In this interview with Beet.tv digital director of BBC Worldwide Daniel Heaf talks about how the iPad has “truly become the fourth screen”.
He says that session time on the device matches the time spent with traditional media such as periodicals and television.
According to Heaf the BBC has had more than 10 million downloads worldwide of its apps for the iPad and other devices.
Twitter has started to roll out a new version of Twitter.com for mobile devices. Most people who use Twitter on a smartphone opt for one of the official apps or a third-party app such as TweetDeck rather than the browser, but the the new mobile site promises to improve the experience for those without an app.
The new mobile browser is currently only available to a limited number of iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android smartphones, Twitter announced on its blog, but there will be a full roll out “in the coming weeks”.
Judging from the pictures released by Twitter, changes include the black navigation icon bar along the top.
Reuters reported this week that digital publishing company Yudu has launched a service which means magazine publishers can evade the 30 per cent cut which Apple takes when subscriptions are charged through the App Store.
Yudu, whose online publishing tools help companies tailor their content for tablet computers, smartphones and ereaders such as the Amazon Kindle, said Apple had recognized its new service as compliant with its terms and conditions.
… The new dual-subscriptions system from Yudu, whose customers include Reader’s Digest and Haymarket, allows users to download publications onto their Apple device through the App Store, even when the purchase is made directly from the publisher.
Yesterday the Telegraph announced the launch of a new iPad app which appeared to follow Apple’s new rules, which state that while publishers are allowed to make a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer must also be made available inside the app, through which Apple will take a 30 per cent cut.
The Telegraph today announced the launch of its new iPad app, which offers content from the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph.
The app can be purchased through the App Store, either individual, daily editions or an auto-renewable monthly subscription, both through In-App Purchase.
Print subscribers have free access using their existing customer credentials, the release adds.
This appears to follow Apple’s new rules regarding publisher apps, which state that while publishers are allowed to make a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer must also be made available inside the app, through which Apple will take a 30 per cent cut.
The new Telegraph app is free to download with individual, daily editions priced at £1.19 or a monthly subscription of £9.99.
Flipboard, a “social magazine” for the iPad that pulls in content from the web, has announced partnerships with the Guardian and the Telegraph.
Announcements from the company about the Guardian – “the central liberal voice in the British media” – and the Telegraph – “one of the most circulated broadsheets in the UK” – have been timed to coincide with the upcoming royal nuptials.
We’re launching the Guardian and the Telegraph at this precise moment so you can feel like you’re right there in Westminster Abbey witnessing the union and following events from the eyes of Londoners.
The US app has also added OK Magazine and Brides Magazine in advance of the wedding.
Flipboard was launched in July last year to offer its users a magazine-like collection of news, features, videos and images circulating within their social networks. In December it announced that eight US news outlets including ABC News and the Washington Post Magazine were testing the app as a distribution platform.
Last week the company announced additional investment of $50 million (£30 million), taking its value to around $200 million (£121 million). According to the company the funds will be used to expand its staff from 32 to around 50.
It also announced a partnership with Oprah Winfrey’s media network.
Talks are underway at Google to launch a digital newsstand which will include apps from media companies available on devices running Android software, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Google hopes to launch it in part to provide a more consistent experience for consumers who want to read periodicals on Android devices, and to help publishers collect payment for their apps, these people say.
Google has been in discussion about the potential venture with publishers including Condé Nast and Hearst Corporation, the report adds.
The LA Times’ technology blog interviews Mike McCue, chief executive of Flipboard, an iPad app that creates a magazine-style package of news, features, videos and images circulating within a user’s social networks – and it’s well worth a read.
The problem with journalism on the web today is that it’s being contaminated by the web form factor. What I mean is, journalists are being pushed to do things like slide shows – stuff meant to attract page views. Articles themselves are condensed to narrow columns of text across 5, 6, 7 pages, and ads that are really distracting for the reader, so it’s not a pleasant experience to “curl up” with a good website.
