Wired Launches iPad Magazine App with Help from Adobe

[MacRumors]

Wired has launched their first iPad app version of their digital magazine. Wired has been one of the publications that has long been exploring the possibility of a digital distribution on Apple's iPad -- even before the iPad was ever officially acknowledged. They had worked extensively with Adobe at the time who had been promoting their digital publishing system.

The final product may have seen some delays, however. Due to Apple's strong stance against 3rd party cross compilers, Conde Nast and Adobe reportedly had to go back to the drawing board to rewrite the original Flash-based app into Objective C.

Wired seems happy with the app and explained how they are taking advantage of the medium:

The tablet is our opportunity to make the Wired we always dreamed of. It has all the visual impact of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated infographics. We can offer you a history of Mars landings that lets you explore the red planet yourself. We can take you inside Trent Reznor’s recording studio and let you listen to snippets of his work in progress. And we can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3.

The Wired Magazine app is presently available in the App Store for $4.99.

Article Link: Wired Launches iPad Magazine App with Help from Adobe

 

[capoeirista]

"Wired's video of the app (video does not appear to support iPad/iPhone)"

Well that's some counterintuitive advertising right there...

 

[zarusoba]

The blue lego looks outstanding on my iPod, and will look even outstandinger on iPad!

 

[Marcusjlang]

Very beautiful, pretty crazy though that it's bigger than half a gig (527 MBs). Seriously, think about it, that's the size of 5 or 6 albums with a good quality rip.

And on a side note... it's BS that they expect people to actually pay full retail for this... they are encouraging piracy.

 

[Piarco]

Well that looks very slick - can't wait to see what other magazines bring to the table, um, iPad.
But the price...$4.99/£3.50? A little bit outside of the sweet spot to make it a monthly purchase IMHO. If if was nearer £2 (approx $2.90) I'd maybe buy it some months, even cheaper and it would be a regular purchase...

 

[arn]

I'm not one to complain about app prices, but it does seem strange they are charging for it. I mean it has a bunch of ads in it as well. You'd think they'd go for a larger readership.

arn

 

[spazzcat]

Well that looks very slick - can't wait to see what other magazines bring to the table, um, iPad.
But the price...$4.99/£3.50? A little bit outside of the sweet spot to make it a monthly purchase IMHO. If if was nearer £2 (approx $2.90) I'd maybe buy it some months, even cheaper and it would be a regular purchase...

I agree, I was really looking forward to getting magazines again when I got my iPad. I will not pay $4.99 or $3.99 for each issue. I don't care how much interactive stuff they put in it. Give me the same subscription price I can get though the mail...

 

[abrooks]

They should have learnt from Time magazine, making each issue a separate app is a waste of screen space and effort. One app with in-app purchase would suffice perfectly.

Much like Time I imagine Wired will switch to this model soon, the complaints will be vocal.

Also 500MB an issue...!

 

[Morky]

The Adode relationship will improve

Adobe makes nothing from content viewers such as Flash. They earn all their money developing content creation tools, such as, er, Flash. Watch for Flash to become the tool for creating canvas animations and for Adobe to be the king of HTML 5 content development. This whole Flash argument will be a non-issue in a few years.

This from last fall:
http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2009/10/sneak_peek_ai_fl_dw_canvas.html

 

[.Andy]

Also 500MB an issue...!

Seriously? This is pretty much a killer for those of us with metered downloads. It would really add to the cost of each issue quite significantly.

 

[lifeinhd]

The tablet is our opportunity to make the Wired we always dreamed of. It has all the visual impact of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated infographics. We can offer you a history of Mars landings that lets you explore the red planet yourself. We can take you inside Trent Reznor’s recording studio and let you listen to snippets of his work in progress. And we can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3.

I don't understand how this is anything they couldn't do on a computer before.

 

[mrklaw]

They should have learnt from Time magazine, making each issue a separate app is a waste of screen space and effort. One app with in-app purchase would suffice perfectly.

Much like Time I imagine Wired will switch to this model soon, the complaints will be vocal.

Also 500MB an issue...!

not when its 500MB per issue. separate apps isn't great, but at least then you can leave itunes downloading it. 500MB downloading in the foreground while you can't do anything else isn't a great experience.

The size might become an issue for collections though. One of the nice things about 'e-mags' is that in theory you can carry a large collection around with you. Well at 500MB per issue, thats not very many issues to fill a 16GB ipad, assumign you'll have other apps, other mags (many of which are 100MB+)

price is ok, not sure why it'd be free just because it had ads. The regular magazine has ads too.

Will check this out, I'm a big fan of time and popular science. Probably wouldn't subscribe but I'd make sure I have the latest issue for a flight etc.

