According to a study by GfK MRI, about 5.9 million U.S. adults own an e-reader. This is up from 2.1 million the firm tallied during the March to October period of 2009, when it first started measuring usage of the devices.

The gap between male and female owners has closed as well. During the 2009 measurement period, 56 percent of e-reader owners...more

The Nielsen Company recently released a survey that attempts to measure how people are using their mobile devices—smartphones, Kindles, iPads, etc.—along with the kinds of content consumed and interaction with advertising. While the study is a frank reminder of how small the tablet market still is, interactivity-based metrics are promising.

With all the hype surrounding the iPad platform and its potential for traditional media companies, the study, which polled...more

SRDS is expanding its online repository of advertising rate and contact information for media companies to include data on tablet applications. Launching November 1, the Tablet Media Library will allow media industry planners and buyers to access ad rates and other info for more than 160 tablet media properties—from consumer and b-to-b magazine companies, as well as newspaper publishers—that carry advertising.

“Advertisers are excited about the opportunities that have emerged with...more

AARP has launched its first series of mobile products, including an app for the iPhone and iPod touch that enables members to carry a digital version of their membership card, allowing them easier access to member benefits, activities and programs. The rollout also includes three new publication apps developed with digital versions of AARP The Magazine, AARP Bulletin and AARP VIVA now available for the iPad, iPhone and iTouch.

The publication...more

Bonnier Title Goes Digital

TransWorld SNOWboarding, published by Bonnier Corp., has launched its app for the iPad, called TransWorld SNOWboarding+.

“In launching TransWorld SNOWboarding+, we set out to present our readers with a completely new multimedia experience platform that would complement our existing print and online properties rather than just re-creating one or the other,” publisher Adam Cozens says. “This new platform was...more

Some have referred to the current marketplace as the ‘golden age’ of online advertising, with the advent of 3G technology and the iPad craze. But the publishing industry seems to be missing out on at least part of what could be a $50 billion ad spend. Time spent with print media accounts for 12 percent of users’ consumption and 26 percent of ad dollars...more

The iPad is a game changer and the release of other tablets in the future will continue to advance digital publishing. But it remains early days (a recent FOLIO: blog quoted editors of The New Yorker as saying "writing for the iPad is like producing TV after WWII") and the "traditional" digital edition can still provide significant value, provided the publisher buys into the format. "Even working with the...more

Good news for the magazine industry: Apple is developing a digital newsstand that would allow publishers to sell magazines across the iPad and possibly other Apple devices. The focus will be on subscriptions rather than single copies. A storefront could be available within the next few months, and reports say Apple is also developing software to create digital editions as well as rich media such as high definition video.

The bad...more

iPad Owners Most Receptive to Advertising

According to the Nielsen Company’s new “Connected Devices Playbook” survey, 65 percent of iPad owners are aged 35 or younger. The same percentage of users also indicated they are male.

Other findings indicate that 44 percent of Kindle owners make more than $80,000 per year, compared to only 39 percent of iPad owners and 37 percent...more

As publishers become more comfortable with the iPad apps and other mobile apps, managing distribution and back-end metrics are the next critical steps. While Apple brokers the transaction with native iPad apps, the developer still has to build the infrastructure, which includes managing IT and server infrastructure, negotiating for bandwidth and updating content.

For its iPad app, Newsweek has tapped Urban Airship,...more

Think avid sock knitters aren’t using the Internet? Think again.

Enthusiast crafts publisher Interweave is launching Sockupied, its second digital edition designed specifically to be viewed on a computer. The first, Quilting Arts in Stitches, launched earlier this summer. Interweave says sock knitting, believe it or not, is one of the company’s fastest-growing interest areas among its core knitting audience.

According to book author and Sockupied editor Anne...more

New Yorker’s Digital Edition Gets an Optimized for iPad

Condé Nast’s The New Yorker has made a change that will allows iPad users to access to the magazine’s archive online.

Until recently, the magazine’s digital edition has not been compatible with the Safari browser, which is supported by the Apple iPad. But the magazine has reportedly updated the digital edition to automatically recognize users coming in from...more