The Los Angeles Times today reports that five major publishers yesterday announced plans to would join forces and develop an online storefront to rival Amazon.com Inc. According to the report, the publishers of Sports Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, Wired and Vanity Fair said their venture would sell newspapers and magazines online but could also be used to sell digital comics and books.
The LA Times cites John Squires, the group's interim managing director, as saying the group's aim is to build a Web store that would sell full-color, interactive digital versions of their newspapers and magazines that would be readable on next-generation touch-screen reading devices. Squires goes on to explain that, while content bought on Amazon's Kindle cannot be read on Sony's Reader, content purchased from his store will allow users to purchase content and use it on multiple platforms.
"Once purchased, this content will be 'unlocked' for consumers to enjoy anywhere, any time, on any platform," Squires is noted as saying.
The news comes following reports that the Kindle outsold every other product on Amazon in the month of November.
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