Yahoo gives the boot to Livestand after just six months
Yahoo has announced in a blog that it is closing its digital magazine iPad app Livestand - billed as their answer to tablet reading platforms like Flipboard - after just six months.
Yahoo axes six-month-old app
Yahoo doesn’t say why Livestand is first for the chop in what is expected to be be a series of axeings.
The app was a pet project of chief product officer Blake Irving, who early this year delivered a keynote address centred on Livestand at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual meeting.
Then in April he quit.
Yahoo saying has said it’s moving towards a mobile-first product strategy, the Axis search browser unveiled earlier this week being one example. Adweek magazine voiced puzzlement: "That doesn’t explain why a mobile product like Livestand is among the first to go."
At one point, says the mag, Yahoo touted Livestand as both the vehicle via which Yahoo's own sites would translate best to tablets, as well as a platform for magazine companies like Surf magazine to transport their titles to the iPad.
More info: the product was plagued by delays, and failed to capture much interest among publishers outside of Yahoo.