The Daily launched on January 17, 2011 ¹ with the mission to provide the best news experience by combining world-class storytelling with the unique interactive capabilities of the iPad.

First, the details from the press release:

• It will be priced at just 99 cents a week (or $39.99 for an annual subscription).

• Each day The Daily will publish up to 100 pages focused on six key areas: news, sports, gossip and celebrity, opinion, arts and life, and apps and games.

• The Daily will feature Sudoku and crossword puzzles, localized weather reports, and a customizable sports package that captures news on the user’s favorite teams.

• Subscribers will also be able to leave comments on Daily stories.

• “In short, says Mr. Murdoch, “we believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age.”

First Impressions

• Slow. The actual app is pretty terrible, but not entirely unusable.

• Undesirable front-end (carousel) navigation. Gruber has already noted the “horrendous” JPEG-compression, which is surprising given Apple’s connection to the project.

• The app is not revolutionary in any way, shape or form. However, the same cannot be said for the task Murdoch and his team have accomplished.

• Promising at 99¢/week, which I suspect will be the most popular subscription model.

• Gizmodo says it best, “If there’s a publication that has a shot at making a convincing case for your tablet replacing your newspaper, it’s the Daily.”

As for my predictions on The Daily’s success, only time will tell. I do believe there has been a successful amount of press on the project, paving the way for many iPad owners to take-part in the project. I for one will accept the Verizon-sponsored two-week trial graciously, and attempt to partake in this “revolution” daily.