Kudos To Wired: Magazine iPad App Is Gorgeous [Check the Video]

Against the odds and earlier than expected, Wired magazine has debuted its interactive magazine app for the iPad. And it’s killer.

The Wired app blends the magazine’s superb editorial editorial and high production values with elements that only digital can bring - interactivity and multimedia. The stories are well-written and beautifully designed with big, gorgeous photos. Navigation is easy and intuitive and there are lots of interactive graphics and supplementary video.

“Wired magazine will be digital from now on, designed from the start as a compelling interactive experience, in parallel with our print edition,” says Chris Anderson, Wired’s editor in chief. “Wired is finally, well, wired.”

Thanks to Apple’s ban on Flash, the app had some birthing troubles, and was expected later this summer. Wired has solved the Flash issue by making the app native to the iPad — it’s not an Adobe Air or Flash port. According to Anderson, it’s made with the same Adobe productions tools used to create the print magazine, so it’s (relatively) easy and quick to produce in parallel. This, of course, is crucial.

It’s not cheap — $4.99 a pop — which has already upset some reviewers on iTunes. Because the digital edition is produced in parallel and distribution costs are near zero, it should cost a lot less than print, critics reason. (The print edition costs less than a dollar with a subscription).

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But the price is perhaps one of the most important things about the digital edition. Wired is trying out a new business model, one that many print publishers are praying will work. Me too. If Wired can make it profitable enough to support its editorial costs, that’s good news for everyone — publishers and readers.

Check out CultofMac.com’s quick video tour of the Wired iPad app (This video will play on the iPad, btw):

14 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by Leander Kahney.

Posted in iPad, iPad apps, News |

knuckles
Thanks for the article. And good idea regarding the high price point. Maybe in the future Wired and other magazines will offer digital sub’s that will essentially cost the same as print. One question: Do you know what Adobe program or how they created this digital edition?
thanks
http://cherylanncole.co.uk Andrew Macdonald
That is gorgeous. That’s the standard every other magazine should book looking to emulate. Perfectly done. Never been a reader of Wired, but when I pick up my iPad this week, I shall definitely be picking up Wired’s iPad edition with it.
joh
I see a bright future for digital magazines on the iPad.
Gazoobee
Gorgeous work, and kudos to them for ditching Flash, but don’t you have to be a bit of a fool to purchase this thing?
I mean it’s $5.00 a month for a digital magazine that only cost $3.50 in print, and it still has advertisements in it? People complain about paying $.99 for a game or utility that has advertisements, but they will pay *more* for a magazine with advertisements?
Humans sure are illogical.
BtotheD
Notice how many pages of crap he has to wade through to get to any content. I can see charge an outrageous price compared to a print edition, but you have to take out the ads at that point or it’s just plain insulting.
G24
Looks nice, but not quite the degree of innovation I would expect to see.
Also, doesn’t the purchase price of a physical tree-based publication cover the cost of print and distribution, while the advertising pays for everything else? I see zero print costs, almost zero distribution costs, but plenty of advertising…
BoxMac
Hey Leander ….
You think this looks good, huh?
Boy, you impress easily ….
Mayhaps you should mosey over to the Apptore & read the reviews on this piece of drek.
How disappointing — *especially* considering ….
1] this *WIRED* FFS
2] all the drumbeating the do for iPad & they have a can’t-make-this-up PERFECT synergistic opportunity & *this* is what the turn out ?!?
yechhh ….
Andrew
Completely awesome. BUT, what’s the case you’re using Leander?
Steve
In Australia, we have one of our computer mags publishing for the iPad. People on one of our sites were complaining about the price saying it should be much cheaper cuz of zero print costs etc. One of the magazine editors actually came out and explained that Apple still take their 30% cut of the sale price as it’s considered an “app”.
The price seems fair where you take that into account. What’s not fair is Apple taking 30%! They need to differentiate magazine content from normal applications.
Gabriel
This Joe blow ain’t paying that price, and neither will average american Joe blow. Whatevs and good luck.
JW.
RE: Wired iPad App price point
In Australia we pay A$8 for a subscription for each edition of the printed Wired magazine, $12 if you buy it from the news stand, therefore A$5.99 for the App is a welcomed price. Most magazines in Aust have a massive premium thrown on top to cover shipping — the most recent Time magazine is $17 for example.
RE: Paper versus digital pricing
I’m a big believer in that you pay for the data and not the medium. As with music, you pay for the right to listen to the music, not whether it is distributed via CD or MP3. What digital distribution does is opens the doors to artists getting more for their work (see the recent New Yorker article ‘Apple vs Amazon’ — agency model allows authors to receive 25%, instead of 13%, from sales), more choice and higher quality of content.
Counterpoint: Being in a different market to the US, Apple’s recent innovations have brought the price of media down in Australia — Music albums now cost A$16, in 2000 they cost A$29 (regardless of the medium). I look forward to magazines, news, and books receiving the same discounts.
RE: Advertising in the digital version
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of how much revenue come from advertising versus the magazine purchase and costs of production overheads (editorial staff, photography, design/layout, distribution, rent), then to work out what the actual cost margins are. Once you have these number one can whine about whether or not ads should be included. I suspect without advertising the magazine would cost more than double.
@ knuckles:
I’ve read that publishers (eg: Time magazine) are using a plug-in for Adobe’s InDesign by Woodwind
JW.
@ Steve — 30% is nothing. Borders, for example, takes 50% of the sale price of print magazines and books.
TV
The first thing I noticed was all of the ads (the first 6 pages). It’s frustrating, but I suppose flicking one’s finger is easier than turning a page.
BtotheD
Clicking a link on the cover to go straight to an article might be faster, but turning actual pages is much faster when you know that in reading a typical magazine you usually have to go 10 pages or so to get through all of the junk. Full page advertising in a medium like this is probably not going to be worth it since only one page is showing at a time. I think over time you will find the ads as partials on content pages once these magazines start designing for the device.