Tablet magazines set to take off
Announcement posted by Liquid State 03 Dec 2013
Inflight Publishing, which produces inflight magazines for small and medium-sized commercial airlines, is replacing its printed magazines with digital editions.
The digital magazines will be available only on special tablets handed out to passengers during a flight.
In addition to articles, passengers will also be able to enjoy videos and special offers relating to their destination.
Director and founder of Inflight Publishing, Patrick McElligott, said exchanging print for digital presented a challenge.
“We wanted to make sure everyone onboard could enjoy the publications while they’re up in the air. There’s no Wi-Fi or 3G, so we said, ‘Let’s make the tablet the magazine.’”
The project is supported by digital publishing startup, Liquid State, whose publishing system is used to produce the magazines.
Liquid State CEO, Philip Andrews, said the new magazines were an exciting idea for digital publishing.
“We were happy to tailor a solution for Inflight because it’s truly a unique project. The whole concept of the tablet as the magazine has never really been possible before, but it’s a great opportunity for publishers.”
McElligott is also enthusiastic. “Publishing is changing, but you can still hold readers’ attention and provide a place for relevant advertising. You just have to know how people want to interact with what you’re making.”
The first flight equipped with the new tablets took off from Brisbane, Australia, on Monday evening.
Inflight Publishing partners with airlines which typically charter flights with 30 seats or less, and no digital inflight entertainment.
Currently, five airlines have agreed to carry the new tablets, with several more showing interest.
The Liquid State platform is cloud-based and is a simple, fast and economical way to produce and publish content to mobile devices.
The company recently raised $785,000 in angel investment and a government grant. Liquid State was also recently given the High-Growth Business Startup Award at the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards in Brisbane.
For further information, interviews and photos, see:
Liquid State
PRESS KIT (Includes Backgrounder & photos): http://bit.ly/LSInfPressKit