CDN, Bandera now on iPad, Android

CEBU Daily News on iPhone and Bandera on Apple’s iPad join the digital edition wave. ARNOLD ALMACEN

Now added to the Inquirer Digital Edition (https://bit.ly/Inquirer-digital) for iPads, iPhones, iPod Touch devices and Android tablets and smartphones are the Inquirer’s regional paper Cebu Daily News (CDN) and national tabloid Bandera.

The addition marks the first time the full content of both Inquirer titles has been made completely available online to benefit both local and overseas readers.

“The addition of Cebu Daily News and Bandera to the Inquirer Group’s menu of digital editions is part of our efforts to evolve print into strong multimedia brands in order to deliver more value to readers,” said Imee Alcantara, vice president for operations of Inquirer Publications Inc. (IPI), the Inquirer unit that publishes the two papers.

“We recognize that newspapers will continue to play a role in our lives so it is just a matter of making news and information available, not just on paper but on as many touchpoints as possible. The digital edition gives us the opportunity to bundle our print with digital products and reach more consumers in an efficient way,” Alcantara added.

The digital edition of the papers combines the full, traditional print layout of CDN and Bandera—ads, photos, classified, columns, supplements are all available—with the interactive features of a website.

Stories can be tweeted, shared on Facebook, sent by e-mail, read out loud, and printed. E-mail alerts can notify readers when a topic is mentioned in an issue.

Wider audience appeal

In addition to the interactive features, companion apps for Apple iOS devices (https://bit.ly/inq-digital-ios) and Android devices (https://inq-digital-android) let subscribers store several month’s worth of issues on their tablet or smartphone. Several devices can access issues under one account.

“We’re excited about giving a different reader experience,” said IPI publisher Eileen G. Mangubat.

“You can flip through pages on your desktop or handheld device, something that appeals to a wider audience that appreciates the look and feel of a classic paper in a digital environment,” Mangubat said.

Subscriptions for Cebu Daily News and Bandera are $5.95 a month and $56.95 annually. Quarterly ($15.95) and semiannual ($26.99) plans are also available.

Free trial

A free 30-day trial subscription is available for each title. CDN digital subscribers can use the offer code CDNFREE30, while Bandera subscribers can use the offer code BANDERA30 when registering.

Print subscribers of Cebu Daily News are entitled to matching complimentary subscriptions to the digital edition for the length of their print subscriptions.

A combined subscription to all three titles—Inquirer, CDN and Bandera—is $17.95 a month, $47.95 a quarter, $78.95 semiannually or $167.95 annually.

The combined subscription also automatically includes Sunday Inquirer Magazine, Junior Inquirer and Inquirer Golf Monthly. Junior Inquirer and Inquirer Golf are only available online through the digital edition.

Special promo

As a special promo on the occasion of Independence Day, the Inquirer Digital Edition will also offer a free 30-day subscription to all available titles. Simply select “1-month free trial” when selecting a subscription plan.

“At first, we thought digital edition was just a broadsheet thing and would never appeal to the ‘masa’ to which Bandera caters,” said Dona Policar, the tabloid’s associate editor.

“On second thought, this new offer, at least for a tabloid like Bandera, could be an alternative choice for Pinoys abroad—those who terribly miss the news back home and lots of local show biz chika and columns written in Filipino,” Policar added.

How to subscribe

To subscribe to either Cebu Daily News or Bandera, go to https://bit.ly/Inquirer-digital on your desktop or notebook computer and click the Subscribe link at the upper right-hand corner of the page (just above the Inquirer front page).

Once you reach the subscription form, enter your registration details, including your e-mail address and desired password. Don’t forget to enter either CDNFREE30 or BANDERA30 in the offer code field to activate your trial subscription for these titles. Or, go to the subscription plan page and select “1-month free trial” to try all titles free for 30 days.

Once your trial subscription is activated, click on a front page image on the digital edition to start reading your issue.

If you have an Apple tablet or smartphone, download the companion digital edition app from https://bit.ly/inq-digital-ios. If you use an Android tablet or smartphone, click https://bit.ly/inq-digital-android instead.

On either app, click Settings and then Authorize to enter your e-mail address and password. This will link the app to your subscription account. Once done, click Store to select which titles you want to download to your tablet or smartphone.

Titles can be set to auto-download, meaning issues will be delivered automatically to your tablet or smartphone once they are available. You can set the applications to download only when on a Wi-Fi connection if you want to avoid cellular data charges.