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Scribd's all-you-can read service adds major newspaper articles
Scribd's transformation into an all-you-can-read subscription-based service hasn't always been smooth-sailing, but it's truly moving farther away from its PDF roots. The company has just announced that it's teaming up with its first newspaper partners and a few popular news brands, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Financial Times, NPR and ProPublica.
Flipboard brings magazine curation to Android, gains web tools
If you're a Flipboard user, you'll recall that the app was recently updated to let you create your own magazines. Unfortunately, this functionality was limited to the iOS version. This changes today, as Flipboard brings magazine curation to Android. Creating a magazine is simple: just tap the plus button visible on each article inside the app or use the bookmarklet when surfing the web. This gives you a personalized way to collect posts, images and videos and share your ideas on Flipboard and beyond. The new Android version introduces some unique features. You're able to "flip" content into your magazines using the share button built into many Android apps. In addition to the existing social network integration, Flipboard now includes a share button of its own on magazine covers -- this allows you to share magazines via SMS, email or Pinterest. The app also makes it easier to create a new Flipboard account by supporting Facebook's Single Sign-on. Along with the updated Android version, Flipboard's rolling out a web-based Editor to help users manage magazines. This collection of web tools lets you reorder and delete content, rearrange magazines and check how often others have shared items in your magazines. Finally, the Financial Times is now available on Flipboard -- you'll even be able to read premium content by logging into your Financial Times account right within the app. Take a look at the gallery below and hit the break for the PR.
Financial Times: YouTube is close to launching paid-subscription channels
YouTube has been making its own space on multiple entertainment services for a while, but according to a report from the Financial Times, it's now on the cusp of revealing its own subscription services for some of its specialist video channels. Rumored for several months, according to the FT's unnamed sources it will include up to 50 different channels, with subscription pricing starting at "as little as $1.99 a month." Google has already followed up, saying it had nothing to announce just yet, but that it was investigating "a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube."
Daily Update for May 1, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Financial Times to discontinue iPad, iPhone apps, move to HTML5
The Financial Times has announced that it is killing its iPad and iPhone apps. That doesn't mean that iOS users are going to be left out in the cold in terms of getting the latest financial news; it just means that the company is completing the move from an app-based edition to an HTML5 web app. The FT pulled its iOS app from the iTunes Store last year, but subscribers who had it installed could still use the app to grab and view content. The Financial Times is now going to make the app unusable, forcing the few remaining users to move to the HTML5 edition. It was reported that the user base for the web app actually overtook that of the iOS app within three months of being launched. The mobile site provides 12 percent of all new Financial Times subscriptions and contributes to 19 percent of all the FT.com web traffic.
Nokia reportedly looking to sell Vertu, Russian oligarchs reportedly upset
It looks like Nokia has finally grown weary of the one percent. According to a report from the Financial Times, the Finnish manufacturer is looking to sell off its Vertu line of luxury handsets, as part of the firm's ongoing restructuring process. Citing a source "familiar with the process," the FT went on to explain that Goldman Sachs is overseeing the sale, though it's still in a nascent stage of development. The brand has reportedly attracted the interest of unnamed private equity firms, though the same insider claims that luxury goods vendors may toss their hats in the ring, as well. Neither Nokia nor Goldman have commented on the report, but we'll be sure to let you know when they do.
Apple gives Financial Times app the axe over lack of compliance
Apple has officially removed The Financial Times' app, FT Mobile, from the App Store. The removal comes after the paper refused to sign on to Apple's subscription rules, which give Apple a 30% cut of any subscription revenues generated through the App Store. The Financial Times first raised objections to Apple's subscription rules back in April. In June the company decided to abandon further development of their iOS apps in favor of a web-based HTML-5 app that would enable subscribers to view The Financial Times on any iOS device -- all without having to give Apple a cut of the subscription fees. It's been two months since apple's subscription rules went into effect and today The Financial Times' apps have been removed from most App Stores, though the Chinese and German editions of The Financial Times' apps still remain in their respective stores. PaidContent calls the removal "a blow to the FT," citing the fact that last year 10% of The Financial Time's digital subscriptions came through the iPad. It also notes that "the publisher now will likely have to market the web version harder than ever, especially to users of the full iPad app."
