14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo has confirmed that it is working on a "newsstand" app, initially for mobile devices, aptly named Livestand. The app will deliver personalized content, based on what you like, where you are, even the time of day, presented in a visually pleasing way.
"This ultra personalized content experience is our vision for Livestand from Yahoo! – a digital newsstand, delivering a wealth of ever-changing content from multiple publishers, continuously programmed by a person’s interests and contexts," Yahoo announced.
"With Livestand from Yahoo!, what you’re reading will be personalized based on your interests, your location and even the time of day," it explained.
No one is more excited about tablets than newspapers and magazines. They believe that tablets are the savior they've been waiting for, while the web ate away at their readership and business.
But they're probably getting too worked up over this, even on tablets or other mobile devices, or, perhaps, especially on tablets and mobiles, people want to access all the content they're interested in and only that content.
Having several newspaper and magazine apps to pay for and check out one by one is not how most people envision relaxing with their tablet while taking a break or after work.
So there's clearly a need for personalized, centralized content and Yahoo is definitely not the first to get that. Flipboard has been around for a while now and AOL has also announced Editions, an app that serves content based on your likes, interests and preferences.
Which is exactly what Yahoo is doing with Livestand, with different content of course. Yahoo touts Livestand as a great way of accessing the content you like, though much of it will come from the Yahoo network at first.
Granted, Yahoo has a wide array of sites producing quite a lot of content. And the company is working with third parties to integrate their products with the app as well.
Livestand will debut on the iPad and Android tablets in the next few months, but Yahoo plans to expand its reach, it will eventually be available on smartphones and possibly via the web as well.