Fortune Gets Its Own iPad App

Amid an escalating and increasingly publicized battle between publishers and Apple, Time Inc. has launched its latest iPad app, this one for Fortune. Like others before it, this one will only be sold on a single-issue basis, as publishers work behind the scenes to try to get Apple to approve subscription sales. In the latest round in the battle, it was widely reported that Apple rejected a subscription application by Fortune sibling Sports Illustrated. At stake is control over the subscriber data and customer relationship, which publishers see as key to their ability to market their products. Like other magazine apps, Fortune is pricing its app the same as the newsstand price ($4.99), a strategy that’s come at the cost of some consumer backlash. However, the title also is offering a free preview containing content from previous issues, a tack that could help appease consumers. That strategy hasn’t entirely worked, either, though. Sports Illustrated also offered a free preview along with its paid app, and customers on the Apple iTunes store still complained about the price of the paid version. Meanwhile, Fortune isn’t putting all its eggs in the consumer revenue basket; it’s also sold sponsorships on the app, to Chase, IBM and Residence Inn by Marriott. The full app will go live with the Aug 16 issue and will contain all the content in the magazine plus additional photos, videos, archives and articles. It also includes a live newsfeed.

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Fortune Gets Its Own iPad App

Lucia Moses

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Lucia Moses