Tribune Co. is taking a big gamble that readers will want a Tribune-specific tablet to add to their quiver of gadgets. The company is working with Samsung to develop a tablet that gives readers access to their Tribune subscriptions. Neither Tribune nor Samsung is commenting.
This, of course, begs the question: Given the state of publishing, and in particular, the decline of newspapers, is this the wisest decision? Might not the company’s resources be better spent in expanding their online presence or, as TechCrunch’s Chris Velazco asks, cutting cost by firing “your most expensive staff?” Tribune chief executive Eddy Hartenstein is hoping the lure of a (almost) free tablet will have consumers lining up.
Still, given the shaky ground on which the newspaper industry now stands, adding the logistics of developing and distributing hardware seems a strange move to make. And reports that Tribune might miss its mid-August hardware testing doesn’t make for a promising start.
Read more at TechCrunch.
