"The Daily" Is A Top News App But Download Complaints Soar

While it’s probably not surprising given the buzz around the launch of News Corp.’s tablet-only publication, The Daily is currently #1 in “Top Apps” and #1 in “News Apps,” according to topappcharts.com.

However, the app is met with mixed reviews in the App store, gaining an average two-star rating. The trouble seems to lie in the image uploading – one customer says, “Upgraded to newer version and now thumbnails show up,” giving the app two stars. Another user claims, “The update does not show the cover content. The ads seem to load faster now.”

One user gave the app one star, but remains optimistic about the possibility of the product. “It crashed before, now it doesn’t load. Great app when it works.” The quote was followed with a smiling emoticon.

Download times are a major issue for publishers launching iPad editions and a big reason why downloads falter for many publications after the initial launch. Virgin Media’s iPad magazine launched in November with frustratingly long download times and the second issue was delayed for six weeks as the team worked out the bugs.

In announcing the launch of the Daily last week, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch said that the $30 million development costs of The Daily were written off and that the digital publication costs less than $500,000 per week to produce. “We’ll be happy when we’re selling millions,” said Murdoch. “Our ambitions are high but the costs are low.”

Apple is troubleshooting the crashing and slow loading times with an upgrade today, according to the blog gadgetell.com.

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