Google Said to Be Working on Digital Newsstand for Tablets

Despite some less than impressive initial results, tablets are still the best bet publishers have of translating their sales model to the digital world. So the fact that Google may be looking to have a sort of digital newsstand in place for the next major release of Android, which is said to focus on tablet devices, should come as no big surprise.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Mountain View company is talking to publishers about a digital newsstand for Android devices, initially.

The plan is to have a central place for readers to buy single issues or subscriptions to the app versions of magazines and newspapers that have become popular recently.

Newspaper and especially magazine publishers haven't had the best of decades. Reader and subscriber numbers are dwindling and, with them, so is advertiser money.

But there hasn't been anything to replace the model, at least, not on the terms publishers wanted. When tablets finally became a reality, thanks to the iPad, it seemed like a ray of hope for the troubled industry.

They could simply translate their content into a digital format which was quite similar to the physical one, in terms of presentation, and maintain their pricing model.

But the initial sales numbers for even the most popular iPad magazine apps have been less than stellar. The convoluted buying process seems to be at least part of the problem.

Some magazine apps can be bought only on a per issue basis. Others do offer some form of subscription, but the process is more difficult than it should be.

Google's new project would solve all that, taking care of the payments and subscriptions, in return of a cut of the sales, a smaller one than the 30 percent Apple is currently charging, apparently.

Neither Google nor the publishers would confirm the plans and the project may still not come through at this stage.

Still, it indicates that Google is very focused on the tablet space and wants devices using Android Honeycomb, which is said to cater specifically to tablet devices, to be worthy competitors to the iPad.