NYT CTO: Kindle Version Gaining 'Some' Traction; Taking Advantage Of Mobile's Unique Aspects

In addition to delivering news and info via handheld devices, The New York Times ( NYSE: NYT) wants to take advantage of attributes CTO Marc Frons says are unique about the mobile space: location awareness and personal networking. Frons, the paper's CTO for digital operations, is answering questions online this week; the latest in a series of week-long online chats between NYT execs and readers. He was responding to these questions:Can you please comment on mobile technology? What are the most important things the Times is doing in addition to simply publishing in a cell phone friendly format?His full answer can be found on page 2 of the Q&A that continues through Aug. 1:

-- The Times is "very excited" about the potential of the new iPhone platform and its free app there while the NYT app on Amazon's ( NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle is "gaining some traction as the popularity of that device continues to grow." (That could mean anything given the lack of base numbers.)

-- For now and the next year or two, the focus is on making "our content easier to read and faster to access." On a kind of tandem track, the NYT is exploring those unique attributes: "We already have the beginnings of that sort of thing with our mobile real estate listing search in that searching for properties is the kind of thing you are likely to do when you're out and about. But we want to do much more to take advantage of the power of these devices. I could see future applications that use the location awareness of many devices to help you find restaurants and entertainment near where you are, and alert you to news near your location. I could also see us building applications that help you take better advantage of the personal networks stored on these devices to share news and information."

Frons expects the lines between the mobile internet and online internet to continue to blur: "Improvements in screen resolution, battery life, storage, computing power, and the rise of ubiquitous wireless Internet access may one day mean that there is no such thing as the mobile Internet because it will all be mobile. We're going to make sure we're ready long before that shift takes place."

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