Newspaper and Magazine content

[browndktr]

I suspect I am in the minority here, but for me if it works well as a magazine and newspaper reader I am in. Why would I carry an additional device to watch a movie, play music, etc? My laptop and iphone already handles these tasks just fine.

I have owned both the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX, and as a newspaper and mag reader they are severely limited. However, the idea that I can have all my subscriptions delivered to a single device no matter where I am is hugely appealing. Saves paper, saves the hassle of recycling, can pull up old issues, easy searching, always with me, easy to carry, etc.

Until it is easy to notate ebooks I won't be using any of these devices for reading books. But for media that is written quickly and meant to be consumed and disposed of quickly these devices have great potential.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make the iPad a great magazine and newspaper device! Oh, and NYT, WSJ, FT, Economist, etc, please price your content competitively(read: NOT the way you price it for the kindle)! If I can subscribe to the paper version for 1/4 the cost of the iPad version its going to be a tough sell.

 

[Jaro65]

I totally agree with you. I still own both DX and K2, but they'll be on eBay soon. I subscribe to magazines through Zinio (http://www.zinio.com) and so I don't have to deal with paper anymore. I just noticed that Zinio launched an app in the App Store. The first release doesn't look that great, but I sure hope that the iPad can put this market on fire!

 

[JonboyDC]

I agree completely. Not only do I want the convenience of electronic delivery of magazine content, I want it to look like the magazine -- I want to flip through the pages, with all the art and ads and everything there. No more pile of New Yorkers, a lot less paper coming in the mail every month.

What I really hope for is a central app that will handle magazine subscriptions (and even single-issue sales). So I go to iMag (or iNewsstand) and subscribe to some magazines, and when there's a new issue I see a little notification that there's something ready for me to download when I'm ready.

And I want the option to save back issues to my computer.

And the cost should be no more than the paper version, especially if it includes all the ads. There's some cost to creating the electronic version, but we'd be saving the magazines a ton on printing and mailing. That should more than make up for any cost incurred in electronic delivery.

I actually really would like Apple to set this up. Because I can see the bigger publishers each creating their own app (which would each handle all the magazines of that publisher). But I'd like to also be able to use it for magazines from smaller publishers who don't have the same capacity to create their own electronic distribution network. iTunes works for indy music; iMag should work for independently-published magazines.

ETA: I checked out Zinio. That looks like a good start towards what I want.

 

[mrgreen4242]

I was thinking about that today as well. If the pricing is good I will be all over magazine and newspaper subscriptions with this. I refuse to pay anything close to the full subscription cost for them though. Having worked in the publishing industry, I can tell you that almost all of the sub price covers printing and postage. The cost of producing the magazine and the profit are all in the ads. As the distribution is going to be nearly free, and I'm betting there will still be ads in it, the price should reflect that.

For example, you can get a year of Time magazine for $20-40 depending how hard you hunt for deals. If a year sub for the digital edition is more than $20, I'd be pretty disappointed. It should probably be in the $10-15 range, if they were to price it fairly.

 

[Hankster]

The iPad would make an excellent newspaper and magazine site rendering tool. The problem is if that site uses Flash you're screwed. Major sites often use Flash for photos, slide shows, videos, and content. Whenever that's the case, which is often, a user has to go to a laptop or desktop and use that browser.

Doesn't make sense.

 

[mrgreen4242]

The iPad would make an excellent newspaper and magazine site rendering tool. The problem is if that site uses Flash you're screwed. Major sites often use Flash for photos, slide shows, videos, and content. Whenever that's the case, which is often, a user has to go to a laptop or desktop and use that browser.

Doesn't make sense.

I don't think we are talking about the same thing. We don't want to browse magazine websites, we want "eBook" versions of the magazine. The same layout and content as the actual magazine but digitally... basically, a PDF file would do it, but using a custom container which lets them embed video and sound clips would be nice too (although I would punch someone in the face if we get animated ads on top of/in place of regular ads).

 

[and.sleepless]

I hope this saves print publishing, I would love to get local new and international papers on the Ipad.

But I think it would be tough market for art books though? Most cost around $50 - $100, but I don't think Apple will allow that kind of pricing on the Book Store. I would love to get art books on the Ipad though, it would weigh so much less that carrying around multiple books.