhaps other newspaper and magazine executives) joining Steve Jobs on stage”.

Source:
http://www.macstories.net/news/ios-4-3-to-launch-in-mid-december-with-app-subscriptions/