News powerhouse CNN brings some really delightful news today. It launched an app for the iPad to reiterate their dedication to attracting a mobile audience, and its absolutely free. Its iPhone app, which used charge $2.99, is also free now. They are also working on major updates for an international version.

The iPad is trendy, and CNN is playing along the strength of this powerful device, its sleek structure and multi-touch display. There are three different viewing modes for the app namely Broadsheet, List View and Slideshow.

Broadsheet is the default view with 350 items with pictures and headlines in a grid. This option also offers an “editorially curated” section which shows CNN’s best for the day. Next is Listview, a long list of headlines only. Finally, the Slide Show. Everyone knows what a slide show is, the one you flick through from page to page.

While they have their own share of strengths and weaknesses, Broadsheet is considered to be the best option because of its combination of text, pictures and editorially curated stories. The List View is only good if you only want a glance through headlines. The Slide Show offers an interactive way to browse through CNN content during lazy days.

“One of the things about the app that excites us most is the ability to serve the news needs of iPad users while also exposing them to original, enterprise content from CNN that will surprise and delight them,” said Louis Gump, vice president of CNN Mobile. “The CNN App was built from the ground up with our consumers in mind, and we are proud of the new CNN experience we’ve created for the device.”

A number of major media publications (print, tv & video) are taking to the iPad, including Conde Nast and The New York Times.  The effort to digitize content is being realized, as advertisments and other methods of monetization (like paywalls) are toyed with for driving this movement amongst media moguls.