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How useless is Newsstand?

Arelunde

Arelunde

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 6, 2011
980
28
CA Central Coast
I've had my iPad 2 since iOS 5 and greatly looked forward to the Newsstand feature in iOS 6. I know this is well past the time when such a comment should be noted, but with the iPad Mini encouraging lightweight portability for all things, including reading material, I have to ask...

WHY do I have to be connected either to iTunes and/or wifi to read the newspapers and/or magazines I spent a lot of time (not to mention MONEY) buying and downloading??? They aren't stored on the device! Why not?? I can download books and read them ANYWHERE!!! with or without wifi.

Now that I have an iPad Mini on the way, it will continue to be as useless for Newsstand as my iPad 2. SUCH a disappointment ... unless there's some secret to storing the Newsstand material ON the device??? Makes the expense of buying a truly portable iPad Mini seem way less than ideal.

Honestly, I think digital is the future of print publications. Why aren't they making it possible to carry them with you the way iBooks, Nook and Kindle do with books?
 
Can't speak for the mini but it downloads to my iPad fine. I don't need a permanent connection at all.
 
I wanted to delete the Newsstand, but I can't even find the file on my (jailbroken) iPhone :(
 
i've never used newstand for the reason i've never owned an iPad; and i would find reading books on my iphone exasperating - despite the fact that i did browse for books and found many i would otherwise buy.


but i didnt know you couldnt carry your digital books with you around.


you seriously have to be connected to a wifi to read them? that makes absolutely no sense at all and would seriously make me reconsider my idea of buying an ipad.

so you cant read your books on a plane, for instance?
 
i have used ibooks and newsstand without being plugged into the computer on a wifi only ipad without a wifi connection. Not sure what the OP is talking about.
 
Never used newsstand until I got the iPad Mini.

I love it so much more now. Must be because of the iPad Mini's smaller size compared the iPad.

You download the magazine to the iPad and it's stored there. No need for wifi afterwards.
 
thunderclap said:
Can't speak for the mini but it downloads to my iPad fine. I don't need a permanent connection at all.
Click to expand...

What's the secret? I download magazines, but can't access them when off wifi. In addition, I get a message to allow push messages from iTunes. What am I doing wrong???
 
Arelunde said:
What's the secret? I download magazines, but can't access them when off wifi. In addition, I get a message to allow push messages from iTunes. What am I doing wrong???
Click to expand...

I dunno. I just go to the magazine and I have a Download option. Once that's down the Download button turns to Read. Maybe it's a mini thing?
 
its a 2 step process. You have the app in the newsstand. The app is like your subscription, then within that app will be your issues. the phone treats the data as cached data so once a day or so it will receive the push of the new issue if there is one available. Once that is there you are free to go off connection without issue. The phone manages the data used so it will delete old stuff automatically as it needs the room.
 
I used newsstand once, and I didn't really like it. And the double "ss" in the middle of the name annoys me, as does the fact that a useless (to me) app is on my screen. They should really just remove newsstand and add the features of it to iBooks so you only get newsstand if you want it (by downloading iBooks)
Just my 2 cents.
 
Newsstands make reading more enjoyable.

Just download a few free ones.

Huffington Post
GameCenter
Dristro
Adweek
 
I REALLY appreciate all your input, but I must be doing something wrong when I download magazines. I download the latest, but I don't always get to it right away. When I try to access a specific magazine without a wifi connecion (and this applies to all 5 I subscribe to), all I get is that I need a wifi connection to read the magazine. So, something isn't right in the way I do things. :confused:
 
peeaanuut said:
just becuase you dont use it doesnt make it wortholess. I have used Find My friends quite a bit at large gatherings, theme parks, concerts, etc. I just used passbook for a plane ticket, was excellent. I dont play games so I cant comment on game center.
Click to expand...

Actually I think Game Center has potential, but its hard to get others to use it (making it useless).
 
Arelunde said:
I REALLY appreciate all your input, but I must be doing something wrong when I download magazines. I download the latest, but I don't always get to it right away. When I try to access a specific magazine without a wifi connecion (and this applies to all 5 I subscribe to), all I get is that I need a wifi connection to read the magazine. So, something isn't right in the way I do things. :confused:
Click to expand...

you need to allow the push to auto download. Until you download it, it is not there to read.
 
I have 3 magazines from Newsstand and all of them download locally to my iPad. I don't use it on my iPhone though, so therefore it's pretty useless on there. But it comes in handy on my iPad. No idea what problems the OP is having.


OP, which ones are you unable to access without wifi?
 
peeaanuut said:
you need to allow the push to auto download. Until you download it, it is not there to read.
Click to expand...

I ended up doing a restore on my iPad because NOTHING was working with Newsstand ... it would brick the iPad, even on wifi. Haven't tried yet to see if things have improved.

Where do allow "push" in iTunes. I've looked through all the settings on the iPad and can't find that. Is it something to do via the computer iTunes?

From what I'm hearing from you all, my situation is not normal. Apparently I should be able to download a magazine while in wifi and read it without wifi.
 
UPDATE:

I did a full restore on my iPad 2 and re-downloaded my current magazines. I checked Newsstand settings to make sure each subscription was allowed to automatically download new issues in the background.

When I was out of range for wifi, I checked Newsstand magazine access and I got a message "wifi needed to get current issues" (or something like that). I clicked cancel and then clicked one of the magazines I had previously downloaded that showed in my library. Each opened without problem and I could read all of every issue without wifi being active.

Thank you all for your help! The most important information was knowing I SHOULD be able to read the magazines with or without wifi.

:D:D:D
 
For me, newsstand is very useless. I have never used it. It's on my second homescreen.
For Scott Forstall, it's a beautiful addition because he "loves reading newspapers and magazines right on his iPad".
 
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