According to AP sources, Associated Press is working on an app for the iPad. Unlike the free AP Mobile app that iPhone users are enjoying now, the iPad version is reportedly to be a paid subscription news app, generating content from Associated Press and 1000 other media outlets. The development of the new app will be led by AP Gateway, a new business division at AP that focuses on mobile platforms such as the iPad.
“AP Gateway will serve as the launching pad for new products and services from AP and other interested news publishers,” Tom Curley, president and CEO of The Associated Press, said in a statement. “It will allow the news industry to deliver the news directly to the consumer in a variety of exciting new ways.”
There wasn’t a mention of when the news app hits or how much users will have to pay, although it may be initially free to strike up interest at the app.
“The AP already has drawn up plans to charge for an application designed for the iPad, a 1.5-pound tablet computer that Apple Inc. is scheduled to release at the end of March. The price of the application has yet to be determined, although it might start free, according to Jane Seagrave, a senior vice president who becomes the AP’s chief revenue officer Monday.
Much like the AP Mobile news product, the iPad app will show custom packages of headlines, stories, photos and video from the AP and from newspapers and broadcasters that choose to contribute their content and share the revenue. AP members also could use the same system to offer their own iPad apps that show their own content.”
