The whole world is talking about the new Kindle tablet as if it were the greatest thing since the discovery of... well, fire.

The television ad certainly tries to sell the Kindle Fire as if it were the most revolutionary object since the printing press - there's even a Voltaire reference thrown in there for good measure. Despite the wealth of press attention heaped upon the release of the Kindle Fire, journalists and publishers still have some questions that need answering: primarily, how will the Kindle Fire change the way we do business?

Poynter offers a great run down of the grey areas and speculation that come when considering a new tablet format, but for many commentators and analysts, there is no doubt: the Kindle Fire is going to shake up the tablet market.

Why so sure? Why will Amazon succeed where the likes of the RIM and its BlackBerry PlayBook have not (yet)?

The Pearson group released official sales figures for The Financial Times today, showing a 34% rise in digital circulation in the first six months of this year, as Journalism.com reports.

This boost in digital sales comes primarily from iPad app downloads, which have apparently drawn in 230,000 new users.

However, it is not merely the iPad that has caused the FT's digital sector to grow. Access to online content via the free website registration process has also grown, having reached a total of 3.7 million subscribers, an increase of 49%.

Although Pearson's main source of income is from its educational publications and Penguin publishing, The Financial Times saw its operating profit reach £132 million for the first half of the year.

The Press Gazette reports that, according to the Pearson group, these results are proof that the paper can survive in an increasingly challenging market: "At the FT Group, the changes we have made to the business model and mix mean we are well placed to grow even in tough markets for print circulation and advertising. We expect digital subscriptions, now the engine of the FT Group's growth, to continue to build steadily".

In yet another development in the ongoing struggle to convince readers to pay for content, the Philadelphia Media Network has decided to sell discounted Android tablets loaded with it's two papers.

The Philadelphia Media Network will begin selling the tablets at about half the market price to new subscribers this August. According to Poynter, this digital push hopes to convert tech savvy young professionals to mobile reading. The tablets' homescreen will have direct links to digital versions of the Philadelphia papers, and the tablets come equipped with four apps - The Inquirer, The Daily News, Philly.com for breaking news and another unspecified app for interactive features. Pop up advertisements would show up on the homescreen.