We love The New Yorker. The magazine’s off-beat takes on news of the week by world class writers, the erudite critics, the infusion of short fiction and poetry coupled with charming cartoons, cover art and a complete list of everything cultural happening in Manhattan gives it relevancy and something we seldom get to talk about – re-read value. For iOS and print subscribers yesterday brought great news, The New Yorker updated their app to make it universal, with a new for-iPhone interface. If you haven’t read the magazine before now’s the time. This week’s issue is free on all iOS devices.

The new UI is nothing short of amazing. Using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite magic they have a an iPhone iteration that downloads in seconds and is only 27MB compared with the 183MB the same issue takes up on iPad. As far as we can tell, no content has been omitted or truncated. Other iPhone-only perks, which we hope to see on iPad soon too, include easy sharing of what seems to be all the articles and definitely all the cartoons. We expected readability issues for our, um, how to put this, senior (citizen) writers, but remarkably the text appears slightly larger than on iPad and is extremely clear.

We hope, along with a similar update for iPad readers, Conde Nast continues to bring its magazines in on this deal with Adobe. If this first iPhone New Yorker issue is any indication it’s a match made in digital publishing heaven.

FREE!

The New Yorker Magazine

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-09-27 :: Category: News

The London 2012 Summer Olympics are very nearly upon us, and they mark the first Summer Olympics with a hugely successful App Store to tempt us in. The App Store was new and somewhat untouched ground back in 2008, so it’s no wonder we’re seeing so many titles emerge this time round. Sports Illustrated Live from London 2012 is one such title.

Sports Illustrated Live from London 2012 offers the stunning photography we’ve come to expect from Sports Illustrated, along with up to the second scores and results. A medal count as well as regular news will be provided, alongside a schedule of all upcoming events.

It’s the photography that will hopefully grip users the most, however, with top photos of each day and a daily video recap promised. Throughout, there are features from Sports Illustrated‘s writers to capture readers’ attentions.

Sports Illustrated Live from London 2012 should prove an ideal visual-heavy companion to the Summer Olympics this month.

It’s out now for the iPad and is free to download.

HGTV (Home & Garden Television) has just released a new app called HGTV SHELF. The app will provide users with information from the HGTV and DIY Networks in the form of interactive magazine issues.

The app contains a mix of both free and paid content for users to access on popular topics from the websites. Sites associated with the app include HGTV.com, HGTVRemodels.com, DIYNetwork.com, and FrontDoor.com. The app currently contains three issues, two free and one paid. The free issues include Closet Cases (dealing with home organization) and HGTV Color Guide (dealing with picking the perfect colors). The paid issue is Fast Fixes Outdoors (packed with DIYs for outdoor projects).

The issues are built specifically with a tablet in mind and look great with Retina display graphics on the third-gen iPad. HGTV SHELF itself is free and, therefore, it’s free to obtain the free issues within the app. The only available paid issue is currently set at $0.99.

Fancy yourself somewhat of a hip, artsy kind of person? Like to listen to and know about bands way before your friends do? You may be a hipster, but you may also be the perfect match for a new iPad app named DISCOSALT. All Caps included with purchase price.

The DISCOSALT website offers in-depth articles, reviews, event calendars, photography, and a ton of music to listen to. The app promises to bring exclusive video content as well as interactivity with feature articles and interviews.

The app is free to download, but issues will cost anywhere from $2.99 to $4.99 to purchase and view. Within the free download, issues have the contents page for browing, and purchasing is a simple tap. Once the individual issues are downloaded, they may be viewed offline as well, according to the app’s support page.

The DISCOSALT app is available now, is free, and only able to be used on iPad.

Best-selling gadget magazine Stuff now has an iPad edition. Stuff Magazine, like most iPad magazine apps, is a Newstand app that’s free to download but charges for individual issues and subscriptions.

Stuff Magazine includes the same tests, photography, and expert opinions on the newest tech toys and gadgets, but the iPad edition includes new interactive features that are exclusive to the iPad magazine. The new digital magazine includes hands-on videos, 360-degree photography, Twitter feeds within the magazine, animations, and photo galleries.

Subscribers to the print version of the magazine will also have free access to Stuff Magazine. New subscribers can also just subscribe in the app itself. The prices listed in the app description are in British pounds. But from what I can glean from the top in-app purchases, the magazine costs $4.99 (£2.99) for an individual issues, $11.99 (£7.99) for three months, $19.99 (£13.99) for six months, and $33.99 (£23.99) for a year.

MAD Magazine, a source of completely ridiculous humor, satire, and just sheer stupidity, has just been released (on April Fools’ Day of course) for the iPad. On top of new issues, the iPad app has special access to classic MAD articles.

