The New York Times has internally developed, in collaboration with Palm, an application for the new smart phone called the Pre.
The application launches in Beta today and is free at the Pre app site which is called the App Catalog.
Sections and articles with photos are available, the tool bar disappears to give maximum canvas for content, and the ad unit is on a fixed position at the top.
It is one of the first implementations by a news organization. There are reports that the AP has a Pre app.
Walt Mossberg said during this appearance on Fox Business on Thursday that there are only a dozen or so apps in the Pre store right now, which he calls a major drawback to the appeal of the new device that he likes. I have linked the video above.
PC World writes that the available apps for the new device are "sparse," but well organized.
Ginny Miles atMobile is becoming a fast expanding platform for news providers. Recent analysts reports find that of the 40 million mobile users in the United States who access the Internet, nearly half of those users access news sites regularly.
Mobile users want news, and having The New York Times will certainly be attractive as Palm seeks buyers for the new phone.
David Carr, New York Times media columnist, told me on Tuesday, "news is the killer app." Palm surely would like this to be the case.
Below is a video demo and review of the Pre by Bonnie Cha at CNET:
Andy Plesser, Executive Producer
