using the ipad to read your magazine subscriptions

Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
156
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Does anybody actually use their ipad to read magazine subscriptions? This is something that I would actually like to do and I've noticed that some magazines are joining the revolution and offering a digitial version of their magazine and others have partnered with Zinio to offer a digital version of their magazine.

If anybody has converted their subscription to a digital version, I'd like to hear your feedback on how well (or not well) the ipad is in terms of your viewing experience. Is it conveinent? Is it easy to view the contents? Is there a delay in receiving the digital subscription version?

Some details would be nice too. Such as if you're using Zinio or a direct digital subscription with the magazine. If you only view it on the ipad or do you view it on other computers and if so, what computers? Thanks.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
I bought a 1 year subscription to MacWorld through Zinio (I also have a hard copy subscription). So far it is fairly good, I will probably not renew the hard copy and just stick with digital.
 
OP
H
Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
156
Reaction score
0
Points
16
I bought a 1 year subscription to MacWorld through Zinio (I also have a hard copy subscription). So far it is fairly good, I will probably not renew the hard copy and just stick with digital.

Have you experienced any problems that cause you to say that it's "fairly good" and not awesome? If so, please elaborate.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Have you experienced any problems that cause you to say that it's "fairly good" and not awesome? If so, please elaborate.

No problems per se, just that digital subscriptions tend to be considerably more expensive than I am used to paying for the hard copy. And, the experience of reading a paper magazine is a little better than the digital--though you have the trade-offs of convenience and availability, plus lack of clutter with the digital.
If the prices were similar I would never subscribe to a hard copy magazine again. But that doesn't mean reading the paper version isn't a marginally better experience.
 
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
8,428
Reaction score
295
Points
83
Location
Waiting for a mate . . .
Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac 2.9Ghz 16GB RAM - 10.11.3, iPhone6s & iPad Air 2 - iOS 9.2.1, ATV 4Th Gen tvOS, ATV3
just that digital subscriptions tend to be considerably more expensive than I am used to paying for the hard copy.

Your kidding ?? I havnt looked in on too many iPad threads and didnt realise that the Digital subscription is more expensive .... So my question is how are they justifying the higher prices ?? As with probably alot of people thinking no paper, means no physical delivery means cheaper magazine ??
Obviously not.
Is it just MacWorld or does it go for a lot of the magazines ?? I do get quite a lot of 'Mags' and a iPad was on the distant horizon, and as yet havnt researched the subscriptions but if you could give your input ??
Sorry OP hope its not to far off topic for this thread :)

Cheers
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
13,172
Reaction score
348
Points
83
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | LED Cinema Display | iPhone 4 | iPad 2
I think almost all digital magazines so far have prices that are far higher than their print editions right now.

That's the biggest reason I refuse to deal with digital magazines. Not to mention, most magazines just look better in print.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I receive multiple subscriptioins via zinio - aside from Zinio's quite annoying habit of sending 20+ emails per month - the magazine quality is very good.

I have a half dozen subscriptions incl'g Smithsonian, National Geo and have not renewed my paper subscription to PC Magazine and receive that one via my iPad.

They have a reader, I understand, that can be used on the computer, but I have never used it.

Aside from the tactile feel and smell of a good magazine, the quality is equal or in some cases superior to the paper version only due to being able to enlarge photos and video incl'd in the digital versions.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Your kidding ?? I havnt looked in on too many iPad threads and didnt realise that the Digital subscription is more expensive .... So my question is how are they justifying the higher prices ?? As with probably alot of people thinking no paper, means no physical delivery means cheaper magazine ??
Obviously not.
Is it just MacWorld or does it go for a lot of the magazines ?? I do get quite a lot of 'Mags' and a iPad was on the distant horizon, and as yet havnt researched the subscriptions but if you could give your input ??
Sorry OP hope its not to far off topic for this thread :)

Cheers
Macworld digital version is $19.99/year. I paid something around $20 for a two year hard copy subscription (been a while so I can't remember exactly what I paid).
Honestly, my main complaint with digital is what I see unjustified higher price. Having said that I will probably not use Zinio for renewals or future purchases if there are any other options.
I got an email offer of 20% off Macworld from Zinio, followed the link and subscribed and ended up being charged the full price. It isn't worth my time and effort to chase after them for $4, but it left a sour taste in my mouth with regards to doing any future business with them.

I really like the idea of having full access to my magazine library without the stacks of back issues (my wife is always asking me if we can pitch old magazines--so far I have resisted). So, if the prices come down I will definitely go digital. :)
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
1,466
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
2.8 GHz 15" MacBook Pro OS X 10.7.x & some old Macs
Not to hijack this thread but what I want to know is if you get to keep the file on your iPad or saved to a hard drive rather than only accessing the digital magazines from the cloud? The reason I'm asking is that some magazines go out of business and I don't want to lose the valuable information from some of their past magazines.

From previewing some magazines available for the computer I can see the quick search benefit is a huge advantage for digital. It's much easier and quicker than trying to search through my stacks of physical magazine in order to find just one article. The only reason why I keep old magazines is to re-read something to refresh my memory on that topic and to use it as a reference so a quick cataloging search further is very useful.

