Microsoft is aiming to get a piece of the mobile news aggregator application pie with the launch of its MSN iPad application.

Microsoft?s MSN iPad app joins an already-crowded news app marketplace with consumers accessing daily news content via their tablets. The app is available for free download in Apple?s App Store.

?Our strategy is focused on enabling customers to easily discover, access and use the information, answers and content they need and want, anytime, anywhere,? said Eva Corets, senior director of mobile at MSN, Redmond, WA. 

?The MSN for iPad app delivers a visually rich way to browse all of MSN?s content ? both online and off,?she said.

News reader
Microsoft?s MSN app has previously been available in Canada, France, Britain and Germany.

The app aggregates all of MSN United States? content and divides it horizontally across the screen.

Users can access categories such as news, sports, entertainment, money, living and editor?s picks via the tablet app.

Consumers can also share articles with friends and family via Twitter, Facebook and email inside the app.

The app also incorporates Bing?s search engine that lets users find particular content by typing in a keyword.

Users can also circle words in articles while holding down their finger in the margins of the app to launch a Bing search.

Users can also view photo galleries and slide shows inside the app.

Consumers with a Windows ID account can access and share content via Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger via the app.

Liquid content
Microsoft?s MSN iPad app is the newest news aggregator app to join the tablet news app marketplace.

News aggregator apps continue to grow in popularity and media companies are snapping at the chance to use the tablet as a one-stop place for consumers to get all their news.

Similar products to the MSN iPad app include Flipboard, Zite, Pulse News and AOL?s Edition apps, all of which aim to create a hub of news for readers.

Most recently, several of the tablet-first apps have become smartphone apps, showing how with the trend in mobile news consumption, users are more willingly to read daily news on a smaller screen.

For example, Zite recently rolled out its iPhone app soon after Flipboard expanded to iPhone devices (see story).

However, with the tablet news space already crowded, Microsoft will face stiff competition in getting users to download and interact with the app.

From a broader perspective, Microsoft?s move to an iPad is also particularly interesting because it shows that the tech giant wants to be on every platform and screen.

Microsoft is rumored to be releasing its Windows 8 operating system this year, which will include a tablet product and has the possibility of opening new doors for mobile marketers with its own app store.

?As we have seen with MSN over the years, there is consumer demand for a single destination to get up to speed on the latest news and discover new content,? Ms. Corets said.

?This applies to mobile devices as much, if not more, than desktop browsing experience,? she said.

?MSN is the information and entertainment network that enables people to find the things they are interested in, and now the MSN for iPad app delivers a visually rich, touch-enabled experience that aggregates all that content in one place.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York