Posts Tagged
newsstand
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 New York Times was one of the earliest iPad adopters. So early in fact, that they were able to show off their app alongside the device itself at it’s January 2010 introduction. Since then, the New York Times has continued to be an excellent example of print media adopting new and emerging digital platforms.
However, in early October, the New York Times did something a little different. They launched an “experimental” HTML5 web app for select subscribers that could very well replace the native offering in the App Store. Let’s take a look at the New York Times’ release and what it means for web apps as a platform. (more…)
So its Sunday, you’re snuggled up on the couch reading the weekend paper with a cup of coffee. Oh the crisp paper, the smell of ink, and the convenience of having the news delivered to your door. What if your tradition was flipped upside down? What if you could care less about the smell of ink? Well, PressReader might just be the app for you!
PressReader is a way to view newspapers from all over the world right in the palm of your hand, on your iPad. There are thousands of publications and you don’t end up with stacks of papers lying around waiting to thrown away (recycled, we hope!). So read on as I answer all of your most pressing questions…
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!
