Best digital magazine service?

Johnmcl7

While fiddling about with a Nook I noticed the digital magazines seemed reasonably priced with £2.99 for one, £2.49 for a subscription whereas the magazine in the shops was around £4.50. Not having a physical version wouldn't bother me as I'd be unlikely to sell them on nor refer back to them that often so a digital collection would be better.

I'm wondering if anyone here reads the digital version of their magazine and if so which system they use and how they find it. Ideally I'd prefer something as platform agnostic as possible but Android is probably the most suitable (but not IOS).

John

paddyrg

Not platform specific, but bear in mind they don't read the same as paper mags, you don't flick through them work the same casual abandon skipping bits for later (as conveniently), you don't read them in the bath, you don't roll them up for your pocket, you become aware of access to charging points, etc.

You, of course, may do none of these things anyway - I know I probably do all of the above so am stuck with the dead tree pricing model! Just worth bearing in mind!

Johnmcl7

No, I don't really do any of those and charging isn't an issue either as I have a variety of different devices so there's usually one to hand that's suitable. I am a fan of ebooks but don't like the usually ridiculous pricing and the fact the e-book is worthless to sell on unlike the paper version but the pricing on magazines seems more reasonable and I'm not bothered about the lack of resale as paper magazines don't really keep their value.

John

alanclarke

Check out www.zinio.com - WebUser is £2.18 an issue and 26 issues per year for £35.99.

wba31

I read two magazines on my iPad mini that i used to subscribe to the paper version of.
One is called Relevant and is a US mag that covers all sorts of media/politics/faith based stuff, all sorts. It means I dont have all these magazines to pile up and then fill my recycling bin with etc, it's more compact than the paper magazine, and the media comes to life. In their music reviews it will play a snippet of the song (have to be careful reading on the train!). When on wifi adverts and articles have videos that play on it. The graphics move and it is for more interesting and enveloping than a paper magazine.
The other magazine is National Gegraphic. Articles gain videos, and you can flick through photo albums. It's all so much more interesting.

To download the magazines the ipad has an app built in called Newstand. Through the app you download a free magazine app for the one you want, and in there you then subscribe and pay for your subscription (which is cheaper than the paper subscription). you get a notification when your new mag is available for download.
I had a paper subscription to Mac Format which i have just cancelled and will be getting the ipad version when the June edition is released...

I_have_spoken

Use Zinio for Economist, Bloomberg, Harvard Business Review, Stereophile