First digital magazine for iPhone

Source: Technology Digital

Date :7/30/2007 12:52:50 PM

Texterity Inc. has launched a beta version of the first digital magazine interface and portal designed for the Apple iPhone.

This is the first time users will see a publisher’s complete magazine, as originally published, on the iPhone.

Texterity and a select group of publishers will offer free digital editions, designed for the iPhone’s Safari browser, of over 20 different magazines for iPhone users to read and enjoy through Texterity’s new digital magazine iPhone portal.

Texterity’s solution will enable publishers to reach increasingly mobile and digitally connected audiences by providing iPhone users with a magazine portal and viewing experience, explains Cimarron Buser, Texterity VP Marketing & Product Planning.

“The iPhone is a leap forward in the integration of the web and mobile devices. We are excited to provide the benefits of a complete magazine in a portable format that can be viewed virtually everywhere,” states Buser. “With one tap, an iPhone user can read their favorite magazine anytime using the Texterity interface.”

“This is a great benefit for iPhone users and a value-added opportunity for our publishing partners to provide their readers with yet another choice of viewing platforms. This makes Texterity the first digital magazine interface allowing users to read full magazine content on the iPhone,” he said.

Frank Gilbane, CEO Gilbane Group, Inc., says, “The combination of Apple's projected sales of 10 million iPhones in 2008 with the quality of the iPhone display officially launches the mobile phone and PDA market as a serious platform for publishing digital content. It is difficult to underestimate the effect of this additional channel for consumer and business content.”

Texterity has initially included over 20 publications, representing a wide range of interest areas, in the beta version. As part of the demonstration, publishers have made free digital editions available to any iPhone user.

“Cross-platform, digital magazine delivery and mobile access are key elements of our audience marketing strategies for all of our more than 110 leading trade magazines,” says Blair Johnson, vice president, Business Development, Penton Media. “We're extremely pleased that IndustryWeek and Telephony will be among the first publications available to users of Apple's advanced iPhone platform, through this release of Texterity's new reader.”

“eWEEK's editorial mission is to provide unbiased, expert contextual analysis of the technology landscape for senior IT decision makers and resellers to shorten their buying cycles and drive business results,” states Karl Elken, group publisher and vice president, Ziff Davis. “eWeek has the largest audited digital magazine circulation; our readers already value digital magazines so we are thrilled to be part of Texterity's iPhone reader beta test that offers another cutting-edge way to access our digital edition.”

“We are great believers in providing readers with the choice to view our publication through multiple viewing mediums,” states Dan Woods, Make magazine’s Associate Publisher. “We have had a lot of success with digital editions and other cross-platform communications vehicles, from blogs to Podcasts, and we anticipate that our readers will be very excited about an iPhone reading interface.”

“Enabling readers to access digital editions of Popular Science through the iPhone is a ground-breaking new way for us to further extend the value of our publication,” stated Robert M. Cohn, Consumer Marketing Director, Bonnier Corporation. “We are always looking for new ways to expand our reach and Texterity’s new iPhone reading experience will enable us to engage readers in a fresh and exciting way.”

Texterity extending successful digital publishing interface to iPhones

Texterity is building its iPhone interface based on the company’s long-standing “browser-only format” that does not require Flash or plug-ins to ensure broad compatibility and easy access. Texterity’s technology philosophy is already powering more than 400 digital titles through traditional Internet browsers and is also “ideally suited for tailoring a solution for the iPhone,” said Carl Scholz, Texterity Vice President of Technology.

“Given all the iPhone’s advanced technology, including the visual clarity of its 3.5 inch, 160 dpi viewing screen, the iPhone is a ‘natural’ platform for mobile readers to access digital magazines,” stated Scholz.

Scholz says Texterity’s goal is to ensure its new iPhone reading experience delivers the same high levels of innovation and usability represented by the iPhone and expected by its users, including the ability for iPhone users to enjoy:

Texterity’s publisher clients gain a new cross-platform distribution method for their digital magazines as well as value-added premium to attract new readers.

“With digital magazine reader satisfaction rates on the Internet remaining high – 88% of readers are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their digital edition according to our 2007 BPA worldwide-certified Digital Magazine Reader Survey – we’re not going to accept anything less for iPhone users,” Buser says.

Scholz says the beta test will evolve as a program of “continuous improvements” based upon user feedback. “Publishers are continuing to contact us about our efforts, and we’ll have a number of additional titles available at the time of our official launch,” he noted.