Online Journalism News

Independent launches new mobile site

The Independent has launched a new mobile site with the aim of offering a 'faster, simplified version of its news for users on the move,' it was announced on its main website this week.

The site, built by Bluestar Mobile, should be accessible on all 'major' handheld web browsers. 

"The growth of the internet has invoked an enormous change in the world of publishing and now the ubiquity of mobile devices and the evolution of the commercial model surrounding them has finally made the medium a viable one for publishers," Bill Swanson, managing director of digital at the Independent said in the announcement.

"This gives us an excellent opportunity to give users the top quality content they expect from the Independent in a format they can access on the move. We want to put our journalism in front of as wide an audience as possible, and this is a great step in that direction," added Jimmy Leach, editorial director for digital.

The Independent joins the other quality newspapers with mobile sites: including the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Times. Bluestar Mobile, which is part of YOC, also provided services for other newspaper clients include the Sun, the Guardian, the Mirror and the Times.

The Independent hopes to find new revenue opportunities via the facility, it said. At the end of June it was reported that Independent News & Media shares had fallen 20 per cent, after it said it was considering a discounted rights issue to raise money to pay some of its €200m (£169m) bond [source: Guardian/BBC].

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