In the conversion of newspapers and magazines from their original format to tablets, publishers have been picking between launching costly, fully-interactive apps designed for the devices and cheaper, less engaging replicas of original products.
Now some in-roads being made by the U.K.’s Daily Mail point toward a middle way.
The paper, which already has both kinds of app on several tablets, has now launched Mail Plus, a version for Kindle Fire (s amzn) and Kindle Fire HD that includes enhancements such as video, 360-degree panoramic photos, a 200-channel TV and radio guide and a standalone sports section.
There are even five-minute cooking demonstration videos and the Daily Mail promises embedded ecommerce functionality — not the sort of thing we usually expect from either Kindle or from a newspaper-like product.
The Daily Mail already publishes a standard replica for standard Kindle ereaders. But Mail Plus, for Kindle’s Android-based fuller tablet computer, will also arrive on dedicated Android tablets via Google Play Store around Christmas time.
The publisher is pitching the edition as offering enhanced advertising opportunities through classical display ads.