Originally Posted by Mountainbikermark

Maybe it's me but it sounds like you are trying to talk yourself out of developing an app.

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I got that as well.

I didn't care much for your layout. I'm also not a huge fan of Zinio. I much prefer a Flipboard or Zite style app. You can touch and expand articles, pictures, etc. A magazine in that style would be an easy buy for me, providing I had an interest in the content.

Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

What about if we made a off-line viewer available, so the content would be available even if no wireless connection was available? Would that address your issues?

Richard Truesdell
Co-Founder and Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler Magazine, AutomotiveTraveler.com
E-mail

Think Google maps on Android. You can view via live feed or if you know you will be away from signal of any sort you can download the content in advance for later viewing.
Tablets are in their newbie period now, but again the present and future is apps. When the iPhone first came out it changed the way we do things on our phones. The tablet is changing the way we mobile compute. Again, nothing wrong with the present method but don't dismiss the possible revenue enhancement an app would provide. In under 5 years the mobile phone world as we knew it is gone. I see the same future for mobile computing, probably in less time if sales of the ipad2 are any indication and the fact that Moto was so afraid of the iPad they released a, well that's another topic for another day , but never the less websites are the present for their reasons whereas as the tablet world expands so will the memory storage, speed and abilities. Heck my children's iPods were top of the line when they came out with a whopping 8 gig of memory, a few years later that is the very bottom of capacity. The iPad 2 has double the ram of the one just 1 year prior. Memory storage may be an issue now but it won't be in another year I bet.


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Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

To Numblock, what we are doing is so much more than a PDF

Excellent!

Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

From what I can see, for some the messenger (the app) is more important than the message (the content).

But I don't agree with this 100%. I see the app as equal to the content. The advantage of getting the app right, is you should only have to do it once, nail it, then focus on what you love to do - creat great content!

For me, a crappy app makes great content less enjoyable - or even not enjoyable at all.

Download Wired, it's free this month (sponsored by Adobe) to see how to get it right.

Originally Posted by NumbLock

Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

To Numblock, what we are doing is so much more than a PDF

Excellent!

Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

From what I can see, for some the messenger (the app) is more important than the message (the content).

But I don't agree with this 100%. I see the app as equal to the content. The advantage of getting the app right, is you should only have to do it once, nail it, then focus on what you love to do - creat great content!

For me, a crappy app makes great content less enjoyable - or even not enjoyable at all.

Get the app right, the rest takes care of itself


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I am happy with my PDF magazine. Wierd is nice , but to download 400M for each Magazine, on a tablet with no USB - is too much.
PDF is much smaller. You can re-size the page.
from the publisher point of view PDF is not good. It will be circulated free on the net an hour after being published. No way to protect it. With the application you may sale adds .

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. They are coming from a different perspective than my own.

I'm still conflicted on the app vs browser strategy. The app gives me complete control over the integrity of the presentation. But as a small publisher, the cost (from the developer quotes I've gotten) is prohibitive and gets worse if apps need to be developed for additional platforms like Android.

The browser/viewer approach is universal, works on any device but I realize that it looks best (and was designed for) screens at least as big as the one found on an iPad, a minimum of 10 inches. Does anyone really read magazines on smaller devices, like an iPhone? Maybe younger people do, but it's my belief that if you're over a certain age, say 40 or 45, this is simply not the case. Am I wrong?

It's obvious to me, as the content creator/publisher, that if this is seen as a PDF, we're doing something wrong in the way we are marketing Automotive Traveler. Although we output the page layouts from Scribus (and InDesign open source clone) to PDF, there is a lot going on before you see the presentation in our viewer. This has to do with things like how the content is searched and how we will be presenting video in the months to come.

In stepping back and looking at this from a global perspective, not only does it seem that I'm trying to bridge the gap between traditional magazines and the web, but between netbooks, laptops, and desktops with tablets like the iPad.