The pricing structure for MAD Magazine is similar to other magazine apps. The app itself is free. Buying single issues of MAD Magazine come in two prices. Back issues (these won’t have the interactive elements of the newer issues from this month and on) will cost $1.99. Buying the current issue will be $4.99. Subscriptions will obviously save the avid MAD reader money. An annual subscription (six issues) will cost $9.99, saving $20 compared to buying every current issue when it’s released. A bi-monthly subscription is also available (an issue every two months) for $1.99, still saving readers money from buying the current issue for full price.

Of course, MAD Magazine will feature pop culture related articles, but the magazine will also feature classic pieces like Al Jaffee’s Fold-In, Spy vs. Spy, and “A MAD Look At…”

Popular fashion magazine, Vogue, has updated its iPad app to become a full-fledged Newsstand app. Full issues of Vogue magazine are now available for the iPad. In addition to full issues, Vogue has also updated to support the Retina display on the new iPad (third-gen) and added auto-renewing subscriptions.

As expected, print subscribers will have free access to the iPad version. Non-print subscribers have a few purchasing options. Single issues of the magazine can be purchased at $3.99 an issue. A one-month subscription (that renews automatically from month to month until cancelled) will cost $1.99 per month. A one year subscription (still automatically renewing) will cost $19.99 per year. Both subscriptions come with free trials, one month for the month-to-month subscription and three months for the yearly subscription.

While Vogue focuses mainly on fashion, issues will contain content from a variety of topics including art, photography, politics, celebrities, food, and health. The Vogue app is free to download.

What would a trip to the supermarket be without the assorted collection of tabloid magazines littering the checkout aisle?  There is one such celebrity gossip rag from the New York Post, better known by the name Page Six Magazine, that just landed on the iPad this week.  In each issue, readers will get exclusive content not available to print subscribers.

Some of the stories in the debut issue include:

• Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men’s Peggy Olson vamps it up and reveals her inner bad girl.  The actress poses for provocative photos and speaks for the first time about her short-lived marriage to Fred Armisen.
• Victor Cruz – The Super Bowl winning Giants’ wide receiver gets a fashion makeover.
• Chelsea Tyler – Steven Tyler’s daughter speaks about growing up as a rock star’s child, her dad’s drug use, American Idol and her own career plans.

Sounds like something that the avid celebrity gossip reader wouldn’t want to miss.  You can download the app now, for a mere ninety nine cents.

Did you get that long-coveted new iPhone 4s or iPad 2 for Christmas? Not sure what your new miraculous devices can do to improve your life? Or, maybe you’ve had an iOS device for quite a while and want a fresh perspective on its capabilities and the latest apps available for it. In either case, 148Apps and iPhone Life Magazine want to give you a chance to start 2012 off right by winning one of five magazine subscriptions to iPhone Life.

What do you have to do to enter? It’s simple! Just visit the following site: http://www.iphonelife.com/contest As a bonus, you’ll receive a free browser issue of iPhone Life.

That’s it! The contest will run until January 25th, and Winners will join iPhone Life’s over 500,000 readers in learning the latest news about iOS devices and apps. Learn more about the magazine by Liking them on Facebook, following them on Twitter, subscribing to their YouTube channel or visiting their web site at http://iphonelife.com/. Good luck!

Digital magazines appear to be on the rise with the likes of Newsstand encouraging such trends. That’s not the only place that such publications can be found, though, with many magazines pursuing things with their own app.

One such publication is that of PC Advisor Daily, an iPad-optimised magazine that promises all of PC Advisor’s latest content in real-time. The app features news, reviews, features, opinion pieces and how to guides galore.

Updated every minute of every day, fast access to all the latest articles from the magazine is available. Throughout, the content is interesting, current and expertly written. Adding extra interactivity is the ability to customize content so that favorite subjects can be prioritised. Articles can also be saved so they can be viewed offline, plus there’s Twitter and Facebook integration for the socially minded.

PC Advisor Daily is available now for the iPad and it’s a free download.

There are many out there who believe that the current mobile explosion will save the dying news industry. Newspaper and magazine publishers have been loving Apple’s Newsstand App for the increased visibility it gives their content. Now Google has released a rival, more Flipboard-esque, mobile reader of their own, Google Currents.

Google Currents offers optimized, magazine-style versions of articles from Forbes, TechCrunch, Saveur, Popular Science, Good, 500px, Fast Company and more. Google Reader subscriptions are also used to provide users content from the blogs and feeds they follow. Popular, trending stories are collected from all of these sources and given special placement with photos, slideshows, videos, live-maps and social streams intact.

