The content-based digital advertising firm Taboola has signed a deal with ZTE to develop a news app for its Android smartphones. According to The Wall Street Journal, the app will display recommended links within the Android interface.
Although it pales in comparison to larger Android device manufacturers like Samsung and HTC, ZTE is a key player in the Android handset market. Statistics show that it’s one of the five largest smartphones manufacturers in China. ZTE smartphones have become increasingly popular in the United States as they offer an inexpensive alternative to higher-priced handsets. Furthermore, ZTE smartphones are equipped with high-speed processor chips combined with a decent amount of random access memory (RAM). In addition to manufacturing Android devices, HTC also offers a wireless telecommunications service, software and streaming video products.
Upon hearing this news, some ZTE handset users have voiced concern regarding the potential for spam or sponsored content being displayed on the Taboola app. After all, Taboola’s business model involves placing sponsored content for which it’s compensated on websites and web portals. Companies pay Taboola for the traffic and exposure generated by these sponsored stories and links.
When speaking about the new deal with ZTE, Taboola executive Adam Singolda explained that the app will initially display links to lifestyle stories and relevant news articles on the internet. Later, however, Taboola may decide to include sponsored links and content in the app. Until that happens, ZTE users don’t have to worry about paid advertisements being displayed in their device’s Android interface.
Taboola says its news app for ZTE handsets is the Android version of Apple News. As most Apple users know, Apple News is the Cupertino company’s exclusive news app that comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads. It doesn’t require downloading. Rather, it’s already installed on Apple devices when users first turn them on.
In the past, publishers on Apple News complained about the inability to monetize their content. When Apple first launched its News app some three years ago, it had limited monetization features for publishers. Now, however, publishers can sell subscriptions through Apple’s iOS interface, allowing them to make money from their content. Perhaps we’ll see Taboola take a similar approach with its Android app for ZTE handsets.
