Condé Nast Firming Up Plans for iPad Applications

[MacRumors]

The New York Times reports that magazine publisher Condé Nast is firming up plans to bring its content to Apple's iPad, rolling out dedicated versions of a number of its high-profile titles beginning in April.

The first magazines for which it will create iPad versions are Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Glamour, the company plans to announce in an internal memorandum on Monday.

GQ will have a tablet version of its April issue ready. Vanity Fair and Wired will follow with their June issues, and The New Yorker and Glamour will have issues in the summer (the company has not yet determined the exact timing for those).

The report notes that Condé Nast will be running a multi-month test with the titles, examining pricing, advertising, and technological implementations as it looks to to develop its platform strategy. The publisher will be making its content available through iTunes during the test phase, with Wired also being made available in a non-iTunes format, although it is unclear exactly what that distribution method entails.

Condé Nast has been relatively proactive about bringing its content to the iPad, having demoed a digital version of Wired for tablet devices as early as last November with no direct knowledge of Apple's iPad plans. The publisher also already offers an iPhone application that has seen relatively strong sales since it launched late last year.

Article Link: Condé Nast Firming Up Plans for iPad Applications

 

[amac4me]

I'm looking forward to reading this publication on my iPad!

 

[iPhysicist]

In a few month when you go to your local hairdresser you will not find magazines and newspaper anymore but a lot of iPads flying around. There is no need in buying one yourself. Just get a 2$ Haircut and take away one of the ipads there. When the battery is down, just grab the next one.

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

I wonder if subscribers to those magazines will be able to get the iPad app for free.

 

[Balloonless]

We Want Playboy

 

[rdowns]

I wonder if subscribers to those magazines will be able to get the iPad app for free.

I don't see how that's possible. Not enough money in selling a subscription to pay for an iPad. Hell, not enough to pay for an iPod touch.

 

[zombitronic]

I wonder if subscribers to those magazines will be able to get the iPad app for free.

That's my hope. I wouldn't pay for two subscriptions. If I have to choose one, it's likely going to be the physical copy.

 

[giosaccone]

Eh! On January 27 Apple introcuced the iPad, so the iPad has come to us and now we go slowly to take the iPad!

 

[ShiftyPig]

In a few month when you go to your local hairdresser you will not find magazines and newspaper anymore but a lot of iPads flying around. There is no need in buying one yourself. Just get a 2$ Haircut and take away one of the ipads there. When the battery is down, just grab the next one.

*inserts not sure if serious jpg*

 

[atticus18244fsa]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.2.14320/922; U; en) Presto/2.4.15)

In a few month when you go to your local hairdresser you will not find magazines and newspaper anymore but a lot of iPads flying around. There is no need in buying one yourself. Just get a 2$ Haircut and take away one of the ipads there. When the battery is down, just grab the next one.

*inserts not sure if serious jpg*

I really hope he isn't.

 

[NeuralControl]

Same here. I hope the poster is being extremely sarcastic. For his sake, I hope he doesn't believe barbershops and salons are going to drop $500+ for iPads. I bet they spend less a year on subscriptions to all their magazines...

 

[Rot'nApple]

Wow! NYT, AP, Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Glamour thus far commented coming to the iPad... Great for those that like...

I can't wait until they get a news / magazine I would actually subscribe to!

 

[NeuralControl]

I am quite interested in seeing the pricing these magazines choose. The price, not the quality of the publication, will be the deciding factor for many people.

 

[Wilbah]

Same here. I hope the poster is being extremely sarcastic. For his sake, I hope he doesn't believe barbershops and salons are going to drop $500+ for iPads. I bet they spend less a year on subscriptions to all their magazines...

Not entirely true.. this idea isn't exactly far fetched!

My wife owns/runs a salon... I've setup a network of Macs that run the business side (booking, payroll, inventory etc etc). Our software company (STX) recently introduced an iPhone app, that nearly all of the stylists are now using (either on iphone or iTouch). It gives them push notices when their clients check in, and gives them the ability to look at the book, change prices on certain clients, etc etc...

The software also supports "online booking" for our clients... so a client can book (or at least reserve an appointment) by themselves.

I work in film/tv... and have already created content for the salon that airs on the screens in salon...

Needless to say, we have already toyed around with showing this "in salon" content (marketing films, basically); as well as booking future appointments on our old first gen iPhones, and people really like it... one complaint.... the screens are too small!

Now, we aren't going out and buying $500/per iPads, but rest assured, when the prices drop (and they will), we will without question be utilizing them for clients, for the variety of uses mentioned above as well as those not yet imagined... (how about priming them with product knowledge films and web based content on the products that get sold in the salon?)

She easily spends over $1,000/year on magazines and throw away media, granted two iPads won't service 350 clients a week, but when the prices drop, we can utilize them in a cross-use manner (helping to sell products and book future appointments); we'll do it.

This is really where with a little imagination, (at a slightly lower price point) you can see where the iPad will become as "normal" in life as the iPod now is.

 

[writingdevil]

so ready for mags

i'm absolutely certain my granpa would agree with mr. rotnapples comments about mags, but for one i'm so ready for wired, GQ, NYT(and nyt book review) and hope they bring on more (SI, economist, discover, ESPN, rolling s., mens health and some quality film mag...empire or Film Q.). i work in film in europe a lot and one issue of wired costs about 10E (about $13) where a year sub here is $10. now i only hope: prices are inline with sub prices here; that i can access them from anywhere in the world, where there is wifi, using the model being released here in late march/april. they said there will be a roll out in europe later and i'm not sure what the differences are, if any, in the ipads.

 

[Bodhi395]

Am I the only one that hates the idea of this being distributed by applications?