Financial Times web app debuts for iOS, more tablets to come (video)
It's not often that we get the opportunity to mention the Financial Times and Playboy Magazine in the same sentence, but the two publications do have at least one thing in common: App Store aversion. Today, the FT launched a new, entirely web-based app, designed to circumvent iTunes (and Apple's 30 percent revenue cut) altogether. The paper says its single, cross-platform app will allow it to issue updates with more frequency, while reaching an audience that extends far beyond the iOS realm. Though the subscription service is only available for iPhone and iPad users at the moment, versions catered for Galaxy Tab, Xoom and PlayBook users are coming soon. Perhaps more important, however, is what this move could mean for other publishers -- many of whom haven't taken too kindly to Apple's subscription revenue and data-sharing practices. FT managing editor Rob Grimshaw says his paper has "no plans to pull out of any apps store," but if the system proves viable, it could open the door for others to pursue their own, similarly HTML5-based ventures, in the hopes of retaining full revenues and access to subscriber information. We'll have to wait and see whether this iTunes exodus ever materializes, but in the meantime, iOS users can hit the source link to enjoy the new app, available for free until July 14th. Others, meanwhile, can head past the break to see a demo video, narrated in appropriately dulcet, British tones.
Financial Times launches HTML5 web app
The Financial Times is turning towards HTML5 for its upcoming application (technically, a web app), in contrast to its older native iOS app. FT was not happy with the new subscription model offered by Apple, and was working with Apple to keep the revenue and demographic information from its 590,000 website subscribers. These negotiations must have been rocky as the Financial Times is now releasing a web-based application instead of a platform-specific application. The UK-based business newspaper is looking to HTML5 to deliver its content to multiple platforms using a single app instead of multiple apps. Mobile chief Steve Pinches points to the convenience of developing one application using a single development environment. Though it may be easier to deploy and make changes, the Financial Times faces the challenge of teaching people how to set up a homescreen shortcut to the app and how to use an app that runs in a web browser. Initial responses from our readers to the new FT web app are mixed (slow loading and poor responsiveness are the primary complaints).
Financial Times gives iPad bonuses to staff
The Financial Times (FT), that UK-based financial newspaper printed on distinctive salmon-colored paper, is serious about the future of media on tablets like the iPad. FT launched a free iPad app back in May that has been an success story for the paper, with 400,000 subscribers paying for full content as of October, 2010. iPad users are accounting for 10% of new digital subscriptions, and the FT has pulled in over £1 million in ad revenues since the launch.The FT app received one of the prestigious Apple Design Awards at WWDC 2010. Just to show how serious the FT is about the iPad and the future of digital media, FT Group CEO John RIdding today announced that all 1,800 staff members will receive a £300 / US$480 rebate against the purchase of an iPad or similar other tablet. That adds up to a bill of about £540,000 or $864,000 for the company. What's the reason for the bonus, which will be active through June 30, 2011? Ridding said that it's partly because as a reward for the strong performance of the organization over the last year, and that the company wants to "encourage all our staff to be expert and experienced in using..." tablets. That's not all, though. The FT is also offering a series of master classes and workshops designed to help employees get the most from their use of the iPad. It's a fascinating announcement, and we wonder if other media giants embracing the iPad will follow suit. [via paidContent.UK] Correction from the Financial Times: There have been over 400,000 downloads of the iPad application since launch, driving 10 percent of digital subscriptions. FT digital subscribers reached 189,022 as of October, up 50% since the beginning of the year.
FT subsidizes employee iPads, wants them to keep up with the times
You know tablets have officially become a mainstream craze when even the reserved, serious types over at the Financial Times start splashing subsidies around to stimulate their ownership. We've just heard that a $480 purse of gold coins will be extended to any FT workers who decide to purchase an iPad or another tablet between now and the end of June 2011, reportedly in an effort to help the paper's staff become "expert and experienced in using them." We already knew the FT, which happens to have its own iPad and Galaxy Tab apps, saw slate devices as an important piece of the puzzle that is our future, and this move cements that attitude in place. Paper's dead, long live electronics-filled plastic.
