French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo saw unprecedented demand for its latest issue, following the terrorist atrocities that engulfed the publication the week previous. So this is why it has now launched a version for mobile phones and tablets.
The magazine’s normal print run of around 60,000 was boosted to seven million after the slayings in Paris made headlines around the world. Still, though, Charlie Hebdo was unable to satisfy demand for the so-called “survivor” issue, which featured yet another caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the front cover. Issues were going on sale on eBay for north of $1,000.
While Charlie Hebdo has hitherto been largely a print publication, it launched a version for Android and iOS last week which now offers the “survivor” issue in English and Spanish, though subsequent editions won’t be translated out of French. The issue in the Windows Phone incarnation, however, only appears to be available in French for now.
While this won’t be the same as getting your hands on a physical copy of the magazine, for $2.99 it at least lets people around the world gain some insight into a publication that was largely unknown outside of France before those terrible events on January 7.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More