So you can effectively cancel out the website access, even though that's all that many of us want. The value of the website is $0? (Also worth noting that there is absolutely no conceivable reason that a tablet app should require an additional subscription. If you're going to make everything à la carte, then price it that way and let me pick. But there's no way I'm going to accept that the website would be priced at $0.)
Do I think the Times spends oodles of money to report on tons of topics nobody else wants to cover? Yes, and I want to support that. But what they've done with these subscription options is convince me that they don't understand how the industry is actually changing. For $23/month (which is just a little over the cost of $y above), I could get M-F delivery of the paper and the complete $(x+y) digital package -- and throw out all the papers I receive. This makes no sense.
Yes, I believe the Times generates more than enough content to warrant paying -- I look at the last few years as probably some lucky free-period that should have ended a while ago. I just think their plans are misguided and overpriced.
In the meantime, though, I got an email from Lincoln offering me free Times access through the end of 2011[1]. So at least I won't have to think too hard about it for another 8 months.
$x = NYtimes.com (website) + smartphone app $y = NYtimes.com (website) + tablet app $(x+y) = NYtimes.com (website) + smartphone app + tablet app
So you can effectively cancel out the website access, even though that's all that many of us want. The value of the website is $0? (Also worth noting that there is absolutely no conceivable reason that a tablet app should require an additional subscription. If you're going to make everything à la carte, then price it that way and let me pick. But there's no way I'm going to accept that the website would be priced at $0.)
Do I think the Times spends oodles of money to report on tons of topics nobody else wants to cover? Yes, and I want to support that. But what they've done with these subscription options is convince me that they don't understand how the industry is actually changing. For $23/month (which is just a little over the cost of $y above), I could get M-F delivery of the paper and the complete $(x+y) digital package -- and throw out all the papers I receive. This makes no sense.