All The News Fit For Bits: Times Tests Digital Reader, Makes Desktops Look Like Print

Like the rest of the newspaper industry, the nation's third largest publisher, The New York Times Co., is facing some major changes, as its industry is restructured financially and technologically. The Times Co. has been weighing the sale of major assets that would focus its core business around print and digital publishing, and on Wednesday it became the subject of a news story of its own: a potential takeover by private investor Maurice Greenberg. But beginning today, its flagship newspaper will introduce a new electronic reader that may help the paper accelerate the transition from print to digital publishing.

The new reader, the Times claims, will deliver a more seamless, intuitive experience than previous digital or online editions have rendered before. The reader is a downloadable application compatible with Microsoft Vista and Windows XP that makes the entire newspaper available for browsing in a format similar to the print edition.

Once the reader is downloaded, the computer will automatically sync up to download the latest edition of the paper. It can be browsed even when the computer isn't online. Updates are also automatically provided during periodic sync-ups.

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Stories appear in columns and blocks sized to fit on a computer screen for readability. Readers can resize the text, choose different fonts, highlight key parts and make notes on the content at the bottom of each page. A search function allows users to find content by keywords. Or they can navigate through multiple stories using arrow directional keys on their keyboard. On a tablet PC, they can scroll from article to article using the joystick or touch-screen functions. The articles are also "printer ready."

In the new beta reader, the newspaper's print ads are swapped out and replaced with larger online versions to give them more prominence. Each Times page has only one ad, which is located above the fold. The new format has already attracted advertisers, including AT&T, Columbia University and Tourneau. Interestingly, the ads in the reader format are dynamic, allowing users to click-through to landing pages that contain more information even when the user isn't online.

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