Regional publisher Newsquest has created apps at ten of its newspaper titles for a new tablet which has only just been launched in the UK.
The publisher has produced apps for titles including The Northern Echo, Oxford Times and Brighton’s The Argus, pictured left, for Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet devices.
Owners of the Kindle Fire and Fire HD can now download digital replica editions of the newspapers after Newsquest partnered with technology company PageSuite to develop the apps.
The publisher believes it is the first in the regional press to create apps for the Kindle Fire devices, after their launch towards the end of October.
Roger Green, managing director of Newsquest Digital Media, said: “Having seen success with iPhone and iPad newspaper apps, our Kindle Fire apps follow the same publishing work-flow to deliver a consistent reader experience on this important new platform.
“Launching this soon after the Fire’s UK debut ensures that readers can enjoy our titles on the new Amazon devices from the word go, and so generate good subscription and advertising interest during the Christmas season.”
Other titles where the apps are now available from the Kindle Newsstand are the Sutton Guardian, Worcester News, Stourbridge News, Hampshire Sports Pink, Colchester Daily Gazette, The Swindon Advertiser and the Southend, Basildon and Castlepoint Echo.
Subscribers to the apps can view full-colour digital replicas of each of the Newsquest titles from early on the day of publication.
Costs for the Kindle Fire apps follow existing price plans for Newsquest’s iPad and iPhone apps, which include a mixture of free and paid-for packages, starting from £4.99 per month.
Ross Murphy, managing director of PageSuite said “We are proud to be Newsquest’s mobile and tablet app development partner. We believe that the Kindle Fire will be an exciting opportunity for many Newsquest brands and their readers.”
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It’s an example of a newspaper group completely missing the point. People want bespoke apps with added content now tiny versions of the printed page. I can tell you know – the take-up will be tiny. Will I be wrong? No.
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Typical genius newsquest decision, will they ever learn…..
No wonder Gannett and looking to sell
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It is not an app its a page turner – very different.
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£4.99 a month on a Kindle or free on any other device with access to the internet. Hmmm… I wonder what 97% of readers will choose?
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A lot of spelling mistakes in my previous post – apologies. But a lot more mistakes being made in the newspaper industry right now by people who just don’t have a feel for the digital age and the wants of readers. The Kindle Fire has a 7-inch screen and they are squeezing an A3 paper into this size! Then charging £4.99 for it. The Kindle Fire has a web browser and all people have to do is type in the name of the paper and see everything for free together with better formatting and the occasional video. Page turning apps such as this are being rapidly overtaken by dynamic apps with content that makes good use of the tablets. Newsquest, in this instance, is showing itself to be rather amateur in its approach to this digital space and it would be better served with cut down internet content, paid-for bespoke apps for smartphone and tablet and bi-weekly paper products. That would be the most cost effective way forward for daily papers and ensure everyone is happy. This Christmas we will see a tablet explosion and I don’t think this page-turn app approach will be able to take full advantage of it.
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£4.99 a month to look at http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/enewspaper/ which is freely available on the same device?
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Happy to remain a dinosaur and read the real newspaper when I can, and internet as a back-up. I don’t need or want pageturners or tablets and I suspect most real news watchers don;t either.
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