We’re very pleased to announce that Malaysia’s largest tabloid, The Star, has officially launched its ePaper solution powered by NewspaperDirect’s SmartEdition Technology. The launch  kicks off an exciting 3 days for NewspaperDirect at this year’s WAN-IFRA Publish Asia Conference in Bali, Indonesia, providing Star readers with instant access to their favorite publication across a wide range of platforms and devices.

Expanding the distribution of Malaysia’s favorite English newspaper to reach readers across a complete range of channels and devices is the surest way to engage with tomorrow’s readers and provide today’s subscribers with a wide range of options, said Alex Kroogman, CEO of NewspaperDirect. “The Star is setting a benchmark to which other publishers should aspire.

The new, digital replica editions deliver 100 percent of the content from the printed publication, including the Main Paper, StarBiz, Star2, and Star Metro. The Star ePaper gives subscribers two new ways to read the paper: online via the Web or downloaded to a PC, smartphone (iPhone and Android), or tablet (iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab). Advanced digital features of the Star ePaper include:

•     Instant switching between Replica/Page View and Article View
•     Engaging, cover-to-cover reading by simply swiping from page to page
•     Share stories on Facebook and Twitter or via e-mail
•     A “Listen” option to hear articles read aloud
•     Convenient zooming of text and enlargement of articles and photos

Smartphones and tablets provide a fantastic growth opportunity for The Star by enabling us to give our readers the content they want, the way they want it, where they want it, said Wong Siah Ping, chief operating officer, digital business. We chose NewspaperDirect as our partner as they have the technology and worldwide distribution channels to reach our existing and new mobile subscribers, wherever they are.

Cheers,

Michael