Everything iPad

Having seen leaked ebook pricing details for the iPad yesterday, today it’s the turn of digital magazines to get some early figures.  The WSJ – somewhat comically quoting leaky sources giving information about its own digital media team – claims that digital subscribers to the electronic version of its own paper will be charged $17.99 per month for the privilege.

Meanwhile Men’s Health are believed to be planning to charge the same $4.99 newsstand price for their digital version, which will debut in April, having offered iPad owners 10-page previews of the magazine first.  Esquire, however, will be cheaper on the iPad, with the digital magazine undercutting its $4.99 physical counterpart by $2.  The first issue won’t be ready in time for the iPad’s April 3rd launch, but it will follow on shortly after with a mixture of text, image and video content.

According to the report, both the WSJ and NYT have early access to iPad test units to polish their magazine content.  Previous reports have tipped the draconian secrecy measures companies must agree to in order to gain such access, including chaining the iPad to a fixed object in a blackened-out room.