iPad users prefer device for reading print titles, poll suggests

iPad users prefer the platform over all others for reading print titles, the findings of a poll by copywriters Cooper Murphy Webb suggest.

The survey of more than 1000 users of the device is likely to be welcome reading for the many newspaper publishers who have launched iPad apps in recent months.

The majority of those polled said they preferred the device for reading newspapers and magazines, a total of 31 per cent.

This was closely followed by laptops and computers at 26 per cent and the actual print product itself, which was the most popular choice for almost a quarter of the respondants, at 24 per cent.

Mobile phones were much less preferable as a reading platform for print titles, selected by just 12 per cent, while e-readers fell to the bottom with just seven per cent of the vote.

But Stewart Douglas, editorial director of Cooper Murphy Webb said the iPad must become a more practical option financially before it can reach its full potential.

"Steve Jobs has created a new device that could disrupt the newspaper industry," he told Journalism.co.uk. "But to move beyond early adopters, the iPad's price must fall.

"For the future of journalism, it's not enough for iPads to displace online audiences. There must be a new wave of readers with an appetite to pay. The study shows the promise of the iPad, but it's a long way off being the panacea newspapers need."

Also commenting on the findings Dawn Osakue from the EditorsWebLog said monetising the popularity of the device as a news platform is yet to be proven.

"Newspapers already seem to have caught on the trend, as evidenced by the number of recently launched iPad news apps. The question of whether any significant profit can be made through this iPad 'revolution' is still pending, although News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is planning to test the waters, as plans to launch a paywalled iPad digital newspaper have been announced."

Journalism.co.uk reported yesterday on the conversation surrounding News Corporation's latest plans for an iPad only national newspaper.

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