Bloomberg has rolled out a new magazine iPad application that offers readers  exclusive content, including video and interactive graphics.

The Bloomberg Markets+ iPad app brings the company?s publication to Apple?s tablet. The app is available for free download in Apple?s App Store.

The app features exclusive video with Bloomberg Markets' editor, Ron Henkoff as he gives a behind-the-scenes look at the feature story and other key stories in that month's issue.

Additionally, the app includes slideshows, interactive graphics and the latest market information and news on companies mentioned in articles.

Users can also check out related videos on select articles in the issue.

Consumers can subscribe to Bloomberg Market+ for $2.99 a month or $29.99 for the whole year.

Mobile Marketer interviewed Oke Okaro, global head of mobile and connected devices at Bloomberg.

What is Bloomberg's strategy here with this app?
As a company, we deliver the essential news, information and tools business and financial executives need to make better informed decisions.

We strive to do this with experiences that are optimal for the devices our customers use.

Bloomberg Markets+, the iPad app, provides all the content from the print edition of the magazine along with rich media content and interactive features that enrich the reading experience.

We are delighted to bring this experience to readers ? and prospective readers ? of Bloomberg Markets magazine who over-index the general population in terms of iPad ownership.

Why the preference for a paid subscription model for the app versus free?
Bloomberg Markets magazine is a monthly, subscription-based publication read by the most influential players in the financial industry.

We see the iPad as another point of distribution so, similar to how we offer the magazine in print, we are offering it on a subscription basis on the iPad.

A subscription is $2.99/month or $29.99/year, and it's available at no additional cost to print subscribers and Bloomberg professional subscribers.

What other presence does Bloomberg have on mobile?
We have mobile Web sites and mobile apps for Bloomberg and Businessweek.

Our mobile Web sites enable us to provide a great experience for anyone who visits us on a mobile device via search, social media sites, email referrals or by just typing Bloomberg.com or Businessweek.com into the browser.

Our mobile apps enable us to deliver OS-specific experiences and to be merchandized in different app stores.

We have several apps on all the major devices including iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone, Android tablet, Blackberry, Windows and Nokia Symbian.

What challenge is the app meant to address?
The app will help us reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and expand our reach to a broader consumer audience.

More specifically, it will help us reduce printing and shipping costs, speed up delivery to existing subscribers and expand our reach to a broader audience interested in learning about the people, stories and ideas that move global financial markets.

Sixty percent of our existing subscribers reside outside the U.S. and have to wait several days for the magazine to be delivered by mail.

With the app, they will not only get it several days earlier but they will also get a richer experience with rich media content and interactive features exclusive to the app.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York