If you are into digital newspapers you are likely familiar with PressReader. The company has over 3,000 newspapers in over 80 different countries and has dedicated reading apps for iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Blackberry. The apps have always simply been known as PressReader and today the company is undergoing a rebranding campaign to gravitate away from Newspaper Direct and simply be known as PressReader.
PressReader is mainly known on the consumer level by offering a monthly subscription to read all of the newspapers you want. If a subscription isn’t your thing it is quite easy to just buy them on a singular basis. PressReaders success can be attributed to preserving the traditional printed newspaper experience in digital format. You have your Sunday funnies, crosswords, obituaries, localized adverts, and trading corner. Many people find its easier to gravitate towards the digital medium that mirrors print. This is PressReader’s core strength: not to simply give you a PDF, but to add its own twists to each issue. Users have the ability to augment text sizes, comment on articles, Tweet, or just strip away all of the CSS elements to give you raw text, which is easier on the eyes on smaller screen devices.
One feature about the app that many people are really digging is called “smartflow.” It basically allows you to endlessly scroll from article to article by simply using the standard page turn mechanism. Â When you are done reading an article the next one is immediately visible and often starts as the one you are currently reading is done. Â Most newspapers only show you the article you clicked on and then forces you to exit the story and pick a new one out.
PressReader continues to focus on the average end users that are hungry for news, but has been quite aggressive about getting their content distribution system into hotels, cruise ships and airlines. In recent weeks they signed a deal with Trump Hotels to have newspapers available to their guests on any device they have. They also got River Cruises to give customers a chance to read their local paper when trailblazing all over Europe.
The name change makes sense, the vast majority of iOS, Android and Blackberry users have always thought their name was PressReader anyways, because its the name of their flagship app. They have updated their main corporate website and it actually looks fairly slick with HTML5 and CSS3 elements. Their entire fleet of apps will be similarly updated in Q1 2013 and will give readers a better experience.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.