Pulse iPad app gets a boost
New York Times story highlights Alphonso Labs., co-founded by Ankit Gupta ('08), which has become one of the top-selling news iPhone and iPad apps since its debut in May. And its breakout popularity suggests that the people behind Pulse may have begun to answer a question that nags publishers everywhere — how to deliver news and make money in a post-print world.
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Publishers’ offices at print newspapers and magazines are tension-filled places these days, as executives watch readers and advertisers flock to the Web and cellphone screens.
Contrast that to the atmosphere at a sunny office on a residential street here, where, amid start-up accoutrements like a bouncy ball chair and a stuffed moose, a few engineers are working on Pulse News Reader, a mobile app that allows users to build a personal newsfeed with the newspapers, magazines and blogs of their choice.
Spirits are high here because the app has been one of the top-selling news iPhone and iPad apps since its debut in May. And its breakout popularity suggests that the people behind Pulse may have begun to answer a question that nags publishers everywhere — how to deliver news and make money in a post-print world.
Pulse’s success is underscored by two announcements expected on Monday from the company that makes the app, Alphonso Labs. The first is that the app, which has cost $1 to $4, will now be free; the goal is to attract more users, and with them, paid partnerships with publishers and advertisers.
The company will also announce that it has raised $800,000 in venture capital, the first step in moving along the path from building an app to running a profitable business.
Pulse allows people to search for publications, connect their Google Reader accounts or share publications by connecting their devices together, using an app called Bump.
The publications appear vertically on the screen, and users scroll horizontally through recent articles from a publication, tapping to read an item. Pulse sends readers to the newspapers’ or blogs’ Web sites.
“We were increasingly reading news on our mobile phones, and we were getting our news from a lot of different sources,” said Akshay Kothari, co-founder and chief executive of Alphonso Labs, explaining how he and his business partner, Ankit Gupta, came up with the idea. “Being able to aggregate all of that content in one place was interesting.”
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