Users can also save articles for “high speed offline reading”, share them, and sync them across all of their devices. Content scales to fit whatever sized screen a phone or tablet may have. Google Currents is available now for free and is compatible with iPhones and iPads.

Flipboard, the iPad social magazine app, has announced that Comedy Central’s hit show “The Colbert Report” is becoming a content provider, Mashable reports. This marks a big step for what Apple proclaimed was the best iPad app of 2010 because it is the first video contributor to be added the service. Before this announcement, rumors had been circulating that Flipboard would make this move.

What sets Flipboard apart from other media aggregators is how it presents user data from social networks and websites in the form of magazines for users to flip through. It remains to be seen though how video will be integrated into this model beyond just having a dedicated video section. We do know that users won’t be able to watch full episodes, just clips and tweets from Colbert himself, a self-proclaimed iPad fan.

Flipboard’s video section is currently live. Although “The Colbert Report” is the only announced partner, with Paramount Pictures and Bud Light signed on as advertisers that should change soon. Flipboard is available for free now on the App Store.

[ via Mashable.com ]

UPDATE: Edge has just announced via the Newsstand app that the October 2011 issue is now free to download. Head over to the App Store, download the free Edge app, and then download the free back issue today.

Having been a long time subscriber to Edge Magazine, I’m pretty excited to see it be one of the first titles to reach Newsstand.

Available through the app, Edge Magazine promises the same fantastic experience as before. Famous for its intelligent writing and in-depth looks at everything gaming related from reviews to unearthing the latest in the world of game development, Edge Magazine makes for a fascinating read for gaming fans. It’s a mature change of pace from glossier magazines but never fails to intrigue.

The Newsstand edition offers enhanced online content with extra insight, related content and screenshot galleries. Linked to the website, if there’s anything that can add to the reader’s enjoyment on the website, the app lets the user know.

Pricing through Newsstand is pretty respectable with individual issues priced at $4.99, a 3 month subscription available for $12.99, 6 months for $21.99 and a 1 year subscription priced at a very reasonable $39.99.

It’s a veritable bargain, given the quality of the writing and a must buy for fans.

Perhaps not quite as prominant amongst the plethora of iOS5 offerings is that of Newsstand providing what is, basically, iBooks for magazines and newspapers. One such magazine that has taken advantage of such a feature is that of music publication SPIN Play, providing news and reviews from SPIN.com.

SPIN is renowned for offering plenty of fascinating music based content through the website and magazine. This edition allows users to watch and listen to artists and their work as they read articles about them.

Individual issues are priced at $1.99 each with an annual subscription priced at $7.99. Each issue offers over 60 streaming songs and over 30 streaming videos to add the interactive touch to the reading experience.

AirPlay support has also been provided with the potential to view the dozens of exclusive video interviews and performances either through the app or via an AirPlay supported device.

Together, it should provide the most immersive experience yet for music fans who also want the enjoyment of a magazine aimed at their interests.

Slate is a great website to read, offering analysis and commentary on all sorts of issues from politics, news and modern culture. It’s an entertaining site indeed and one I try to check in with every now and then. It seems that doing this has been made even simpler courtesy of the latest update of its free app.

The app has had a completely redesigned layout that showcases what’s new across the magazine at a glance. Everything has been made much simpler to browse throughout. There’s now the ability to view Slate’s collection of photo slideshows and access to the relaunched news blog, The Slatest, that promises regular story updates throughout the day. It’s also now possible to listen to Slate’s podcasts including the Political Gabfest, Culture Gabfest and Hang Up and Listen.

Extra content is provided through the daily videos that can also be watched through the app including the Trending News Channel.

The updated Slate app is an ideal way of keeping up to date with the website’s happenings throughout the day with a great new interface. It’s out now and it’s a free download.

Flying is something I very rarely get to experience but that doesn’t stop me being interested in the field thanks to having a father fascinated by all things aviation related. I’ll probably never get to experience many of the most impressive aircraft but that’s exactly where apps like Flighttest help to get me as close as possible.

Flighttest provides a collection of flight tests that have been carried out thus putting users into the cockpits of 10 aircraft including a particularly fascinating insight into the Space Shuttle at the end of its 30 year career.

The app features articles written by expert test pilots, pictures from numerous award winning photographers and exclusive videos and interviews all about aviation and flight. Over 250 photos are available through the app as well as nearly 40 minutes of video providing a great package of information for the aviation fan

Aircraft featured cover the likes of the Mustang jet, the Piper Super Cub, the R66 turbine helicopter, Piper PA-28 and the aerobatic plane the XtremeAir Sbach342. It’s a veritable feast of aircraft with even a feature looking at solo gliding in a weekend. A cockpit guide to the Space Shuttle also features along with the ability to see inside the control center for it. Such information has been provided by former Space Shuttle pilot, Hoot Gibson. Returning to more Earthly based aircraft, there’s also a feature on how to land on a glacier which is particularly fascinating considering the difficulties that come with such a surface.

