Hyderabad''s Pressmart Media to provide technology for The Philadelphia Inquirer''s online edition

Hyderabad: The Philadelphia Inquirer has selected digital publishing technology provider Pressmart Media to co-develop, host and electronically deliver the print-replica e-edition for delivery on multiple distribution channels to individuals, enterprises and academic institutions from 7 January 2008.

Pressmart had earlier provided its technology to Suburban Newspapers Association and NNA which it acquired recently in the US, by the Trinity Mirror Group in the UK, the World Association of Newspapers and CNBC European Business Magazine.

Privately held and locally owned, the Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC (PMH), owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, philly.com and online products and several community newspapers, is the leading media company in the Philadelphia region.

With almost one million people reading The Philadelphia Inquirer each day, and 1.6 million on Sundays, The Inquirer is the region''s most-read daily newspaper. Together with the Daily News, the No. 1 tabloid newspaper in the region, which reaches 500,000 readers each week, and philly.com, the leading website in the region, PMH''s media properties reach almost two million people each day.

The Indian company plans to deploy its new media delivery PlatformT that offers Web 2.0 features that include blogs, podcast, RSS, and social media integration. Distinctive from web-based versions of newspapers, the e-edition will be an actual replica of the print version of the The Philadelphia Inquirer and will be available at a regular subscription rate for current and potential Inquirer subscribers.

"The Inquirer selected the Pressmart eEdition system because of its ease of use and its unique functionality," said Inquirer publisher Brian Tierney. "This new media digital distribution channel includes e-editions, mobile editions, and audio editions for podcasts. We can now offer our current print subscribers as well as new subscribers a convenient same-day, same-as-print e-edition delivered to their laptops or PC''s."

Pressmart says its e-paper solution is the industry''s most advanced for publishing the electronic edition of daily newspapers, magazines or any other periodical or publication on the web. Pressmart also claims one of the industry''s most sophisticated library digitisation services and proprietary digitisation technology.