Digital crosswords on new platforms

The crossword puzzle application Krysset was developed by the digital media group of Swedish magazine company Bonnier Tidskrifter in cooperation with Bonnier Korsord, which is responsible for its content. It was released on July 22 and has been on the list of top free applications in the Swedish app store, both for iPhone and iPad.

Jacob Hvid of Digital Media says the idea came about while he and his colleagues were thinking about uses for content databases at Bonnier Tidskrifter - including the approximately 1000 digital crosswords that have appeared on the site krysset.se.

"The Krysset application can be downloaded cost-free and includes five crosswords of varying difficulty. The user can then purchase crossword packages of 15 puzzles each. At present, seven different packages can be purchased directly within the application," says Jacob.

Making money from web content can be difficult, and customers were not ready to pay for crosswords that had appeared on krysset.se. Today, most of the site's 11,500 users have free membership. Harriette Holmberg, web editor at krysset.se, says the editorial staff was immediately interested when the Digital group proposed developing a crossword application.

"I think it is easier to pay for an application for an iPhone or an iPad," she says.

Jacob agrees:

"Consumer behavior looks different when it comes to purchasing applications. We found it difficult to capitalize on crosswords on the web. But we think people are ready to pay for quality content for an application. Here, we are consistent: it is the same as for Mag+ and other projects - we offer the same quality as in the magazines and we work from that price level."

An iPad must be the perfect platform for a digital crossword. But won't it appear very tiny on an iPhone? Harriette says that it still works fine:

"No, I have tested it, and it actually doesn't. You can zoom in and it's easy to see. And I think it looks much better than on our site!"

Jacob believes in digital crosswords:

"Crosswords are one of our most successful areas, and this is just the beginning of how they can be consumed digitally in the very near future."