News publishers looking to the Galaxy Tab and BlackBerry PlayBook for refuge as well
In case you were worried that it was just Apple love that got major news outlets on the iPad so quickly, you should know that the general sense of desperation (or is it their never ending sense of adventure?) pervading the likes of the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today has them building apps for the Galaxy Tab as well. The news comes courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, and has yet to be announced officially by the parties involved -- though we have a hard time doubting any of it. It makes sense, of course: the big cost is producing content for a tablet form factor, not building the reader app, and the Galaxy Tab naturally won't be the last of its Android kind. The WSJ and The Financial Times are also apparently some possible gets for RIM's PlayBook, though less is known about those deals. On the Tab, The New York Times is supposed to be pre-loaded with some carrier's versions of the device, and its app will be free until January of next year when The Times starts charging for its website.
YouTube courting Hollywood for pay-per-view movie service by end of 2010, says Financial Times
For all the stupid pet tricks, first-person confessionals, and clips from Conan O'Brien's formative years that form YouTube's content, the one territory it doesn't really venture is pay-per-view à la Apple, Amazon, and others. Well, it'll be a Brave New World for the service -- and parent company Google -- if this Financial Times report is worth its weight in 3mm. According to the publication, the G-Men have been in talks with "Hollywood's leading movie studios" for several months, touting its reach as one of the main draws for the players involved, for the launch of an international pay-per-view service by the end of this year. Some prices are also thrown around here, to the tune of about $5 for new titles (streaming, not download) available the same time as the DVD releases. The video site has been doing rentals on a trial basis since early this year, with just a smattering of indie titles. The thought of paying to watch Blockbuster titles in the same window we watched three dozen (if not more) remixes of Keyboard Cat is still a bit of a new concept, but hey, that's the future for you.
Murdoch reveals News Corp iPad app sales numbers at D8
Steve Jobs wasn't the only CEO on stage at the D8 conference this week -- Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, also took the stage this week, and shared some sales figures for his company's iPad news apps. The Financial Times' app is the biggest winner, with 130,000 downloads, although that number is probably so high because the app itself is free. The Guardian Photography app (not part of News Corp, but still a print publication), also free with a sponsorship, has 90,000 downloads, and the Wall Street Journal app (free to subscribers) has 10,000 downloads. Internationally, the numbers are a little lower, though the iPad only went on sale overseas last week. The Times iPad edition has only sold 5,000 copies, and The Australian's app has sold 4,500. Murdoch is just as optimistic about Steve Jobs, though, in believing that where there are iPads, people will want material to read on them. "After all," he told the crowd, "what's an iPod without music? A high-definition television without popular shows? An e-reader without news or books?" And he's got a point, but the question will be if there are enough iPad owners out there who are willing to pay for content for print publishers to make their business profitable again.
Google to employees: 'Mac or Linux, but no more Windows'
We first heard rumors of this policy change a couple of months ago, but now it's made the papers: the Financial Times is reporting that Google is phasing out the use of Windows internally, as employees are migrated to either Linux or Mac OS X on machine turnovers or new hires. The policy change was precipitated in large part by the security breach attributed to Chinese hackers; Google's IT leaders apparently feel that Microsoft's OS represents too great a risk across the enterprise to leave it in place. The story says that in January, subsequent to the security breaches, Windows installations on desktop computers were no longer allowed, although laptops were still eligible for Windows at the employee's discretion. Many Google staffers, however, were already heading for the Mac as a security measure, and at this point things have been pretty well laid down in stone: "Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval," according to one anonymous Googler quoted by the FT. Google has long offered employees a choice of OS for their primary workstation, and some dissatisfaction with the new rules has been registered; however, the sentiment is apparently not that negative, considering the alternative possibilities. "It would have made more people upset if they banned Macs rather than Windows," says an unnamed employee. No doubt. Business Insider suggests that Google's infrastructure represents about 20,000 Windows licenses that now will not be renewed or upgraded. Of course, the existing Wintel hardware will run Ubuntu Linux or the company's upcoming Chrome OS, but adding Mac OS X to the mix will mean purchasing Mac hardware. Maybe that's what the Steve-Eric Coffee Summit was about: truckloads of MacBook Pros heading for the Googleplex. (As one commenter suggests below, this also means that malware developers may have new reason to focus their efforts on Mac OS X. Every silver lining has a cloud.) [Hat tip to the Download Squad team]
Sony to debut 3D BRAVIA TVs by end of 2010, also eyeing 3D VAIOs, Blu-ray films, and PS3 games?