Journalism is being pushed into a space where I don’t think it should ever go, where it’s trying to support the monetisation model of the web by driving page views. So what you have is a drop-off of long-form journalism, because long-form pieces are harder to monetise. And it’s also hard to present that longer stuff to the reader because no one wants to wait four seconds for every page to load.
The UK commuter daily Metro launched its own app business yesterday, according to paidContent, called Metro Apps.
The business, a joint venture between Metro and Associated & Northcliffe Mobile and TV, will be run as a publishing division targeting 18-45-year-old urban professionals, paidContent reports.
…the DMGT freesheet Metro today launched its own app business, and will put out the first fruit of this labor tomorrow, a special edition of “Super Yum Yum: Puzzle Adventures” for the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) app store, on sale for 59 pence ($0.94), with more titles to come.
The Financial Times has launched its FTChinese.com app for iPad.
The app is compatible with both the wi-fi and 3G iPad models and allows readers to download content to browse offline. It is sponsored by watchmaker Rolex.
The launch follows the FT’s highly successful iPad app, launched in May, which has attracted around 400,000 downloads and generated more than £1 million in advertising revenue. According to global commercial director Ben Hughes, the iPad now accounts for 10 per cent of the paper’s new digital subscriptions.
Oliver Zhang, senior product manager at FTChinese.com said: “The iPad is another exciting platform providing readers with FTChinese.com’s high quality content. Our objective is to allow users to read award-winning content on the move as well as interact further with the website’s dynamic features such as slide shows, videos and interactive quizzes.”
“Think of a number, quarter it, and you’re still not there.”
This was Annemarie Kirk’s answer when asked what her budget was for developing Danish newspaper Berlingske‘s first iPad app to be launched later this month, which she showcased yesterday at the World Editors Forum in Hamburg.
A shoestring budget and a small team were both necessities in developing the business news app and driving forces behind it. Find talented people in your newsroom, young people who will see things differently and get them to work on it, said Kirk. Don’t overlook existing skills though: much of the design for the new app was done by a newspaper designer from Berlingske’s print edition who had never even worked on design for the website. He was set to work on the iPad app though, alongside an external web designer brought in for the project.
The application, which is awaiting approval by Apple, will combine content from the print and online editions of the business section through a semi-automated process, said Kirk. Concept design and project management were carried out in Denmark and technological development in Kiev, Ukraine following a study into what applications and devices Berlingske should be launching onto, that began back in March.
It’s clear from the development that has taken place this has been a tightly managed project, but Kirk said there has been a real need to get onto the iPad, despite the device not being on sale in Denmark, as traffic stats show a significant growth in the number of users accessing the Berlingske website via an iPad.
Fellow panellist at the WEF event, Alfredo Triviño, who as director of creative projects at News International has overseen many of the publisher’s iPhone and iPad application developments, said the success of building apps for “liquid media” devices relies on understanding the technological boundaries.
“Tablets are not websites, they’re not newspapers, magazines or books. Not all of our content we produce is consumed. (…) probably we need tablet newspapers,” he said.
“Loading time is critical and progressive downloading is a must (…) Success also grows from envisioning what is next.”
When developing apps for tablet devices, news organisations must look out how these apps will scale and be iterated.
Speaking to Journalism.co.uk after the debate, he said news organisations will have to reassess their plans when the next wave of technology comes to tablet devices, including built-in cameras and better integration with social media. Hear more of what he had to say in our WEF podcast at this link.
Speaking more generally, president of media for Thomson Reuters, Chris Ahearn, said that “whether it’s a tablet or a smartphone or a device we haven’t seen yet” news organisations have to embrace change. As an industry they must “lean into the wind together” and, to make these new apps part of a successful business model to support journalism, “collectively rise”.
When designing apps or tablet propositions, news organisations must look at what their readers and consumers want and need, and build a subscriber base, he said.
How can we add unique value to each subscriber? The answer for us is not always more content. It has to include more services. We have to embrace the technological advances to build compelling user experiences. We have to put that content into context and develop a loyal customer base.