New York Times and Telegraph launch Kindle Fire apps

The New York Times and The Telegraph have announced the launch of individual applications for Amazon's Kindle Fire.

"Our goal is to be on as many platforms as possible," said Denise Warren, executive vice president of The New York Times digital products and services group, speaking to Journalism.co.uk. "So this was always a platform that we thought made sense."

The New York Times app includes free access to all sections until the end of July. From August, non-subscribers will be subject to the recently launched metered paywall, whereas subscribers to the NYTimes.com + Tablet apps or all digital access subscription packages will be able to access the app's content without restriction. In addition, non-subscribers can now sign up to the Times by subscribing through their Amazon account.

"It runs on the Android operating system," continued Warren, "so the features operating on the Kindle Fire app are the same as operating on Android: offline reading, cross-platform saving, sharing actions across social media and email, the text-to-speech functionality which can read articles and blogs aloud, those are all available in the Kindle Fire app."

While iOS still provides the vast majority of users for Times apps, said Warren, users from Android had been steadily increasing and the launch of Kindle Fire will feed into that demand.

At the Telegraph, marketing director of Telegraph Media Group, Graham Horner, told Journalism.co.uk that the new Kindle Fire app has been launched following the success of the news outlet's Kindle e-reader edition and will include some unique features.

"We have introduced a new puzzles section," said Horner, "whereby subscribers can access 30 days worth of crosswords and sudoku, offline at any time, adding value to the edition."

New subscribers to the Telegraph's "complete pack" will also receive a free Kindle Fire device in a promotion running until the end of July. Non-subscribers have a 30-day free trial, as with the other digital products or subscriptions.

"The Kindle Fire has been hugely successful and is offered at a highly accessible price point," said Horner, "so we expect this to become a key platform in our portfolio."

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