Guardian iPhone app debuts, subscription available to UK customers
The Guardian has released a brand new version of its iPhone app on the App Store, this time featuring a subscription model for UK customers. Lots of publications have been trying to get Apple to approve a subscription model for apps, but The Guardian went ahead and did it themselves, offering up a six-month subscription to the content for £3, or a full year subscription for £4. The full app will still have content even without the subscription, but the subscription offers features like offline browsing and search, as well as some extra audio and video content.
Americans can still download and use the app for free, and while it has all of the subscription features unlocked, the app is populated with ads. Interesting model for The Guardian, but theirs is a big organization, and the app is probably just a line item somewhere in a gigantic budget. If the subscription model works well for them, it could influence both Apple and other publications in terms of how they appear on the App Store.