The quality of the features is pretty impressive with visuals also being attractive and appealing. Videos are of a similar quality with the ability to view in either landscape or portrait mode without any detriment to the standard. It all makes for a great package for the aviation fan.

Flighttest is initially a free download with issues costing $2.99. Hopefully there will be many new issues arriving on the app store shortly.

We appreciate that sometimes you might want to read about iOS news on other sites as well as this delightful place. Hopefully you look towards other O.A.T.S member sites for the information. Why do I mention this? Because fellow O.A.T.S member TouchGen has released the first full issue of their iPad magazine, TouchGen Magazine.

The magazine sets out to provide the same high quality features and reviews that the TouchGen site conventionally provides, but with a print style gaming magazine feel to it. The first issue contains a preview of Gameloft’s new crime based shooter, 9mm, the making of Order & Chaos as well as reviews of many games such as Final Fantasy III, Bumpy Road and World of Goo. There’s even a nice dose of humor with the top five feature of the best games to play while on the toilet.

Throughout the magazine, there are some great visuals and magazine style nuances and TouchGen Magazine makes for a great read that encourages users to look forward to the next issue.

TouchGen Magazine – Issue 1 is available now for iPad owners and it’s a free download.

As the advert loves to state, Red Bull gives you wings. It also now gives you a global sports, cultural and lifestyle magazine by the name of The Red Bulletin.

This new app for the iPad promises high end magazine content with up to an hour of video and animation throughout. It features numerous interviews with artists and athletes such as baseball star Tim Lincecum as well as features on the likes of art work from Banksy. Other subjects such as base jumping and formula 1 motor racing also feature.

It’s a new venture for the drinks company and it certainly makes for a pretty impressive looking magazine with the issue designed specially for iPad owners, taking advantage of the technology behind the device.

The Red Bulletin app also gives access to the international issue which contains a feast of the best stories from all the print editions as well as the exclusive content.

Best of all, it’s a free app for iPad owners enabling them to gain a free issue for the month of June.

It’s out now in English, German and Polish.

Wallace & Gromit are quintessentially British indeed. Besides Wallace sounding typically Northern English and drinking plenty of tea, the series has that lovely quirky British humo(u)r that’s beloved by many. These fans may well be rather interested to hear about Aardmag, a free to read bi-monthly magazine for Wallace & Gromit and Aardman fans that’s newly available for iOS owners.

It’s an universal app that offers exclusive comic stories, news, articles, opinion pieces and reviews all about your favourite animated stars. Aardmag might be an unofficial magazine but it’s one that’s supported by Aaardman Animations so the content is of a pretty high quality. This isn’t a new project either with the folks at 62 West Wallaby Street having run the magazine as a PDF download for a while previously.

Immediately it strikes me as the ideal app for families and younger fans, much like a comic book. The latest issue contains games like a Spot the Difference as well as episode guides for more than just Wallace & Gromit covering the likes of Shaun the Sheep too. Even while the app is setting up or downloading a new magazine, Wallace & Gromit appear to keep things interesting and there are plenty of film references scattered around. Those worried about missing out on the next issue will be pleased to see push notifications to remind them.

Simply put, it looks like a great app for fans of the animators and considering it’s a free download, it’d be silly not to give it a try really.

I’m a news junkie. I read various news sites and blog posts for hours a day. And all of it is read on my iPad or iPhone. This week’s Favorite Four are apps for people who love to read news. Lined up are two RSS readers, a personalized magazine, and a must-have app for anyone who reads news online.

Reeder
I’ll start with the RSS readers. Reeder (available on both the iPad and iPhone) is one of the more popular RSS readers. The user simply enters their GoogleReader account (which is basically a requirement for anyone who uses RSS) and receives a simple interface that aggregates all desired news and blogs. Reeder is great for people who want a simple RSS interface.

Pulse
My RSS reader of choice is Pulse (iPad only). Pulse presents RSS feeds in a five page format (organized in any way the user chooses). The feeds are arranged in a way that only shows a few feeds at a time with only a few posts for each of those feeds. Thumbnails of pictures on each post are shown if available. The Pulse interface is great and is second only to Flipboard (which is more geared toward Twitter and Facebook than news reading).