If I want to read a couple magazines each month I have to manaully download the current issue in application form and have it clog up my iphone/ipad. I would also have to manually delete each issue to free up more space for next months issue, which would be bad since I couldn't go back and look at it later on.

I think this is a stop-gap method and either Apple, or a 3rd party developer needs to create a Magazine stand program. So I have only one program I click on and it would bring up an interface similar to ibooks where I would be able to browse a magazine rack or look at ones I've already bought. It could even have a subscribtion service aspect where you could subscribe to a magazine for a year at a discounted rate. I wish Apple would just incorporate this into ibooks, or create an iMagazine app!

 

[kdarling]

iPad or print media, either way there's still a subscription fee.

For public usage (e.g. in salons), any reader had better be ruggedized (or cheaply insurable) to prevent damage losses.

.

 

[mkrishnan]

I don't see how that's possible. Not enough money in selling a subscription to pay for an iPad. Hell, not enough to pay for an iPod touch.

I think he/she meant that the subscribers get a comped copy of the app, not a free iPhone or iPad.

But anyways, right now, as I understand it, for GQ as an example... a GQ subscription costs $12 for one year or $20 for two. The magazine is $4.50US at the newsstand (and grrr, March better come in time for me to to use it for no-electronics time on the airplane). IIRC, the monthly iPhone app is $2.99 (and AFAIK is not comped for subscribers in any way)? I haven't tried the iPhone monthly app, myself. I probably would if it were a perk of subscription, but I'm pretty unlikely to if it's not. As it is, the reason I have a subscription to GQ (or Esquire) is entirely to drool over hot clothes read it in the airplane while I'm not allowed to use my iPhone, Kindle, or netbook. So I don't really feel motivated by the app anyways.

OTOH, it seems like, if they really do their work, they should get their advertisers to subsidize them, because all the click-through potential from magazines like that that focus on fashion & beauty should be fairly high.

 

[Rocketman]

I don't subscribe to any of those magazines and had no plans to whatsoever. But come to think of it, if I don't have to drive anywhere, shop, or exert myself paying for it, I might blow five bucks just to get a copy of Wired or GQ if something in it interests me. I like physical magazines and books as artifacts, but I consume the majority of my INFORMATION virtually.

This is probably a net value add to the businesses of these magazines. That alone is amazing.

On the iPad sharing meme, Steve envisions you loaning your iPad to someone sitting next to you. You log out, they log in and have full access to THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES. They log out and hand it back. Done.

ANY iPad is a window to the world to ANY user.

Rocketman

 

[diabolic]

iPad or print media, either way there's still a subscription fee.

I subscribe to 3 magazines right now, and I'd prefer getting them in electronic form. I really don't mind paying for the subscriptions.

 

[Spankey]

Who to believe? Less favorable view...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10461375-93.html

 

[Eye4Desyn]

Am I the only one that hates the idea of this being distributed by applications?

If I want to read a couple magazines each month I have to manaully download the current issue in application form and have it clog up my iphone/ipad. I would also have to manually delete each issue to free up more space for next months issue, which would be bad since I couldn't go back and look at it later on.

I think this is a stop-gap method and either Apple, or a 3rd party developer needs to create a Magazine stand program. So I have only one program I click on and it would bring up an interface similar to ibooks where I would be able to browse a magazine rack or look at ones I've already bought. It could even have a subscribtion service aspect where you could subscribe to a magazine for a year at a discounted rate. I wish Apple would just incorporate this into ibooks, or create an iMagazine app!

+1, I couldn't agree more. I posted a hypothetical solution to this a few weeks ago - suggesting that it be called iNewstand. Just like iBooks, said user could launch this app and see his/her magazine/periodical purchases on a virtual news stand of sorts perhaps even the ability to sort them by title, volume, issue month, genre, etc.

Someone countered that idea saying that it would force all magazine companies with an interest to distribute content to the iPad platform to develop their digital magazines to one standard. How true this would be I'm unsure. Somehow, I couldn't stomach seeing a ton of little apps for different magazine issues strung out across the screen. What a waste that would be.

 

[writingdevil]

Someone countered that idea saying that it would force all magazine companies with an interest to distribute content to the iPad platform to develop their digital magazines to one standard.

...that would be a killer for publishers and i'd rather have more access than a news stand kind of thing...

Somehow, I couldn't stomach seeing a ton of little apps for different magazine issues strung out across the screen. What a waste that would be.

..i have to say upfront i am not a librarian kind of guy who saves every issue , well, i have a couple of ones lying around which i never read but keep for...hmm,,not sure why, actually...but...... if i find an article or maybe an issue i want to keep, download it, if possible, to a flash drive. and download time shouldn't be that big a deal, kindle has superfast downloads granted they are mostly text and this will have graphics and all...still being able to get mags at low sub costs anywhere make this perfect for users like me...for others, paper will still be there (i guess)

 

[kdarling]

Agreed, it would be nice if each magazine was a single app that could display multiple issues. (Or perhaps each publisher could have their own display app for all its magazines.)

However, a consolidated app seems to be against the current SDK rules. Remember?

No app can have the ability to download code that will be interpreted... in other words, no general purpose interactive apps, such as Flash or a general magazine player.

Therefore, each magazine apparently must be a standalone, compiled app.

 

[rdowns]

I've been magazine free for a few years now. I can't say I miss them. I don't see me subscribing to them other than maybe trying one out if I end up with an iPad.

I really don't think people will buy subscriptions. magazines are dying and dying fast. Something like 65 titles folded in 2009.

Spend some time in Barnes & Noble. Lots of people read the magazines. I never see anyone taking one to a cash register.