New York Times e-reader ahead of the curve
Content remains free, apart from TimesSelect columns, but there has been speculation that the Times will charge for the service when it is officially launched in 2007. As for now, the reader is only available through Internet Explorer on Windows based PCs.
Staci Kramer at PaidContent gave the new device a favorable review saying, "It’s the look and feel of the NYT with all sorts of digital extras, a balance between the Times online and off."
Jeff Koyen also praised the reader for Wired, criticizing those who slammed it without even testing it out. Koyen was especially fond of the design: "... a good newspaper is itself a story. It's the essence of newspapering. This is what the Times Reader does best. Stories are presented clearly and with priority; artwork adds both design and context. Section heads are customizable, and clicking on them feels as natural as thumbing through the paper on the subway."
The reader was also presented in Moscow at the 13th World Editors Forum where participants (including myself) were able to take a peek. I must admit, the technology is impressive and it is very enjoyable to read in that pages are laid out as if they were on paper, yet they are still dynamic as if they were on a screen.
But I'm not sure if the demand is there. The reader was created to be downloadable to portable devices, mainly tablets since its design most fits such technologies which can be read vertically or horizontally (and to which TimesReader flawlessly adapts depending on your reading preference). But is the percentage of people that use tablets great enough for TimesReader to become popular even if every person with a tablet downloads it?
It doesn't appear that the reader is adaptable to more ubiquitous portable devices such as PDA's, mobile phones and iPods. Is the Times expecting everyone to go out and buy a tablet? Or will the paper end up distributing tablets or e-ink devices to its subscribers as has been predicted in the past?
Noting this problem, i don't think this first version of Times Reader will prove any great success for the paper (especially if it starts charging for the service). But it is a first step.
Eventually, probably sooner than you can imagine, most of the world will be covered in WiFi or WiMax so you'll be able to access the Internet from anywhere. Secondly, WiMax enabled, flexible, color e-ink devices the size of an A4 or maybe even a Berliner will be released in the coming 10 to 15 years. With these, we'll be able to read our favorite newspaper anytime, anywhere. In this respect, the Times and Microsoft may be ahead of the curve, but well prepared to dominate when we reach its peak.
Sources: PaidContent, Wired
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Interesting read. Newspapers are going through a tough time between classifieds and bloggers. I was just informed of another site http://plugstar.com that seems to be running a new classified community for all states. This could get interesting.
Yup, Craig has defined the new model.
Now, as a big fan of the local alternative rags here in the Portland Metro area, I have always appreciated spending an afternoon at my favorite Mcmenimen's on the riverside, sipping iced tea and reading the classified s of the Willamette Week.
Funny thing: I haven't seen the number of ads diminish terribly (I could ask Richard meeker, and see if he's experiencing a rough decline).
Good rags will always have a following. Good rags that have both a print and online presence will do even better.
Any publication that uses, what David McInnis of PRWeb ( http://www.prweb.com ) calls "Fair Commerce" will thrive.
Have a free entry point. Allow folks to use your free resource. Then quietely and elegantly escalate those clients by giving them awesome additional benefits for a fraction of what it might cost in competing venues.
And keep giving, escalating the value proposition further at each level.
Now your free model has a revenue model and makes money.
Or join the luddites and throw wrenches in the machines of progress.
The internet is an amazing machine, and Craig, bless his heart, has figured out a model that works. He charges a few of his clients for job postings, and it works.
Enjoy! If you're a classified paper, get smart about your business model, and model what works. Or connect with leaders of the new World order and find a mentor to guide you through the process.
it's amazing, and I swear, change will do you good.
best of success,
Mark Alan Effinger
http://www.richcontent.com
I agree that great content experiences need to make their way to more ubiquitous (and cheaper) mobile devices than tablets. Let's not discount, however, that the Times Reader is a leap forward in terms of the desktop and notebook news reading experience. Whether it's on my big LCD at home or on my notebook as I take a flight, the news has never looked this good on a screen. The richness of the app has made me realize that news on the web doesn't have to be a second rate experience.
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