Texterity Inc., a provider of digital publishing solutions, 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, explained 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,’ stated Buser, in the press release. “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., said inthe press release, “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.
The magazine editions available from Texterity as free iPhone editions are:
• The American Lawyer, ALM Media
• Baseline, Ziff Davis Media
• Cabinet Maker, Watt Publishing Company
• CIO Insight, Ziff Davis Media
• Cottage Living, Time, Inc.
• Craft, O’Reilly Media
• eWEEK, Ziff Davis Media
• Elite Traveler, Universal Media
• ID Magazine, F+W Publications
• Industry Week, Penton Media
• Make, O’Reilly Media
• Northern Home & Cottage, Prism Media
• Oracle Magazine, Oracle Publishing
• Popular Science, Bonnier Magazine Group
• Quest Magazine, Quest Media
• Quick & Simple, Hearst Corporation
• Every Day with Rachael Ray, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
• Ready Made, Meredith Corporation
• Statement Magazine, EJJ Publications
• Taste of Home, Reiman Media Group
• Telephony, Penton Media
• Vibe, Vibe Media
• WoodenBoat, WoodenBoat Publications
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, in the press release.
“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 said 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:
• Quick and easy digital magazine access from the iPhone platform and mobile networks.
• Seamless integration of some of the most popular digital magazine features within the iPhone interface.
• An exact digital replica of the print edition, including all of the high-quality graphics and original layout.
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 said in the release.
Scholz said 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.
iPhone users can read these issues http://iphone.texterity.com/magazines/. (For those without an iPhone, please visit http://www.texterity.com/iphone for more information.)
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “NavyTim” for the heads up.]
Well, hopefully Zinio will do something like this.
Wait, hopefully I will get an iPhone-2.0…….
I just tried this and it works very well. I love this iPhone more and more.
I have to respectfully disagree. It doesn’t work very well at all. It’s very slow and counter-intuitive. Nice concept but poor execution.
Before this I had to drag around my 15″ Powerbook with me at work. Even though the iphone screen is small it still nice to have the Internet and services like this in your pocket.
Posted from iPhone
Yeah, show off that you’re posting from your “iPhone”…
I’m posting from my iPOON!!!
Oh baby, lemme multitouch that iPoon… !
TowerTone brought up Zinio.
How many readers here have ever used Zinio, or is it jsut taking up space on your disk? I got with my Mac in ’05, and have never even used it.
qka – I do use Zinio to read my subscription to Macworld. I’m a big fan of the application and enjoy reading the magazine digitally – makes it very easy to search for items and maintain a library of back issues.
On the other hand, I am not sure I would enjoy reading a magazine on a screen the size of the iPhone’s screen. For me I think it would be too small and require too much moving around, resizing, etc. To each his own.
Peace.