Posts Tagged
magazines
The biggest problem with Apple’s products is that they keep people within a walled garden. There’s a lot of benefits to the walled garden in some cases — namely security — but there can also be annoying detractions. One example is the DRM in the iBooks app that makes it altogether impossible to read anything you purchased on anything other than an iPad (I’d love it if Apple used .mobi instead so I could put anything I purchase from them on my Kindle).
But then there are some walls in Apple’s garden that nobody likes, like Newsstand. Newsstand is one of those apps that Apple let get away. Not only are most of the magazines in Newsstand difficult to search for in its Store (Apple really needs to merge the Newsstand with the iBooks Store), but they’re also merely digital scans of paper-based media with a few hyperlinks thrown in for good measure. Newsstand’s proprietary format and wooden shelves have driven a lot of people away from the app and towards its only clear, cross-platform alternative: Zinio. (more…)
The magazine industry will readily acknowledge that it hasn’t adapted well to the digital landscape. To try and play catch-up, some of the biggest publishers in the game have teamed and created Next Issue.
Next Issue functions much like Apple’s Newsstand by aggregating digitized versions of print content. But unlike Newsstand, all the magazines in Next Issue are available within one app, so you don’t have to hop from one application to another to read your favorite rags.
It’s a great idea with lots of promise, but one big issue hinders it from reaching its full potential. Let’s talk about it after the break. (more…)
Newsstand is, basically, a way of organizing and making it easier to find magazine apps. Don’t think of it as a stand-alone app that will arrange all your stuff like iBooks does. In fact, Apple doesn’t even advertise it as an app, they call it a “folder”.
What’s most interesting about this folder is its integration with the “Newsstand” section of the App Store. Along with the introduction of this new folder in iOS 5, Apple also opened up a new section on the App Store that is dedicated just to magazines and newspapers, and in which you can get any free magazine app (as long as it’s available) in just a matter of seconds. But how does it work, and how important is it? Let’s see!
This week on iPad.AppStorm we’ve had a couple of articles that have focussed on magazines and the iPad. First there was the in-depth opinion piece by Kevin Whipps on how to fix the problems with current iPad magazines, and then we had a review of The New Yorker by Zach LeBar.
It got me to thinking about whether the iPad will ever completely trump print as the primary medium for magazine-style consumption? Will the interactive experience of the iPad make it unavoidably attractive for publishers in the future?
We are really only seeing the first wave of magazines truly optimised for the intuitive experience of the iPad, is this going to be a powerful trend?
I’m fascinated to hear what you think about the future of magazines in relation to the iPad! Obviously this is all speculation, but if you had to hazard an opinion what would it be?
Do feel free to expand on your answer by leaving a comment, I’m interested to know what you think about the future of magazines on the iPad. Have you found any particularly stunning ones?
I love magazines. There’s nothing quite like the experience of opening up the mailbox and getting your latest issue of your favorite publication, then spending a few hours pouring through the glossy pages and learning new things.
Of course, print media has been in trouble for years now, and everyone is trying to figure out how to make more cash. The iPad was once considered the savior for the print world, but at the moment the results are less than sparkling. How could that be? The iPad offered so much promise?
I”ll tell you why: Print media doesn’t get it. They don’t understand what makes the iPad such a unique device and how to take advantage of all its technology to make their print magazine so much better. What do they do to fix the problem? Let’s take a look and see what magazines are doing right, and what they’re doing wrong.
