News Corp is apparently ready to launch its iPad-only daily news app, The Daily, on Wednesday, January 19. Word of the launch comes from an unnamed source inside News Corp, but the company hasn’t announced an official start date.
According to Forbes, News Corp’s The Daily staff has been pushing out test issues to 1,000 testers for several weeks and is apparently ready to go live. The launch could, however, be held up by last minute delays and licensing issues regarding the publication’s name since there’s already a fashion magazine already using the name.
The Daily may launch next week
Apparently News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch will hold a special launch event on the 19th with Apple CEO Steve Jobs in San Francisco. Yahoo! News added that insider sources claim the launch event will be hosted at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Rumors of a January launch cropped up late last year. The publication is said to include daily multimedia news content, a new auto-billing feature Apple developed, and will cost US$0.99 a week.
The Web site for The Daily simply says “coming soon,” and doesn’t offer any hints as to when the official launch will happen.