At the IMC 2006 yesterday, I’d asked the panelists discussing digital content why they aren’t looking at mobile phones for content delivery, since it is a potent distribution channel for textual content. Sreekant Khandekar, CEO Banyan Netfaqs said that the screen size is an issue, and Shailesh Shekhar, editor, Hindustantimes.com said that they already have a wap portal.
Now, Business Standard reports that Cellnext Solutions Ltd. intends to provide m-paper services to users. They’re doing a pilot run with Idea Cellular, full with images, text and (gasp!) even audio. Ajay Vaishnavi, CEO of Cellnext is quoted as saying that “Two English dailies have shown keen interest.” GSM is operational, and CDMA is in the works. The service is expected to cost Rs.50 a month. Also, see this gif inage.
Having the newspaper available on mobile would be nice, but I prefer realtime updates of news instead of the same news available throughout the day; for static content, I’d prefer magazines.