Daily Maverick launches new website 'for people who matter'

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Designed to be easier to navigate, the site has been divided into sections, highlighting Headline Features as well as stories relating to Africa, South Africa, Business, World, Life Etc... and Sport.

New sections to look out for are Wired World and In Case You Missed It, which aim to keep readers in touch with daily headlines from global news agencies as well as past articles and analysis.

Says CEO Styli Charalambous of the redesign, "It was time to take the feedback and experiences from the last two and a half years and create a better user experience for our readers. We also wanted to accommodate improved functionality and navigation tools as well as a layout that accommodates the increased amount of coverage we are now producing. We have maintained the highly visual aspects of the site while bringing the more sophisticated design elements of iMaverick to the web."

"We are excited about the launch and hope that our readers enjoy the fruits of all the hard work our designers and developers have put into the new site. As with any website, the job is never done and we will be adding further new features in the coming months to bring even more quality content to our readers."

"In addition to written content, the site is a platform for photojournalism, providing readers with a visual insight into what is happening in South Africa, Africa and globally."

Earlier this month, Daily Maverick announced that...

iMaverick is now available on Android

Research carried out in the US by digital trends publisher eMarketer, estimates that smartphone usage by Americans grew 25% year on year and will by 2016, represent 60% of the entire US market. Whilst lagging behind in overall numbers, South Africa is set to follow this growth trend closely.

This new kind of consumer is referred to as the 'Smartphone Class'. In its report The Smartphone Class: Connected Consumers Transform US Commerce and Culture, eMarketer has found that for these consumers their phones have become their workplaces. They watch videos, shop and use email and social media wherever they are, proving that spare moments can also be productive moments - transforming communication and media consumption in the process.

The 'Smartphone Class' already in exists in South Africa, with consumers taking to their smart mobile devices as they embrace the convenience to shop, play and read.

Charalambous says, "With Android as major player in the smartphones and tablet market in South Africa, it was a logical step for us to roll out onto this platform."

"Coupling the popularity of the Android operating system and the large screen areas on many of these phones, it made sense for iMaverick to be able to publish to these devices. Our intention is to make iMaverick as accessible and pleasurable to read on as many devices as economically possible."

"The Snapplify team have been great in making this move possible by releasing updates to V1.0 that only catered for iPad and now includes any iOS device and Android devices."

iMaverick's rollout into the Android market is believed to be a smart business move as the global 'Smartphone Class' is set to grow. According to the eMarketer report, this kind of consumer behaviour can be as lucrative for brands as it is gratifying for the consumer - the two minutes of video in the grocery store, or the ten minutes of news in the waiting room, offer gold-standard opportunities for brands to get their message across.