Philadelphia Media Network Shows Off Inquirer & Daily News Android Tablet
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The publisher of the Inquirer and Daily News hope to attract new subscribers who aren't used to having ink-stained fingers every morning.
The papers are targeting what they call the "next-generation" of information consumers -- those who'd rather touch, swipe, and pinch-to-zoom than turn-and-fold:
(Osberg:) "It's the first Android tablet bundled with regionally-focused digital content."
Philadelphia Media Network CEO Greg Osberg says it comes pre-loaded with the Inky and Daily News laid out as they would be on newsprint -- and presented in specialized app form for more interaction.
The devices go on sale on Tuesday, and Osberg is making a bold prediction:
"There are 5000 tablets that will be available. We fully expect the tablets to be sold within the first week."
For $99 down and $10 a month, you can get the ARNOVA 10 G2 WiFi-enabled 10-inch tablet with a digital subscription for two years -- a "deep discount," the publisher says, in part because other local companies' apps will be there when you switch on the screen.
A one-year subscription is priced at $12.99 a month, with the tablet sold at $129.
The device runs on Android Gingerbread, has a 1 GHz, single-core processor, a USB port, expandable memory, and is Flash-enabled. By point of comparison with the iPad, the ARNOVA weighs less and has a larger, more rectangular display, but the processor's a bit slower, and the tablet only a front-facing camera.
(Osberg:) "You can surf the web, you can watch your favorite videos, you can listen to your favorite music, you can manage your email, and you can do just about everything available in the tablet marketplace."
Workers will be showing off the touchscreens in Center City, including along Walnut Street -- which happens to be where the Apple store is located. They're also available at phillytablet.com.
Reported by Ian Bush, KYW Newsradio
