Now available via subscription: The Daily, the world's first iPad-only newspaper. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Multi-Screen.info)

On Feb. 2, Rupert Murdoch announced The Daily, an iPad-only newspaper that will “take the best of traditional journalism” and meld it with cutting-edge technology, reports TechCrunch. The Daily, which is available now, is the first stand-alone iPad newspaper to operate on a subscription basis; it will cost 14 cents per day, 99 cents per week or $39.99 annually via one-click subscription. The first two weeks of The Daily are free.

The Daily is not a legacy brand like the Wall Street Journal

While moving legacy newspaper brands like the Wall Street Journal behind online pay walls has garnered both supporters and detractors, The Daily is a new beast entirely. As many news consumers no longer read print journalism or watch TV newscasts, Rupert Murdoch believes that using portable tablet technology will be the best way to reach new generations. As there is no built-in audience that will expect The Daily to conform to print journalism conventions, Murdoch has the chance to define something new.

“We have license to experiment. We believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told,” said Murdoch.

The Daily benefits from iPad processing power

Befitting its name, Rupert Murdoch’s The Daily is a daily iPad newspaper in which stories will be updated throughout the day. Users familiar with the animated, 3-D graphical Cover Flow interface of iTunes will have no trouble navigating through The Daily’s stories. Stories will include high-definition video, panoramic photos and features to tailor news to personal or regional preferences.

Subscription rate to attract advertisers

Aside from gigantic aggregators like Google News, free online news delivery has been largely unprofitable because attracting big advertisers to subsidize has been unsuccessful. Rupert Murdoch considers The Daily’s subscription price to be low enough to attract iPad users but high enough to show advertisers that it is a valuable operation that attracts a high class of consumer.

Considering that it only cost $30 million to get The Daily off the ground – a pittance compared to starting a daily print newspaper – and will cost about $500,000 per week to run, Murdoch says that the huge base of iPad users and the advertisers they draw should make The Daily a success.

Sources

The Daily

Techcrunch

Rupert Murdoch on The Daily vs. the Wall Street Journal

(Photo: Kansir/Flickr/CC-BY)

In an effort to help the technology giant provide customers effective tools to create more focused marketing campaigns, International Business Machines Corp. has announced it will buy marketing software maker Unica Corp. for $480 million. IBM, which recently purchased Web analytics vendor Coremetrics, is offering Unica holders $21 a share. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s more than double Thursday’s closing value and the highest level the stock has ever seen.

IBM and Unica join forces

IBM’s goal is to help customers generate a “consistent and relevant cross-channel brand experience to promote customer loyalty and satisfaction,” as outlined in a statement, says PC World. And shifting to higher-margin software business to maintain profit growth appears to be the company’s main strategic focus. Currently there are about 500 Unica employees, all of whom will be incorporated into IBM’s software division, where IBM believes Unica’s software for marketing organizations will offer an exceptional advantage to its business-analytics and consulting unit.

About Unica Corporation

A recognized leader in marketing software solutions, Unica Corporation has been around for almost two decades. Founded in 1992, the company is based in Waltham, Mass., with additional offices located in other parts of the nation and worldwide. It is one of England’s fastest growing technology companies. The company reported total revenue of $30.7 million for the third quarter fiscal 2010, which ended June 30, 2010. That shows a 14 percent increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

New movement appears promising

Unica has about 1,500 customers, which includes major retailers like BestBuy, eBay and ING. All its customers will soon become IBM customers once the acquisition is finalized. Unica CEO Yuchun Lee said he believes the new movement will help IBM improve all types of businesses, big and small. IBM officials are planning to discuss the Unica acquisition in further detail during a conference call Friday. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.