Newspapers Primed for Mobile Growth

By: Jim Conaghan | NetNewsCheck

That thing you always seem to be carrying in your hand, looking at while you blithely cross the street ignoring traffic — the rectangular object made of metal, silicon and impact-resistant polymer — is a magnet: a people magnet and therefore a money magnet.

It’s a people magnet since the number of smartphone users is extensive and continues to grow. Online research firm comScore’s measurements indicate that 153 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones in November last year (64% of overall mobile phone owners). No doubt purchases of those devices during the holiday season likely pushed the market penetration to more than two-thirds of all Americans.