The Globe and Mail’s new app for the iPad has quickly leapt to the top of the free apps in Canada.

The app is free and offers a stylish and intuitive way to read stories from the Globe.

It takes advantage of the multi-touch interface of the iPad.

The home page has the top stories across the top third, followed by news features, which can be swiped across.

There is a more traditional index navigation along the bottom half.

The actual story pages are less of a success.

The content is squeezed vertically onto half of the screen to make room for a square ad that is more often seen on websites.

The end result is a narrow column for a story along the right side of the screen, with wasted empty space on the left.

One reviewer on the iTunes store commented:

It is unfortunate that the Globe&Mail did not see fit to do what most other content providers have been doing with the iPad; provide an exceptional reading experience on the device. Instead, the G&M focused on maximizing the screen real-estate given to ads.

There has to be a balance between a free app and advertising. But this is a somewhat inelegant compromise that hopefully the Globe will address in future iterations, with ads designed for the iPad screen rather than a computer screen.

The Globe also offers a subscription-based electronic version of the paper through the Globe2Go app.