Zite
Zite (iPad only) is the place to go when all of the RSS feeds have been read and more news is craved. Enter some topics upon downloading Zite and it creates an awesome mix of personalized “Top Stories” on the homepage. After finishing the top stories, more news can be read by specifying which chosen topic to read on. Zite’s interface is also great looking.

Instapaper
The must-have app for anyone who reads news online is Instapaper (iPad and iPhone). Instapaper is a service, not just an app. A bookmarklet can be installed on any browser that allows any page to be saved for later. Instapaper downloads the text from that website (recognizing which text is the post) and saves it to be read offline at a later time. For someone with a WiFi only iPad, Instapaper is MANDATORY! Many news apps (like Pulse and Zite) have built-in Instapaper support that allows users to add posts to Instapaper without leaving the app. Boot up Instapaper, download some posts, and save them offline to read for later.

Zite is an iPad only app that reminds me just how desperately I need an iPad in my life. It’s not the only app that offers a personalised magazine style interface but it does offer some pretty cool looking features for the grand price of nothing.

Using a variety of different sources, both mainstream and niche, Zite collects everything up and provides a truly personalised experience for your reading needs. An added bonus is that you can sync both Twitter and Google Reader with Zite to give you even more to consult.

An auto-suggest tool intelligently recommends some great ideas, customising things to your interests.

Plus there’s the near obligatory ability to share content via Twitter, Facebook and email. Always handy if you want to let a friend know about something you’ve just read about.

Zite looks like a clean and useful app. One that’ll keep up to date with your ever changing interests and needs. The ability to simply tap if you want to see more about a certain genre, or to ‘like’ the particular article so Zite remembers in future is a great and simple touch.

Zite is available now for the iPad.

From the developers of the Musée du Louvre application, one of the most downloaded educational applications in the App Store’s history, comes a new project: HDvision. The iPad-only magazine, second of its kind only to Virgin’s Project, immediately shot to the number one downloaded News application (and number seven overall) in its premiere in the French App Store. Now it’s available in the US and a number of different App Stores across the world.

HDvision is devoted to high definition media and technology. “Get the best of Cinema, Blu-ray, TV Shows, Video Games, VOD, Multichannel Sound and Technology on your iPad with the HDvision magazine” reads the official blurb, all through an interactive app that includes embedded HD video trailers, HD picture galleries and interactive slideshows. The first issue of HDvision is free to download. This month’s magazine weighs in at 619MB, heavy even for magazine standards but to be expected given HDvision’s focus on high definition content.

I spoke to David Fakrikian of HDvision earlier this week, asking him about the inspiration and development of the popular magazine. “The [printed] project was refused by every publishing company around for both costs reasons, and political reasons … until the iPad came about, and Mastery Pictures International offered to team up with us” he writes. “The idea was irresistible: iPad offered the possibility to blend both contents of the original magazine (features articles + video) into one package, and make an international (english) edition, offering us for the first time the possibility to be read worlwide, as well as by most directors and actors we interview.” The pricing strategy behind the magazine application is yet to be determined, given its early stages.

The magazine’s inception stems from DVDvision, a print magazine that Fakrikian created and edited between 1999 and 2003. You can download the first edition of its new counterpart, HDvision, for free. Just check out the link below the YouTube teaser.

Apple has finally, formally announced its subscription service for apps. This formal announcement means that any app that provides a digital subscription outside an app must also do so inside the app.

The announcement to day basically comes down to this. If a service provides a method to receive a digital subscription on an iOS device (think Zinio, The Daily, The Times of London) that the option to subscribe needs to be offered inside the app at the same or lower prices. To clear one thing up, this does not mean that print subscription prices need to apply to digital subscriptions. While I’d love that rule, as a consumer, that would be overstepping Apple’s bounds a bit.

One thing to note is that this doesn’t just apply to digital print publications like magazines and newspapers. This also applies to music services like Rdio, Pandora, and Rhapsody. And it applies to video services like Netflix and Hulu+. We’ve reached out for comment from some of these companies to get their reaction.

The result is that services like the above will need to provide a method to subscribe inside the app as well as outside the app. And Apple wants their 30% cut when subscriptions are done inside the app. To ensure that publishers don’t just pass the 30% extra onto the user, Apple has noted that the subscription prices inside the app be the same or lower than those offered outside the app.

If a service provides a subscription outside the app, and doesn’t deliver the subscription in the app, they seem to be excluded from this requirement. The one key phrase from the Apple announcement is “Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app.” That does set the likes of Wired Magazine free to continue to only offer their magazine at an inflated per issue price. Wired offers their magazine at $3.99 per issue within the app while routinely offers the print edition at $10/year. But they don’t offer a digital subscription anywhere else.