TAKEAWAY: Back from my beach holiday and notice that lots has happened in iPad territory during my time out: a British survey tells us more about how iPad users utilize the tablet. A News Corp digital national newspaper? The possibilities are many, but indulgence with substance is the key.
What iPad users tell us
It is good to be back, with those disconnect batteries recharged and ready to tackle work, which is usually what comes after sun and beach.
Two items of interest while I was taking my break, which goes to show that perhaps those so called “dog days of August” could be now called “those active iPad days of August”.
1. iPad users tell us how they utilize it
2. A new national newspaper in the US, for tablets and mobile phone only, to be published by News Corp?
Users and the iPad
The magnificent iPad has obviously conquered the hearts of millions during its short time with us already. A survey shows that iPad owners prefer Apple’s revolutionary iPad over books, TV, game consoles
The survey, conducted by Cooper Murphy Webb
, a group of copywriters, who studied the reactions of 1034 people in the UK.
Highlights of this study:
-Nearly a third of the 1034 iPad owners questioned said that they prefer to use the iPhone compared to 26 per cent for laptops and computers and less than a quarter for printed paper.
-31% say that the iPad is their preferred method of reading a newspaper or magazine.
-38% say they prefer the iPad for browsing the Internet
-Given the choice between two media, 41 per cent would opt for the iPad rather than any other one, compared to 36 per cent for print.
And, finally, the majority of iPad owners in the survey say that they prefer to use their iPad at home. This is the one point I would question, as I do see plenty of people carrying iPads with them at airports, restaurants and even the beach. One iPad owner who takes it with him: Actor Johnny Depp, is seen in the German version of Gala magazine this week, walking with what seems like a towel or blanket and his iPad, on the way to catch some sun or a swim.
How the study helps us in creating newspaper/magazine apps
There are few surprises for me in this study. As one who is presently engaged with several news organizations to help them with their iPad app, I value the information in this study because it reinforces some of the strategies that we try to bring to the transferring of content from the print platform to the tablets.
Specifically, we already know that many iPad users browse the Internet on the device, and it is extremely important that the design of an app include a very special and prominent spot for the newspaper or magazine’s website, one that is clearly visible and accessible at all times should the user wish to change “modes”, from what I would describe as the more relaxing and passive iPad reading mode, to the “breaking news” and more “nervous” online mode. This is key if you wish to make your iPad app functional. The study corroborates this point.
Also, it is great to have some research supporting what we already had guessed, that people prefer the iPad for reading newspapers and magazines. For me, the big surprise here was to see that the second preferred platform was online. I have never enjoyed the online reading experience for newspapers and magazines as much as I do on the IPad. Of course, this is the first of many studies we shall see in the months ahead concerning iPad usage.
See the full article here:
http://coopermurphywebb.com/ipad-consumer-usage-study
News Corp and its national tablet newspaper
When my friend and former student, the multitalented Alfredo Triviño, creative genius at News Corp in London, told me recently that his summer holiday with the family was a “weekends only” affair, as he was running back and forth to his native Spain to catch some sun, while commuting back to London, and New York, for a very “special and fascinating” project, I could guess that those active guys at News Corp were up to something more major than simply giving The New York Times a bit of a headache at the local level. Well, you can say that if the news becomes reality, News Corp may give The New York Times and USA Today, our so called national newspapers, a daily migraine.
According to a piece in the Los Angeles Times, the peripatetic Rupert Murdoch is now ready to tackle his next dream project: a national digital newspaper in the US. I can imagine how exciting the planning sessions must be, not having to worry about printing plants, distribution centers and all those logistics that may turn even the most ardent newspaper lover to look the other way.
What’s to celebrate? If you are a storyteller, you must be raising your glass to the birth of another newspaper——regardless of platform. The essence of what newspapers and journalism are all about find new life in a new medium.
What’s to be skeptical about? Well, I go by the LA times report that says “The new publication would offer short, snappy stories and operate under the auspices of the New York Post.”
I would like to hear that this new digital national newspaper would be analytical, something to relax with and to get into some serious reading, not necessarily the New York Post’s fare of quick bits and pieces.
The iPad, I maintain, is a medium to relax with, not to attach to your chest while running on a treadmill. In a perfect world——the world of News Corp, I guess—-the new digital newspaper would take some of the best of The Wall Street Journal, with the excitement of the New York Post people/photo oriented content, and add a variety of columnists who could become the first breed of tablet-only commentators. It would have a section all about photos, which, in my view, find the ideal platform on the iPad. If I were starting a digital national newspaper anywhere in the world, the photo gallery would be must-have section.
Then, as the British survey of iPad users above suggests, I could take my iPad by that favorite spot in my home—-the second floor little office overlooking the river—-and indulge.
The iPad is the ideal platform for indulging. If Sunday newspaper reading is the ultimate in “indulging”, then the iPad offers us that same level of enjoyment on a daily basis, but only if the content, both journalistic and visual, are meaty enough to allow for in-depth indulgence .
TheMarioBlog post #612