The Boston Globe launched on Tuesday a digital replica of its daily newspaper, “The Boston Globe ePaper,” available both from its subscription-based website and as a standalone app on the iPad and iPhone.
The goal is to provide readers with a more interactive and comprehensive version of New England’s largest daily newspaper, including offline reading and audio versions of the stories.
“The Boston Globe ePaper allows us to put the actual newspaper into the hands of readers who prefer the print version of the Globe, but may be traveling, or live outside of our delivery area, or perhaps just prefer to read their newspaper on a tablet,” Christopher M. Mayer, publisher of The Boston Globe, said in a statement.
News organizations have transferred their print editions to the digital space in varied forms. Of particular interest is the tablet, which many see as the ideal digital reading platform.
Some companies have built brand new apps or modified the paper for its digital version. Hearst Magazines refers to many of its tablet editions as "enhanced" because of the interactive features. Others have opted for this type of digital replica, though the Globe would point out that there are enhancements that make the ePaper more than just an replica of its print counterpart.
One can save articles for offline reading, click on phone numbers or URLs in advertisements and select an audio version of the stories.
Yet like a newspaper, it becomes available at 5 a.m. and features the stories and advertisements in the same layout. The app versions are available in the Apple Newsstand.
“BostonGlobe.com is already optimized for the iPad, but this app gives users another choice – to download and navigate the entire daily newspaper in an application designed for that purpose," Jeff Moriarty, the Globe's VP of digital products, said in a statement.
The Globe has invested more on the digital side in the past several months, launching BostonGlobe.com, a subscription-based site, last September.
Per the New York Times Company's last earnings report — the Times owns the Globe — the new website attracted 16,000 subscribers as of the end of 2011.
