Yahoo preparing to launch Livestand magazines app

HTML5-based service wants to help publishers port their print content to a range of tablets.

Yahoo is finally ready to launch its Livestand publishing platform in the US, having announced it in February this year with a planned summer release.

The HTML5-based website is optimised for tablets, and will present a mixture of Yahoo's own content, and magazines from partner publishers, according to chief product officer Blake Irving.

"Think of it as a tablet version of Yahoo," he tells Media Week. "In addition it’s a magazine stand, where you can get different types of content, and it’s also HTML5 based." Personalisation features will also be included to adapt to readers' habits over time.

Livestand will run across iPad and Android tablets, launching first in the US, with Europe following later. It is unclear how (or whether) payments will work for premium content on the platform, although it will definitely support advertising.

The launch will come shortly after the recent departure of CEO Carol Bartz, who showed Livestand off in a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.