The Financial Times has it on good word what the major unveil in Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer's keynote tomorrow at IFA 2009 will, so much so that it's quoting him with phrases he hasn't even said yet. According to the report, the company is making a huge push into the third dimension, with 3D BRAVIA HDTVs hitting the retail channels by the end of 2010. Also on the menu is 3D-compatible PlayStation 3 titles (which we've kind of heard before), VAIO laptops, and Blu-ray movies, but it's unclear from the article if they shares the same 2010 timeline. Polarized glasses will be required for use, but hey, just consider it a fashion statement. We're now very anxious to see how close Sir Stringer sticks to this purported script for tomorrow's big event.
Rumor: Apple to offer iTunes subscription model
According to the Financial Times, Apple is (still) considering an "all-you-can-eat" subscription model, which is strange, because why would anyone want to eat digital music? They must mean "listen." Yes, as speculated before (in order to figure out what Jobs will be doing in a year, just listen to what he says he won't do now, apparently), Apple might come up with a plan where you would pay either a monthly fee or a lifetime subscription to download music from iTunes presumably straight into your iPod or iPhone. Supposedly what's holding the deal up isn't the price negotiation between consumers and Apple, it's between Apple and the record companies. Nokia, which is planning a similar deal, is reportedly happy to pay $80 per device to the music companies for the rights, but Apple is only offering $20.Which makes sense -- Apple is the 800 lb. gorilla in the media device market, and so they have the ability in most cases to pay what they want or not bother. If the two sides do come to a deal, however, even the terms of property are still up in the air. A few ideas being bounced around would let consumers keep a certain number of songs even if they changed devices, while some deals would only allow access while the subscription was active.What this may mean for us as consumers, at least, would be that Apple is planning to bring the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store to even more devices in the iPod line (or at least expand the capacity of the iPod touch to hold a subscription collection like this). If Apple really is planning to open up their library to a subscription, they should make it as easy as possible to obtain the music on demand.
Paramount following Warner out the HD DVD door?
The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is preparing to use a get out clause in its HD DVD exclusivity deal, and go back to Blu-ray, about 4 months after ending its dual-format release schedule. The move would be a result of Warner's switch to Blu-ray, using a "get out" clause in Paramount's promotional agreement with the HD DVD camp. No details on what it might take to rip up the contract and make Michael Bay very, very happy, but if the rumor proves true this could make the slow death he predicted for HD DVD a very, very fast one.
Apple video rental service coming in autumn?
Apple is back in the news this morning with more salacious tattle. This time, it's none other than the lady in pink herself -- London's Financial Times -- wagging her tongue about a supposed video rental service due out this autumn from Apple. One studio exec is quoted by the FT as saying that the service would "compete against cable companies and anyone else offering VOD into the home." The $2.99 downloads would be viewable for 30 days and playable on at least one other device like an iPod or iPhone. No mention of AT&T's involvement with the service. Nevertheless, we were already wondering what we'd do with all the capacity on Apple's recently updated, 160GB Apple TV. Maybe, just maybe, we'll hear a little somethin' somethin' about this during Steve-o's keynote later on today. Stay tuned, as they say.[Via MacRumors]
Sony considers incentives for commercial PS3 use
Tired of wasting all those idle PS3 clock cycles curing diseases for the benefit of all humanity? Wish you could sell off your extra processing power for prizes and free stuff instead? Sony knows how you feel, and is reportedly looking into a program that would let you do just that.Sony Computer Entertainment CTO Masa Chatani told the Financial Times that they are in discussions with a number of companies interested in using the parallel processing power of the PS3 network for their own research. Chatani realizes users might be hesitant to simply loan out use of their $600 living room computer to a commercial enterprise, so the company is considering offering incentives such as free products to users who would aid in such research.This sounds like a win-win-win situation to us: Sony gets a new revenue stream; small companies get their research done relatively cheaply; and PS3 owners get free stuff. Of course, every PS3 running one of these commercial projects is one less project running the potentially life-saving Folding@Home. OK, so maybe it's win-win-win-lose. Still, three out of four ain't bad.
