tablet

News Byte

Paid Newspaper Aggregator Ongo Shuts Down

Peter Kafka in Media on May 8 at 1:12 pm PT

Ongo, a newspaper-backed startup that tried to sell digital subscriptions to a variety of publications, is shuttering after less than two years. The New York Times, the Washington Post and Gannett each put a reported $4 million into the company, but it never got traction with subscribers. Nieman Journalism Lab has a good exit interview with CEO Dan Haarmann, who blames Apple’s subscription policy, among other factors, for the company’s failure.

News Byte

I’ll Take “PC Disruptors” for $500, Alex. (What Is “a Tablet”?)

Lauren Goode in Mobile on April 11 at 8:37 am PT

More evidence pointing toward tablets disrupting the PC industry: According to a new Forrester Research survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults, 35 percent of tablet owners say they use their laptops less frequently since getting a tablet, while 45 percent have no plans to buy an e-reader now that they own a tablet. The television set is faring better, however, with just 12 percent of those surveyed saying they use their TV less frequently since getting a tablet; likely because 85 percent of tablet owners cop to using their tablets while watching TV.

News Byte

Office-for-iPad App CloudOn Adds Box, DropBox and More

Lauren Goode in News on April 10 at 9:30 am PT

CloudOn, a free application that has partnered with Microsoft to bring Office applications to the iPad, is rolling out a new version of its app that adds Box, DropBox and Adobe Reader. Users can now log in to their existing cloud-storage accounts and view and update files directly from CloudOn. The app first launched in January, and says it has seen close to a million downloads. A competing app, OnLive, also offers iPad users access to Microsoft Office, but has come under fire from Microsoft for allegedly violating licensing terms.

News Byte

20 Percent of Americans Say They’re Reading eBooks

Peter Kafka in Media on April 4 at 7:00 pm PT

One in five Americans say they’ve read an e-book in the last year, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Those numbers come from a late-January survey, they’re up sharply from a December 2011 survey. Pew says the jump coincides with a jump in e-reading devices: Ownership of dedicated e-reader devices like the Kindle and the Nook went from 10 percent in December to 19 percent in January, and ownership of tablets like iPads and Kindle Fires made the same leap.