Politico has launched its iPad application, joining a growing list of news publications to refashion their content for Apple’s tablet device.
The Washington D.C.-based political news publication quietly launched the app last Friday, and was advertising the program Monday afternoon on its Website. The app sports three pages of headlines from Politico, but—other than font-size choosing and social-media sharing—offers few additional features for users.
Other national publications—such as the Washington Post and New York Times—have promised to start charging subscription fees for their iPad apps after the turn of the year, but there was little initial indication how Politico plans to make money from its app. As of Monday afternoon, a Shell oil company logo appeared on each page of the app, and users were treated to full-page interstitial ads from the company after tapping on story headlines.
Then again, the all-politics-all-the-time publication may have more of a nose for “new media” than its print-bound counterparts: Politico started in 2007 as a Web-only publication and only later migrated to print—every day when Congress is in session, once-a-week otherwise. Politico’s parent company, Allbritton Communications, also recently launched TBD.com, a “hyperlocal” site in Washington D.C.
Politico for iPad is free, and compatible with any iPad running iOS 3.2 or later.