Ongo Launches Personal News Service, Redefining Reading and Discovering Digital News

CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ongo Inc. today launched Ongo, a personal news service that gives consumers a fundamentally new way to read, discover and share digital news and information.  Premiering with more than a dozen top-tier titles in a single interface designed for readability, Ongo delivers full articles and convenient customization features, along with editorial curation that uncovers vital and interesting stories beyond the day's top headlines.

Ongo is accessible through any major web browser on computers, smart phones and tablets -- so subscribers enjoy their favorite publications on all the devices they own for a single monthly fee.

As the complete destination for digital news, Ongo emphasizes immersive reading that is unabridged and uninterrupted, along with easy-to-use tools for searching, saving and sharing stories that matter most to readers. Many of today's online news aggregation services are disjointed, distracting experiences -- providing only snippets of articles surrounded by links and ads that require readers to jump from site to site.

Among the titles now available from Ongo (www.ongo.com) are:

"Ongo is launching a news service that puts readers first, and will continue to do so by adding new publications and features," said Alex Kazim, Ongo Inc.'s founder and chief executive officer. "Ongo redefines readability and provides the most sought-after content from top sources.  Our smart tools ensure that readers get the news they need while our editorial team spotlights the interesting, informative and entertaining stories that shouldn't be missed."

Smart news features built into Ongo work across all titles, enabling subscribers to effortlessly create a highly personal news experience. These features include:

• Ongo Home – A single "front page" for the most important daily news, along with stories of interest picked by Ongo's editors.
• Titles – Quick access to news by a subscriber's publications.
• My Topics – A subscriber's customized news "playlist" arranged by title, section or keyword.
• Clippings – A convenient place to save articles for later reading.
• Ongo Search – Fine-tuned news search by category, title, date or writer with readily accessible tools for quick filtering of results. Search results cover all titles within Ongo, not just those in a subscriber's package.
• Sharing – Invitation-only "Clubs," which are discussion groups among Ongo subscribers. Even non-subscribers can participate in Clubs, receiving emailed and posted articles from Ongo subscribers, extending the value of Ongo membership.

"Ongo is bringing a web application to market that delivers a slick interface for reading news on-screen. In exchange, Ongo seeks to package content from premium news publishers and get a monthly subscription from users for the service," said Adrian Drury, Lead Analyst for Media Tech, Broadcast & Telecoms at Ovum, a global research firm.  "It is an interesting spin on both paid news and personalized news reader app models. With equity backing from The Washington Post Company, Gannett Co. and The New York Times Company and a seasoned exec management team, this is a venture to watch."

The Ongo subscription package is $6.99 a month, providing comprehensive coverage from the Associated Press; all original Washington Post content from The Washington Post print edition; all content from USA TODAY; New York Times Picks, a selection of top stories from The New York Times; and selected content from the Financial Times.  Subscribers can add one title of their choice from a list of selected publications as part of the subscription package. Additional titles can also be added to the subscriber's account, starting at 99 cents a month.

At launch, Ongo is offering a free one-month trial to everyone who sets up a subscription.  There is also a free "day pass" for one day of access to Ongo without having to provide a credit card number.

Resources

To view an Ongo overview video go to: www.ongo.com/c/how-ongo-works.

For screenshots of Ongo and other media materials go to: http://www.ongo.com/c/press-room.

Follow us on Twitter at @OngoNews.

About Ongo

Ongo is a personal news service that redefines how digital news from trusted sources is read, organized and shared. A broad selection of the world's leading news titles and Ongo's editorial team provide avid news consumers with a more complete way to get the news that matters most. Ongo, based in Cupertino, Calif., received a $12 million initial round of financing in September 2010 from Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). The Ongo service is available now at www.ongo.com.

Ongo is a trademark of Ongo Inc., and other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Ongo Inc.