A new era is beginning for the Yorkshire Post with the launch of a dedicated app for iPad users, the latest in a line of JP app launches planned for 2012.

The new app, now available on the Apple App Store, is among the first in the regional press and the first multimedia news app on the iPad dedicated to England's largest county. It follows the successful launch of The Scotsman's app earlier this year, which to date has been downloaded more than 6,000 times, and additionally been shortlisted in the 2012 Newspaper Awards in the Newspaper App of the Year category.

Yorkshire Post editor Peter Charlton said: “This is a major development which keeps the Yorkshire Post up to speed with the latest media technology. Tablets will play an increasingly dominant part in the way people access information and this is one of the most important steps forward in the Yorkshire Post’s 258-year history. It is a very different experience to reading online and having been at the forefront of that newspaper revolution over 10 years ago it is fitting that we are in the midst of this one.”

Within a week of the launch of the Yorkshire Post app, there had been nearly 1,000 downloads.

As with The Scotsman, the app brings a ‘best of both worlds’ approach to the iPad, delivering each morning's complete printed paper with all supplements, plus a digital-only section containing up-to-the-minute coverage and exclusive video and audio content. The print version is presented in a new format, with users able to zoom in and out of articles at will.

The live digital section includes:

• Regional, national and local news, updated throughout the day
• Up-to-date business coverage, including breaking early stories from the markets
• Leading-edge analysis and opinion from commentators and columnists, including Bernard Ingham and Ian McMillan
• The best in football, cricket and rugby league coverage
• News from Yorkshire's rural communities
• The Yorkshire Post's award-winning audio programmes and unique video features from across the county.

The print section lets users:

• Effortlessly flip through every page of current and past editions
• Browse front pages in an iTunes-style ‘coverflow’ display
• Display pages individually or side-by-side
• Download pages or whole editions to read when not connected to the internet.

The digital and print sections are fully integrated within the app, which is free for the first 30 days and costs £7.99 per month thereafter. It is sponsored by East Coast trains for the first four months.

The app has been developed by digital media specialist YOC Ltd, with Pagesuite providing the ‘Paper’ section. The ambition is to further develop the app later this year with more features, incorporating user feedback, while also rolling the template out to more JP titles.