The Economist
The Babbage Blog on Economist.com examines the business of selling news via mobile apps and points out some of the advantages publishers feel they have in this new tablet economy.
“An app makes your product stand out as a distinct object instead of just another point in the seamless geography of the web. It’s more flexible in its design. It lets you control more closely what users see and when; they can’t download plugins to block ads or pop-ups. Apps are more exclusive: on Apple devices, though not Android ones, there is the ‘walled garden’, meaning that apps appear only if Apple approves them. On the web, anyone can put up a site.”
The blog post also highlights the potential newfound power of apps (Wired, Time) to allow publishers to charge for content, though it may be too early in the game to judge that attempt a success.
>Growth in mobile applications: Apps and downs (The Economist)
