NEW DELHI: Qiosk.com, a virtual online newsstand, has signed on
major Indian titles such as Stardust and g for its launch in Asia and
the US.
The company's subsidiary, QMags.com, allows publishers to distribute
their titles over the internet just as they appear in print, with the
added benefit of its 'page-turning' technology.
The online publications are presented in colour and feature the same
content and advertisers as the print versions.
According to Qiosk.com chairman Daniel M. Schwartz, the site offers
Asian titles such as Outlook, Intelligent Investor, Savvy CookBook and
Chitralekha Marathi, as well as Stardust International and g.
Although there is still a strong preference for ink-on-paper to reading
articles on screen, Schwartz said a generation of readers was coming of
age, who have either no preference or prefer e-media.
"The launch follows testing that involved 15 American publications. We
found that people are not only willing to receive publications over the
internet, but are also willing to pay for them. From our tests we found
31 per cent of readers have an equal preference to reading journals
online and in print. We don't think this new format will be detrimental
to advertisers, as it will offer them another channel," said
Schwartz.
Subscribers can use Adobe Reader to view the magazine. All headlines on
the table of contents and the cover serve as hyperlinks to stories.
Similarly, advertisers' logos link to websites for companies and
products.
"For advertisers, there are changes to the geometry of how you produce
an ad. But there are more opportunities because you can feature audio
and video content on each ad, which can also be hyperlinked to an
advertiser's website," said Schwartz.
He added that publishers would be allowed to decide how much to charge
for a Qmags subscription. Stardust will cost less than a subscription to
the print magazine in India. The company also offers publishers the
option to decide whether they want to sell individual articles through
QMags and how they will handle matters like electronic copyrights to
stories and photographs.
The cost of processing each magazine into a downloadable format - the
equivalent of pre-press processing - and transmitting it over the
internet would be passed along to publishers.
"We found US publishers to be more conservative than those in Asia. The
Indian market is very difficult to crack, but in general, Asian
publishers quickly see the strategic and financial advantages of
delivering via Qmags," said Schwartz.
He said Qmags, which has an advisory board that includes former top
executives from Time Inc, Hearst, McGrawHill and Newsweek, would
generate revenue by charging publishers a fee for each copy or
subscription sold. US titles can be found at www.qmags.com and Asian
titles at www.intl.qmags.com.
