BEING hailed as “one of the most important steps” in its 200-year history, The Scotsman newspaper is to be available as an app for the iPad, from today.
Trailed these last few days with full-page adverts in the paper, the app is being described as ‘Scotland’s first dedicated multimedia news iPad app’.
In a statement, John McLellan, Scotsman Publications’ editor-in-chief, is quoted, as saying: “This is a major development which keeps The Scotsman up to speed with the latest media technology.
“Devices such as the iPad will play an increasingly dominant part in the way people access information and this is one of the most important steps forward in The Scotsman’s 200-year history.
“It is a very different experience to reading online and having been at the forefront of that newspaper revolution over ten years ago it is fitting that we are in the midst of this one.”
Users will have two methods of navigating the app: in the ‘digital’ section of the app, they can scroll to browse content across channels such as international news and sport, before clicking into articles and swiping to read more; meanwhile, in the ‘paper’ section, users can see digital versions of the pages they would otherwise see in the printed version of The Scotsman, and use ‘sownloads’ to read offline.
There is an ‘archive’ section to access previous editions.
The Scotsman iPad app will be available for free for the first 30 days when users first download it, after which there will be a monthly subscription for £7.99.
The statement adds: “A new era for Scotland’s national newspaper is beginning with the launch of The Scotsman iPad app, available on the App Store. It is Scotland’s first dedicated multimedia news iPad app.”
Scotsman Publications’ managing director, Andrew Richardson, is also quoted, as saying: “We are delighted to announce the launch of The Scotsman iPad app, which ensures that we remain at the forefront of multimedia development in Scotland.
The Scotsman app offers the best of both worlds, giving readers the choice of either leafing through the pages of The Scotsman newspaper or of reading the content in a digital format, with live news, video and enhanced use of photographs. Either choice provides a great new way to keep in touch and up to date.”
