MEDIA-I: Qiosk signs on Indian titles for Asia launch

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