BlackBerry PlayBook to preload NewspaperDirect's PressReader app

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) will preload news content services provider NewspaperDirect's PressReader application on its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, offering consumers access to more than 2,000 publications from 95 countries.

The PressReader solution presents digital replicas of complete printed newspapers, leveraging the BlackBerry PlayBook's touchscreen interface to enable users to swipe from page to page. Pages can be viewed in landscape or portrait mode, with panning and zooming for all articles and images--readers can access full stories in text view or opt for built-in text-to-speech features, navigating each publication via page thumbnails or tables of contents. PressReader also offers automated daily download of selected titles as well as article sharing on Facebook and Twitter.

Publications available to PressReader users include The Chicago Tribune, Daily Mail, International Herald, Irish Times, La Presse, Le Monde, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail and The Washington Post. Most individual newspapers and magazines are available for $0.99 per issue, or downloaded in conjunction with a paid subscription purchased on NewspaperDirect's PressDisplay.com website. Existing BlackBerry PlayBook owners can download PressReader from RIM's BlackBerry App World storefront.

RIM introduced the BlackBerry PlayBook in April 2011. The tablet has struggled to find traction with consumers: Research firm IDC reports that as of the second quarter, the PlayBook accounts for just 4.9 percent of the global tablet market, far behind Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad at 68.3 percent.

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