Newspapers, Subscription | featured news

... just 14 percent of those who consume news on tablets said they have paid for news content on their devices. Another 23 percent, though, pay for a print subscription that includes tablet content. So in all, about a third of tablet news consumers have paid to access news on their gadgets.

Apple appears to have reversed its guidelines for magazine and newspaper subscriptions purchased in its App Store, in a big victory for publishers who blanched at the original terms.

So, 100,000 new digital subscriptions in four weeks for the nation's third-largest newspaper -- is that an impressive figure? "If you're The New York Times, no," said Alex Daley, an analyst for Casey Research. "The New York Times is the Apple of the journalism world," he added.

The New York Times rolled out a plan on Thursday to begin charging the most frequent users of its Web site $15 a month in a bet that readers would pay for news they have grown accustomed to getting free.

Apple has agreed to allow publishers to sell subscriptions through its popular App Store, an issue that has been a source of contention since the iPad went on the market.

The New York Post is the latest newspaper to cross the iPad barrier, with a new, full-content tablet.

By contrast, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are working with test iPads, according to people familiar with the matter. Six advertisers, including Coca-Cola and FedEx, have agreed to advertise with the Journal, and a four-month ad package costs $400,000, according to these people. Coke and FedEx declined to comment on terms. The Journal plans to charge subscribers $17.99 a month for iPad subscriptions, according to a person familiar with the matter.

According to a new Forrester survey, almost 80% of Internet users in the US and Canada would not pay for access to newspaper and magazine websites. Those users who would consider paying for content are mostly interested in subscriptions. Only a very small number of consumers is interested in making micropayments (3%).