The Guardian is to follow the Daily Mail's example - no, not by going overly right-wing and consistently stating that the country has gone to the dogs - but by introducing subscription fees to its iPhone app.

The fees are not set to be as high as the Mail's though, £2.99 for 6 months and £3.99 for a year as opposed to £4.99 and £8.99.

The Guardian's current app has been downloaded 205,000 times since its launch last December, but the new price plan will attempt to tap into brand loyalty.

However, with The Guardian offering up such as fine mobile platform for free (which has just undergone a major refurbishment), it's going to be a big ask to entice people into paying regular fees, as opposed to a one-off payment.

"Mobile is a crucial part of Guardian News & Media's digital strategy, and the statistics speak for themselves in terms of how important being able to access our content on the move is to our readers", said Janine Gibson, editor of guardian.co.uk. "The new mobile site, along with a number of other mobile products in the pipeline, demonstrates our commitment to this growing medium".

The Guardian has also confirmed that a native iPad app is on its way - it's currently in the "early stages of development".

In the States, the app will remain free, but will be ad-funded. And, if you've already got the premium app, it will continue to work alongside the new platform.

See also - Apple says UK iPad owners read The Guardian