News Corp to launch iPad newspaper on February 2

News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch testifies before a House subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this September 30, 2010 file photo.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp will launch its long-awaited digital newspaper created for Apple Inc's iPad on February 2, two weeks after the two companies were widely expected to introduce the new product.

News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Apple Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue will introduce the Daily, a digital newspaper for tablet devices, at the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The event invite, emailed to reporters on Thursday, caps weeks of speculation surrounding the Daily.

Murdoch and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs were originally scheduled to launch the Daily in San Francisco in January 19. But the event was postponed, because of technical glitches, according to sources familiar the event.

Days later, Apple disclosed that Jobs was taking medical leave for the third time since 2004.

The Daily will cost 99 cents per week, News Corp executive James Murdoch said.

News Corp is a making a big bet that starting a newspaper from scratch that is dedicated to tablet devices could help revive the news business.

The digital-only publication, available initially only in the United States, represents News Corp's latest attempt to get consumers to pay for its online news and support investment in journalism -- a strategy that is being closely watched.

Magazine and newspaper publishers are hoping that tablet devices such as the iPad and Samsung Electronic's Galaxy Tab will spark consumer interest and revive the business beset by declining circulation and advertising revenue.

Many newspapers, for instance, are experimenting with models that require some form of payment to access online news as an additional revenue stream to advertising. Newspaper online advertising in the U.S. represents only 11 percent of total newspaper advertising, according to the latest figures from the Newspaper Association of America.

Earlier this week personalized news service Ongo funded by the New York Times Co, Washington Post Co and Gannett Co launched in an attempt to get readers to pay for online news. The subscription service is accessible through web browsers, smartphones and tablets.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Derek Caney)