Toronto Star launches tablet app Star Touch

The Toronto Star's much buzzed-about free tablet application is launching today.

Star Touch is inspired by the La Presse tablet app, which has been a rousing success for the Montreal-based, French-language newspaper.

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La Presse, in fact, supplied the platform and some technical staff to help the Star develop its new app.

David Holland, president and chief executive of Torstar, has said Canada's biggest newspaper is aiming to dramatically change storytelling with Star Touch.

He told Torstar's annual general meeting earlier this year that the newspaper's stories will be showcased in a more interactive way than ever before.

Ads will also be interactive on Star Touch in an attempt to allow advertisers to reach and engage younger readers, Holland added.

La Presse+ launched in April 2013 and reaches more than 450,000 people a week, an independent survey found. Most of them are aged between 25 to 54.

The Star has a daily paid average circulation of just over 175,000, according to the most recent numbers from the Canadian Circulation Audits Board for the three-month period that ended in June.

Torstar has invested heavily in Star Touch, hiring dozens of new editorial staff and lining up as many as 65 advertisers for the launch.