Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has launched a news tablet app that will provide a "redefined reading experience" with no log-ins required and auto updates for its Malay newspaper Berita Harian (BH), the media company announced in a statement today.
The app, which allows readers to access e-paper editions of Berita Harian, will be preloaded on the latest Samsung Tab A, 10.1-inch Wi-Fi tablet, which is retailing at $398.
BH subscribers who sign up for a two-year package at $19.90 a month will get this tablet for free.
Existing subscribers can also top up $14.90 a month to enjoy this deal, SPH said.
The subscription package includes free access to the Berita Harian app and www.beritaharian.sg
The app features an auto log-in which does not require a password after activation.
It also auto-downloads the latest e-paper in a Wi-Fi environment for subscribers to read on the go.
Readers can share articles or advertisements with family and friends on social media as well. Each e-paper is archived for 14 days.
Berita Harian has also been producing its own multimedia content in the form of podcasts and videos over the past three to four years.
Its podcast series #notapis was the third-most listened-to podcast in Singapore at the end of July - just 10 weeks after it was first launched.
Berita Harian editor Saat A. Rahman said that the new app is intended to provide the paper's readers with a fresh way of enjoying its content.
"We are excited to offer the BH News Tablet to our subscribers. Technology has become a big part of our daily lives and we would like to provide our readers with a new and innovative way of enjoying our content digitally, without losing the traditional experience of reading Berita Harian in print," he said.
"With the BH News Tablet, readers can now enjoy the best of both worlds. With features like an auto-upload of the day's latest edition of BH e-paper, as well as a one-time log-in and an easy-to-use sharing function, the tablet will allow our readers to keep up to date with the latest news, wherever they are and at any time."
In March, SPH launched a Chinese news app that was bundled with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5-inch Wi-Fi tablet. SPH said that it had accumulated 9,000 subscribers through this initiative.
The company also publishes The Straits Times.
The vice-president of IT and mobile at Samsung Electronics Singapore, Ms Sarah Chua, said: "Our first collaboration with SPH to offer the Chinese news app via a customised and secure Knox platform on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 was well received by readers. We are now extending the same value proposition of a seamless and secure solution to the readers of Berita Harian."