Even though Apple is on track to sell up to 50 million iPads this year (I assume this is worldwide), their overall household penetration will remain less than 10% here in the US, at least through the end of the year. As a content creator I'm trying to position myself as this market evolves and expands, reaching the maximum number of readers. Overall, it's no secret, that porting magazine-type content to tablets hasn't been all that successful. Wired, which many people cite as a good example, hasn't come close to the sales when it was first introduced. Is the size of the app impacting its success. This is certainly an advantage to a browser-based approach.

That will change once pricing models meet reality. Many people would much rather but a subsidized subscription for $10/year (83 cents an issue typically) than pay $3.99 per month for virtually the same content as an app. This is the battle the big publishers are fighting right now. They saw what iTunes did to the music industry, and don't want that to happen to them. Have you seen the size of the CD section in your local Best Buy? It's virtually gone.

Will the iPad replace traditional magazines as a way of delivering magazine-style content? I'm not sure. Many older readers, those for who magazines were an important part of their lives, find it hard. But the handwriting is on the wall as it was just announced that for the first time ever, eBooks now outsell traditional paperbacks. That's more because of Kindle and the Nook along with other eReaders but I think the iPad will be an increasingly important part of the picture.

I hope to keep the discussion going, hopefully getting more people involved so I can get a better handle on the process.

Richard Truesdell
Co-Founder and Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler Magazine, AutomotiveTraveler.com
E-mail

I think I read a lot. Depending on my schedule, I probably average a book a week. I also have I also have 9(?) magazine subscriptions that come to my house.

A year ago I bought a nook just to give it a try. I never thought I could get past not having the "book" feel. Boy was I wrong. I love the convenience of the nook, and don't think I purchased a paper book since I bought it.

I read a few online magazines, but haven't purchased a subscription to one yet. Since I bought this iPad (my first tablet) I've found I am getting behind in my magazine reading. I'm now starting to look for online versions. I'm not ready to make the switch as I did with books, but I absolutely believe I will eventually, if the format is nice. It only makes sense to carry all my media on my iPad. I can't see it taking the place of my Nook, but I can easily see it replace my magazines. I'd prefer a central reader like Zinio (which I don't care for), but I'd purchase the right app. Wired is a great example of an app done right.

As for my iPhone, you're mostly right in my case. I wouldn't purchase something to read on my iPhone, but I do use it for reading at times. I love the nook app. It syncs across devices. I can read on my nook, then find myself stuck in a waiting room the next day, take out my iPhone, and pick up where I left off. I can go to the camper on the weekend, realize I left my Nook a home, and pick up where I left off on my iPad.

I've already decided to buy a few magazine issues that I don't currently subscribe to see if I like them.

Martlet,

I find it so interesting that you distinguish between using the Nook for books (I assume it's not a Nook Color) and the possibility of using the iPad for magazines. I would think that you would do books and magazines both on the iPad, possibly with the Nook and Kindle apps for the iPad.

What am I missing?

Originally Posted by AutoTraveler

Martlet,

I find it so interesting that you distinguish between using the Nook for books (I assume it's not a Nook Color) and the possibility of using the iPad for magazines. I would think that you would do books and magazines both on the iPad, possibly with the Nook and Kindle apps for the iPad.

What am I missing?

E-ink has a much different "feel" to it. It's easier on the eyes and is less distracting. I allows me to fall into a book easier. This is particularly important since I normally read before bed.

Magazines are different. They usually aren't soothing, have large color images, glossy pages, and are typically more information driven. You usually don't fall into a story, even a short magazine story. They are often fact or opinion driven, full of short pieces and bright pictures. That would look pretty on E-ink. I wouldn't make the Nook my primary magazine reader for the same reason I wouldn't make the iPad my primary book reader. The medium is just wrong for the experience.

Magazines on the iPad can look great if done right. Touch an image and have I fill the whole page. Links right in the article to be viewed immediately. Videos embedded. The opportunities are endless.