Google, Yahoo to launch digital newsstands

Search engine giants Yahoo and Google are both planning to introduce digital newsstand applications for mobile devices this week, according to a report from technology news provider All Things D.

Google, of course, has been a major player in the mobile market for years with its Android™ operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, and the upcoming app -- code named Propeller -- represents a continuation of this. The news provider reports that Propeller will be an HTML 5 reader and will be available for both Android tablets and Apple's iPad®.

Though it has offered news services for some time, the mobile market is newer territory for Yahoo. Its new mobile application will be called Livestand, and according to All Things D, sources familiar with Yahoo's plans say it will feature content from Yahoo News and other news sources. Livestand was first announced by Yahoo's recently ousted CEO Carol Bartz in February 2011.

Tablets are effectively changing the way people consume news. According to an October 2011 study from the Pew Project on Excellence in Journalism, 53 percent of surveyed tablet owners get their news on the mobile devices every day. As a result, more news providers are catering to this audience and revealing apps designed specifically for tablets.