Apple iPad Safari users must pay to read New York Post

iPad users who attempt to read The New York Post via Safari web browser will no longer be able to do so unless they pay up.

When iPad Safari users will try to access the website of the New York-based daily, they will encounter a redirect page, which will suggest them to pay for the specific NYPost app available in Apple App Store.

The restriction is only for the iOS-powered browser, Safari. However, one will be able to access The New York Post via other iPad browsers such as Skyfire or Opera Mini and also iPone.

Regarding this, Staci Kramer of PaidContent said: It is one of the most poorly conceived paywall efforts I’ve come across.

The NYPost app costs $1.99 and the subscription for reading regular content is $6.99 per month. Other options are available such as $39.99/6-month and $74.99/12-month.

That may sound expensive but still is less than what you'll be paying for a print subscription ($14/month or $182/year).

One wonders whether the NYPost app will make more money for Apple or for the Developer? Thirty percent of revenue from the App Store goes to Apple and 70 percent goes to the developer of the app. The App Store has generated $1.43 billion in total revenues over 2 years, with $1 billion paid to developers.

This looks good, but for the average app developer, the numbers don't look so good, according to industry watcher/blogger Tomi T. Ahonen.

The development of the typical app cost $35,000 and the median paid app earns $682 dollars per year after Apple took its cut, Ahonen said.

Other market watchers said the vast majority of iPad users who are browsing the Web via Safari will be turned away immediately if they are prompted to buy the NYPost app because most tablet users would prefer a quick read of any news story while they're commuting or away from their primary computers. And for them, it's just not worth the time and effort going to the App Store, paying for the app, downloading it and then clicking the app open to read the news, which can be easily read anywhere else.