newsstand
Latest
NewsStand built into iOS 5
iOS 5 adds NewsStand, which is going to be huge for readers and publishers. Demoed at WWDC today, NewsStand looks just like the iBooks app, but this is for magazines and daily papers. Working a bit like the Kindle magazine system, NewsStand will update your magazines when they are published without any fiddling around by users. Magazines can be read offline, and Apple has apparently signed up a boat load of magazines and newspapers. The whole newspaper and magazine feature of iOS got off to a bit of a rocky start, with publishers not too happy about the Apple rules. It isn't clear if the rules have changed, but having the majority of your daily reading available in one place with auto downloads is a big step forward.
Gourmet Live now available for iPhone
Gourmet Magazine closed shop a few years ago and has lived on through its Gourmet Live app for the iPad. A little less than a year after its iPad app debuted, the company rolled out an iPhone version. Both the iPhone and iPad app lets you browse recipes and read articles from their large collection of food-related content. The system uses a single login so all your saved and purchased content is available on both iOS devices. The iPhone app also has push notifications and integrated support for Twitter and Facebook. The Gourmet Live app is available now for free from the App Store.
Nook matches Kindle by bundling free web access to NYTimes.com with digital edition sub
Adhering to strict alphabetical order, where Amazon leads, Barnes & Noble follows. The Kindle was last week announced to include access beyond the New York Times' freshly erected online paywall as part of its device subscription to the NYT and now, lo and behold, the Nook family (including the Nook Color) is following suit in identical fashion. If you're happy to obtain your sub to New York's finest paper from the Nook Newsstand -- which costs $20 per month, same as Amazon's levy -- you'll get the bonus, complimentary, free-of-charge privilege of being able to access NYTimes.com without any constraints as well. So what if the online edition used to be free for the past eleventy years? The new Times dictates some fealty be paid and we're happy to see these e-reader purveyors helping to alleviate (mask?) that cost for some of us. Full PR after the break.
The French gain a 3D iPad Newstand
We've heard much talk of a virtual NewsStand for the iPad, but have yet to see one, until now. It seems, the French are the first to get a selection of magazines available on the iPad all from one app -- in virtual 3D, no less. Le Kiosque, by LeKiosque.fr, is a free iPad app that sells magazines via in-app purchase. According to the Le Kiosque iOS App Store description (with the aid of some nifty Google translation in tow), the app has a 3D kiosk interface with more than 400 magazines available at up to 70% off the real-world, glossy-paper equivalent. Once you've purchased your favourite mag, you can view it straight away via "streaming playback" -- no download wait times. There's also an off-line mode as well as access to archived back issues. From what we can gather (with the aid of Google Translate, once again), according to a telephone interview conducted by FRECHWEB.FR with Le Kiosque's head of marketing, Michael Philippe, two months of negotiations were held between Apple and the Le Kiosque team before the app was approved. Apparently, Le Kiosque was hoping to offer subscription-based content, but Apple refused. Where've we heard that before? Though in French, Le Kiosque is available in the US and UK iOS App Stores with some daily news content in English. Check out a video of the app in action after the break. [Via 9 to 5 Mac, FRENCHWEB.FR]
The Guardian announces subscription-based news app, is rumored Newsstand looming?
AppleInsider reports that, on Thursday, The Guardian announced it will be replacing its current app with an all new version "soon." Although the current version of the app will continue to work (but eventually be discontinued), the new app is to introduce The Guardian's award-winning video, reader comments on articles, improved live blogs and landscape reading. Jonathon Moore, the mobile product manager for The Guardian wrote, "We'll be launching the new app globally for the first time and although we can't confirm exactly when it will be available, we're working towards a pre-Christmas release." However, the more interesting side of this story is that the new app will be subscription-based, costing £2.99 for six months and £3.99 for a year. Although Moore didn't indicate that the new app's pricing structure had anything to do with any changes in the way the App Store delivers news content, it certainly does coincide with the rumored December 9th (or thereabouts) press event -- supposedly announcing an App Store news subscription service (featuring Steve Jobs as well as News Corp's Rupert Murdoch introducing The Daily -- unless it has in fact been delayed). Publishers have been seeking a better way to deliver their content on the App Store for some time now. Is the much-speculated App Store Newsstand (perhaps similar to the iBookstore) about to be introduced in time for the holiday season? We're holding out for December the 9th!
Gourmet magazine to return as iPad app
There's been a lot of talk about the iPad saving print, but in this case it might actually happen. Gourmet magazine closed up shop late last year, but the publisher is getting ready to bring the mag back -- as an iPad app called Gourmet Live. The app will be free (with a few options for in-app payments), and will not only include articles and recipes from the magazine, but some online check-in functionality, and a few other fun tidbits. It's not something that could support a print magazine, sounds like, but for fans of the brand, it'll be a nice return. Then again, maybe an app like this can support a magazine. Conde Nast, who owns both Gourmet and Wired (which is already making waves on the iPad), says that surprisingly, app sales have not only "surpassed our newsstand sales" but "has not cannibalized them either." That's intriguing -- all of the talk about the iPad saving print has focused on moving newsstand customers over to digital media, but a story like that hints that maybe digital media can still work as promotion for traditional newsstand publications. We'll have to see how this all plays out -- Gourmet Live is due out in the fall.
MacTribe goes to print magazine format
Making the leap from online-only to print format, MacTribe has announced that it will begin publishing a magazine version. The site, and now the dead-tree edition, will continue to feature a mix of reviews and news along with "cultural and aesthetic" items sure to appeal to the sophisticated taste of Apple fans everywhere.We wish the MacTribe team the best of luck with their launch and look forward to seeing the results of their efforts on newsstands this month.[via MacTech]
Digital newsstand saves paper, quarters
Traditionalists can go on and shed a tear, as it looks like we've found yet another suitable replacement for the tried and true newspaper. Of course, this DIY creation isn't apt to replace the existing iterations anytime soon, but for those not interested in leaving the house to fetch a paper, here's your solution. Crafted from an old newspaper box and utilizing a 17-inch LG Flatron LCD, a few nuts and bolts, a Mac mini, speaker system, and a fair amount of software tweaking, this digital newsstand flips through headlines in addition to cycling through slideshows, playing videos, and streaming audio. Take a closer look via video after the break.
