• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 19, 2010

The Economist, one of rare magazines with a thriving print business, debuts today on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The apps for each Apple device will offer a weekly sampling of free articles and the ability purchase the full edition of The Economist beginning each Thursday at 4 p.m. EST for $5.99. Print and digital subscribers will have unrestricted access to the app versions.

Once downloaded, each issue is stored on a user's device so it can be read without an Internet connection. Every issue also includes the full audio edition. But it looks like a glitch may be hampering the new release. A note on The Economist's page in the App Store Friday warns customers a "startup failed" message has appeared on the iPhone app. It instructs users to delete the app and re-install it while on a Wi-Fi connection. The company says it's working on a fix. Now there's something that can never happen in print. Read more here.