Short Takes: Yahoo’s Own Sites Need iPad Boost

By Mike Shields • November 2, 2011 •

Yahoo’s tablet play Livestand is finally here, and not a moment too soon. After being announcned in February, the product’s launch had taken longer than many expected. It now arrives on the scene well after similar players Flipboard, CNN’s recently acquired Zite, and AOL’s Editions — though before Google’s awaited Propeller platform.

While late, Livestand is launching with some serious momentum, including 100 content partners, ranging from ABC News, to Forbes to Parenting Magazine to smaller titles like Bike and Surfer. A big goal of Yahoo’s is to have Livestand be the platform and tech backend for thousands of indie publishers.

It also debuts with Living Ads, the company’s head turning answer to banner ads on the tablet. (Parenting), Toyota and DreamWorks Pictures have kicked off new campaigns as of Wednesday (Nov. 2).

Yahoo gets a lot of grief, most of it deserved. But Livestand could be a winner. It looks great, and it’s an impressive entry into the tablet space. A huge question for all portals is how well their content travels to the app-centric iPad world. When tablets become a significant source of overall Web traffic, do brands like Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance take a traffic hit as users stick to closed apps? Not if Livestand can help it.

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