 

[Heliconsoul]

UK price is £2.99 I don't know that seems ok to me. 5GB storage a year for the actually magazines though

 

[c-Row]

Now that's how I always thought magazines should look on a tablet.

 

[steviem]

Adobe makes nothing from content viewers such as Flash. They earn all their money developing content creation tools, such as, er, Flash. Watch for Flash to become the tool for creating canvas animations and for Adobe to be the king of HTML 5 content development. This whole Flash argument will be a non-issue in a few years.

This from last fall:
http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2009/10/sneak_peek_ai_fl_dw_canvas.html

This looks like Adobe is thinking about a bigger picture than just Flash Player, and I'm pretty happy that you posted that link

 

[talkingfuture]

Can't wait to read this on my shiny new iPad when it gets here! looks great.

 

[Ed91]

Seriously? This is pretty much a killer for those of us with metered downloads. It would really add to the cost of each issue quite significantly.

Speaking of which, what an excellent way to restrict and regulate information & knowledge.

Digitise everything, then drive up the price of the internet for the average joe using a metering system, restricting access without obvious intervention. Or maybe I've just been too cynical for too long.

 

[gathart]

I think it is entirely reasonable to charge for it...

advertisement revenues will drop, and to maintain a good quality newspaper or magazine you need extra revenues. also if it is on-line why buying it off line?? I mean I love the Guardian newspaper app so much that I don't buy the paper....

All part of the iPad revolution: printed news will become wired (pardon the pun) or electronic news.

 

[angevil]

Is the app in flash? LOL

The video preview of this app makes me want the iPad even more! I wish I had it, ahhhh! So cool!

 

[ranReloaded]

I will say it once more, but the dreaded blue lego is as much as Steve's fault as it is of the lazy web devs that don't provide a fall back. Where I come from, not even Graceful Degradation is enough: Progressive Enhancement is the rule.

 

[DELTAsnake]

So, do I pay for the app and then new magazines are free, or do I have to pay for the app and magazines as well?

 

[johnboi1978]

Retail? REALLY?

So let me get this straight... I can pay $10 PER YEAR for the paper version delivered to my door, or I can pay $5 PER MONTH for a digital version that could not possibly cost them nearly as much to produce. Which one will I choose? PLUS I GOTTA SEE ADS TOO? WTF?

Oh yeah, I also get a free t-shirt with the paper version. Seems to me that Conde Nast has no intentions on taking digital publishing seriously.

 

[fosman]

Not just free, but pay me

This is starting to frustrate me now.

In the UK, as I'm sure elsewhere, if you subscribe to a mobile plan, a TV subscription, a broadband connection - you get the hardware to consume that content for free - be it a mobile phone, a satellite dish, a modem/laptop.

Why are magazines/newspapers/books etc think that they are in some privileged position to bleed me of all my money, only to show me more adverts? This is just counter intuitive and an insult to customers.

I have a subscription to both GQ and Wired. I pay them a monthly fee for good writing, articles and photography. I don't pay them for delivery, glossy paper and the mountain of junk mail - but I understand that that's what the best method is.

Why now, as a subscriber, am I expected to pay for the means of delivery, AS WELL AS pay again for the same content, albiet with some moving images.

Conde Nast have an opportunity to totally corner the magazine market while slash their delivery costs. They should be writing me to me saying "Hi, here's a choice for you. You can continue to receive your magazine subscription via post as normal - or we'll send you an iPad for free and you can move to our digital subscription. Or pay £2 extra for postage and get both. Your call".

Instead I get - "Hey, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE drop 500 notes on a delivery device so we can charge you twice for the same content, expose you to more of other magazines, show you more adverts and make you pay double. You have to, because, like, we're all in trouble if you don't."

This is just rude in my eyes, an insult to long term subscribers and a backwards business model.

f

 

[.Andy]

Speaking of which, what an excellent way to restrict and regulate information & knowledge.

Digitise everything, then drive up the price of the internet for the average joe using a metering system, restricting access without obvious intervention. Or maybe I've just been too cynical for too long.

You've been cynical for too long. At least per the case in australia. The price has always been coming down and the quota continually going up since the internet's inception here. But our telecommunications is based on an incredibly large country, a low population density in between cities, and relative geographic isolation in the world. That and other reasons means we've always had metered downloads.

 

[Erwin-Br]

I will say it once more, but the dreaded blue lego is as much as Steve's fault as it is of the lazy web devs that don't provide a fall back. Where I come from, not even Graceful Degradation is enough: Progressive Enhancement is the rule.

First of all, developers don't get to choose if fallbacks are provided. Their customers (in this case Wired Magazine) do.

Secondly, lazyness has got nothing to do with it. It's simply about cost and benefit. How much does it cost to write an alternative solution specially for iPad users, and is it worth the investment.