Meanwhile, British tabloid The Sun introduced page 360 for the iPad, displaying topless ladies on the tablet device from every conceivable angle.

Apple sparked a storm of complaints back in February when it removed dozens of low level apps for sexual content, but allowed major publishers like ESPN and Playboy to remain, despite instances of nudity.

"The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format," Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, told The New York Times about the February snafu.

That seems to be a way of saying that Apple's bigger partners get preferential treatment. Not that Hearst is small potatoes, but earning the right to show 360 degrees of female nudity might just require a play as Apple-friendly as launching a new, tablet-only magazine.