The British national, the Independent, is launching its own mobile site. It is the latest in a string of newspapers to recognise the future importance of mobile news and the need to tap into this potentially large market. A mobile site could capture a wider readership and provide an additional flow of revenue for publishers, New Media Age reported.

Bill Swanson, digital MD at The Independent, said:

"The growth of the internet has invoked an enormous change in the world of publishing and now the ubiquity of mobile devices and the evolution of the commercial model surrounding them has finally made the medium a viable one for publishers," he said.

Mobile news is a definite and increasing presence in the news industry, thus it is arguably an essential step for newspapers to leave their mark on the evolving application, particularly as it becomes commercially viable.

The announcement follows the development of mobile sites of publications ran under the groups News International, Trinity Mirror and Telegraph Media Group.

The site will be built by Bluestar Mobile, which was recently acquired by mobile agency, YOC. According to YOC, the company serves 170m mobile page impressions a month via a range of sites under its umbrella, including The Sun, The Times, The News of the World, The Mirror and The Guardian.

There are no more details available as of yet on the nature of the site, in terms of access and payment. These are relatively recent but important additions to industry debates concerning developing business models and the embracing of new technologies.

Source: New Media Age