Hi everyone,

As you know by now, our first “Win an iPad2″ contest ended last month. First off, I’d like to send a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to our winners from Facebook and Twitter. Enjoy those new iPad2s+PressReader!!!

We loved interacting with our fans throughout the contest, and we hope you had as much fun participating in the contest as we did. I’ve had an especially great time getting to know all you fans and followers throughout my short summer internship here at NewspaperDirect. Thank you for posting, tweeting, sharing, and getting the word out every day! Your poems, pictures, and constant creativity have made the contest so much fun!  In fact, we enjoyed your creative contributions so much, we decided to share the highlights with everyone. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

And don’t worry, this contest may be over, but our next contest is just around the corner. The PressDisplay folks are coming up with all kinds of challenges for you to solve, giving you multiple chances to win a new iPad2 + PressReader.

As for Kate the Intern, my summer schtick here has come to an end, and I have to say, I’m so sad to go! Thanks for keeping it fun and fresh all summer long, and I’m sure we’ll meet in the social media land again!

Keep In Touch!

Kate

Last week, the New York Times joined the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times in confirming something we’ve been preaching for a long time – people are still willing to pay a premium for high-quality news content! We were so excited to read this article from the Columbia Journalism Review, we just had to share it with our readers.

One quarter after establishing their metered paywall, the NYT saw its revenues go up for the first time in twelve quarters! They’ve discovered that up to 15% of their online audience are actually heavy users that are willing to pay for content.Additionally, their new digital deal has encouraged those wavering on renewing their subscriptions to move forward, seeing the value for their money.

If that’s not encouraging enough, the paywall also helped the newspaper’s ad revenues. Contrary to the public opinion that a paywall would slash digital ad revenues, digital advertising actually increased by 16%! Advertisers see the potential with this paywall, as these paid digital subscribers become sort of a premium class of customers whose reading habits they can analyze, which supports targeting and garners higher ad prices.

BCG did a study last year and discovered that large numbers users world-wide were in fact willing to pay for news content, and that the impact on a newspaper’s margins are significant. You can read more on their February 2009 study here.

Our publishers have long known the benefits in choosing a strong technology partner. They focus on doing what they do best – generating quality content, and they let us do what we do best – giving their subscribers what they want, wherever they want it, in print, online or on their mobile device/tablet of choice!

Here at NewspaperDirect, we’re feeling fantastic impacts as well.  With new tablets hitting the market, such as the iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and BlackBerry Playbook, more people than ever are discovering PressDisplay.com and its companion application PressReader and the great value they offer to readers.

It’s exciting to see that people are re-igniting their love of newspapers, and it gives us great pleasure to offer them access to all their favorite publications. As one loyal fan from Australia raves:

“Mighty impressed with PressReader App. For someone who enjoys reading quality newspapers it is pigs’ heaven! $1 a day for unlimited reading.” Neil, Australia

We’re thrilled that the word is spreading on what we’ve known all along, that newspapers aren’t dead and that people are willing to pay for quality news content. With a great app like PressReader, which can give users unlimited access to all their favorite publications worldwide, staying up to date with the news most relevant to you is easier and more convenient than ever!

Cheers!

-Kate

Hey PressReader fans!

Our developers have just added a new feature to your favorite app, and we want to know what you think of it.

Just released for iOS devices, we’re introducing a  feature we’re calling “Newspaper Radio” — a new text-to-speech reading capability similar to many other on-screen text-reading tools for the visually impaired. Newspaper Radio lets you enjoy  your newspaper when safety or other reasons make it difficult for you to be looking at your device all the time!

Like our new fan and 40tech reviewer Bobby Travis pointed out:

“ Your newspaper story can be read to you, keeping your hands and eyes free for more important things — like not killing yourself while driving. I’ve seen more than one moron on the road that was reading a newspaper while in motion — and I’ve called the cops on the idiots, too”  

You can read his full review here. 

Much like Windows Eyez, Open Book, and other on-screen, text-reading tools designed for people with disabilities, our new feature allows anyone and everyone to enjoy their favorite publications, wherever they are, no matter what else they are doing. So, whether you’re driving to work, cooking up a feast for dinner, cycling, suntanning on the beach, hiking in the mountains or even exercising, you can catch up on the news through most of your favorite publications that you purchased and downloaded through PressReader.

Newspaper Radio doesn’t just read an article out loud. When you access one of your purchased downloads, you can now also:

• Listen to your newspaper as its downloading
• Jump from article to article at the *swipe* of a finger side to side
• Jump from section to section at the *swipe* of a finger up and down or through the table of contents
• Instant pause and play with the touch of a finger
• Like/Not Like an article while listening to it

We’ll be releasing this feature on all the platforms soon enough, but we want to get your thoughts on it first on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Check out the video below and let us know what you think:

Useful? Coolest thing you’ve ever seen? Let us know your thoughts so we can make you’re your favorite app even better for YOU, our loyal fans.

 

Hey PressReader fans!

You know how much you love PressReader – and how great it would be to win your very own FREE! iPad2. PressDisplay fan @AshleaJade shared her excitement with us on Twitter by coming up with a rockin’ rhyme:

To win would be a dream come true,

An ipad from PressDisplay,

To share with all my family,

For use in every day.

To teach my daughter brand new words,

From apps I hear are great,

To use as an alarm clock to,

Ensure I’m never late!

To show my son where countries are,

New places he could go,

To teach him why the stars shine bright,

And how the flowers grow.

To read a book, or play a game,

Or watch a film that’s funny.

To use in when it’s raining out,

Or take out when it’s sunny!

To take with me to hospital,

So I don’t feel down or bored,

I’d even plug my earphones in,

So I didn’t hear others snore!

To lend my man, so he doesn’t talk,

Through the programmes that I like.

To find out where to go to eat,

Or where to buy a bike.

PressDisplay, if you chose me,

To win your amazing prize,

You’d see me smile from ear to ear,

And a sparkle in my eyes!

Thanks Ashlea! To read even more of the creative creations and poppin’ poems that our followers have concocted, go to our Testimonials page and check out Contests!

 

Now, we want to hear what else our fantastic fans have up their sleeves! Why not share how you feel about PressReader with all your friends and followers while letting your creative colors shine?

 

Write a poem, a song, or come up with a cool image or video and share with us and all your friends/followers. It will help get us to those key milestones faster, which means faster delivery of iPad2s to lucky followers and fans.

 

We still have 16 more iPad2s to give away, along with year-long Personal subscriptions to PressReader and PressDisplay.com. So show PressDisplay your funky side and share your work and our contest with your friends, family, and colleagues and/or follow us on Twitter! You could be our next winner – and an artiste in the making!

The next drawing will be held once we reach 4,000 Facebook “Likes” and 6,000 Twitter followers. Help us get there fast!

 

For complete contest rules and entry requirements, please click here.