Esquire Magazine comes to the iPad in style

It's been interesting watching the evolution of electronic magazines as they adapt to a changing world where digital delivery slowly replaces more traditional methods of distribution. Clearly all the kinks aren't worked out yet (witness the Adobe security issue that's led to free magazines and newspapers for some iPad users) but change is on the march.

Esquire has released a US $4.99 issue that is fun to read and great to look at. Esquire first appeared way back in 1932 when the US was in a depression. People were searching for something diverting, and the glossy magazine pointed to a lifestyle many could only dream about.

I've been reading and examining this new issue for a couple of days and I pretty much like what I see. There is an innovative 'moving cover' including a welcome to the issue with actor Javier Bardem. There are articles about fashion with 360 degree views of clothing, and there are videos, charts and the kinds of illustrations that have made the Esquire print edition famous for years.

To read Esquire you scroll sideways to get to the next article, then scroll down to read it. It's intuitive, and the display is smooth.

I have a couple of nits to pick though. First, the issue is designed to be read in portrait view. You can flip your iPad to landscape, but there will be no response from the magazine. Like many people, I have a case that is designed to stand up in landscape mode, so reading the magazine is a bit of a pain. Inexplicably, one feature, an animated look at the construction of the World Trade Center, requires landscape view. I couldn't locate a table of contents, although if you tap the screen you get a scrolling list of each article. There is no search function, so getting back to something you want to read again is no picnic. The iTunes store blurb advertises a way to share articles but I couldn't find it. You can use the iPad copy function for text, but not for graphics. There may be a way to email articles, but it is invisible to me.

Nits aside, I found reading Esquire an enjoyable and and at times a liberating experience. Over time, I'm finding I prefer to consume written media on an electronic device instead of the printed page. Esquire has been very innovative over the years, and this evolution of the magazine is no exception. I'm still not happy with magazine pricing. No matter what the publishers say, distributing electronically simply does not cost as much as sending out dead trees. Those savings need to be passed on to readers.