NewspaperDirect teamed up with Microsoft to bring content to the new category of Ultra Mobile PCs (see Dateline, May 1, 2006). The project, formerly dubbed Origami, will allow NewspaperDirect’s publishing partners to bring content to the super-compact devices, which boast 7-inch screens, are lightweight and offer users access to e-mail, Internet, music, etc. through Windows XP Tablet PC software.

“Our publishing partners will be at the very forefront of a real-time content delivery revolution that is bound to accelerate rapidly with this mobile technology,” said NewspaperDirect Chief Executive Officer Alex Kroogman.



Digital edition of the New York Post displayed on an ultra mobile PC via NewspaperDirect’s PressReader app.
Photo: NewspaperDirect
 

NewspaperDirect works with some 300 newspaper publishers and Kroogman said he expects that number to quickly grow.

“At present most of the world’s largest publishers work with us - we now want to reach many more newspapers at the regional and local levels,” he said.

NewspaperDirect’s PressReader software lets readers download and store issues of the favorite newspaper titles on a UMPC device.

Meantime, NewspaperDirect released its newest version of PressDiplay.com, which provides exact newspaper replicas online. The latest version lets readers decide which newspapers, articles and reporters are the most interesting, ranked by the amount of time they spend reading them. First-time visitors to PressDiplay.com can access a free seven-day trial.