I am disappointed that the digital versions cost more but hopefully the price will go down once more people sign up for it. The extra cost might be due to them hiring extra employees to create the digital versions. I'm just making a guess. That should change if digital becomes normal.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
34
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Bury, England
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 21.5" 3.06 i3 4gb, MacBook Pro 13" 2.4 i5 4gb, iPad2 32GB 3G black, iPhone 4S 16GB black
Some interesting pricing policies going on here.

For example,

MacWorld US $24.97 (on offer @ $19.97) for 12 mags
MacWorld UK £49.99 for 14 mags - thats $80 :Angry:

However UK Zinio £39.99 for 14 mags - cheaper than the hard copy?

However the US mag from the UK Zinio site is only £12.44 for 12 mags??!!

As they say - GO FIGURE


Pete
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
When you weigh in the cost to produce the digital copy currently, the number of copies sold, and the fact that Apple is taking 30% off the top, my guess is that many don't have a lot of option in the price point currently.

This is assuming it's not just a scan of the paper version, the ones doing that should be about even, even after Apple's 30% cut.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Interesting timing. I just got an email from Macworld offering to extend my digital subscription for $14.97 for twelve more issues. I will be taking advantage of the offer. :)
 
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
8,428
Reaction score
295
Points
83
Location
Waiting for a mate . . .
Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac 2.9Ghz 16GB RAM - 10.11.3, iPhone6s & iPad Air 2 - iOS 9.2.1, ATV 4Th Gen tvOS, ATV3
Interesting timing. I just got an email from Macworld offering to extend my digital subscription for $14.97 for twelve more issues. I will be taking advantage of the offer. :)

So there is no sour taste anymore then ??

I got an email offer of 20% off Macworld from Zinio, followed the link and subscribed and ended up being charged the full price. It isn't worth my time and effort to chase after them for $4, but it left a sour taste in my mouth with regards to doing any future business with them.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
So there is no sour taste anymore then ??

Actually this email came directly from Macworld.

My annoyance was with Zinio who sent me a 20% off offer that somehow disappeared during the purchase process.

I just extended and the link to me direct to Macworld site, not Zinio. Though with subscription changes Apple is instituting won't be able to do this much longer.
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
2nd Update - A little confusion on this end, now cleared up

I got to thinking about the renewal eMail I received from Macworld for my digital subscription (so I thought since it was in reply to my recent order, or so it said). So I went back and looked and followed the link again and found to my chagrin that I had apparently extended my hard copy subscription. However, there is good news.

I called Macworld customer service and found out:
1) I could have simply had my hard copy subscription converted to digital--no need to do a new subscription for the electronic version. So those of you who have hard copy and want to switch all it takes is a call to Macworld and downloading the Zinio APP.
2) They could (and did) merge my electronic and hard copy subscriptions so I now have one subscription (electronic) running through 2013.
3) The subscription extension I did last night hadn't processed yet but when it does it will be applied to my electronic subscription extending it until 2014
4) Macworld has very nice and competent customer service representatives
5) If you are wanting to archive magazines for future reference you should probably get the Mac version of the Zinio APP also as you are only allowed three downloads of each issue (you can read your stored versions forever). That way the issues would be on your hard drive not just in your iPad. Each issue takes up ~20MB.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
17
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Worldwide
Sorry all for jumping in, please be aware that the prices shown on our newsstand are actually set by the publishers, we do not actually have a saying in the pricing process, we can make recommendations although the publishers are the ones making the final decision.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
17
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Worldwide
Macworld digital version is $19.99/year. I paid something around $20 for a two year hard copy subscription (been a while so I can't remember exactly what I paid).
Honestly, my main complaint with digital is what I see unjustified higher price. Having said that I will probably not use Zinio for renewals or future purchases if there are any other options.
I got an email offer of 20% off Macworld from Zinio, followed the link and subscribed and ended up being charged the full price. It isn't worth my time and effort to chase after them for $4, but it left a sour taste in my mouth with regards to doing any future business with them.

I really like the idea of having full access to my magazine library without the stacks of back issues (my wife is always asking me if we can pitch old magazines--so far I have resisted). So, if the prices come down I will definitely go digital. :)

We are terribly sorry for this, if you don't mind could you please either send us a direct message on the forum with your contact details alternatively please feel free to send an email to [email protected] as we would like to resolve the issue and find out what went wrong. Also please keep in mind that there is usually a time frame attached to each offer just in case there is a possibility that the subscription was made after the end date of our offer.
Many thanks and again apologies!
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Sorry all for jumping in, please be aware that the prices shown on our newsstand are actually set by the publishers, we do not actually have a saying in the pricing process, we can make recommendations although the publishers are the ones making the final decision.

My complaint specific to Zinio was I got this email

"Extra 20% Off Top Mac Titles (Limited-Time Offer)"

from Zinio, followed the link and typed in the code word (I believe it was Macworld) but though it showed the discount I was still charged the full subscription price. Not, in my mind conducive to future business.

EDIT: I can see you replied to this issue while I was typing my first reply. I will follow up on your suggestion.
 
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
8,428
Reaction score
295
Points
83
Location
Waiting for a mate . . .
Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac 2.9Ghz 16GB RAM - 10.11.3, iPhone6s & iPad Air 2 - iOS 9.2.1, ATV 4Th Gen tvOS, ATV3
Sorry all for jumping in,

This is great that a *rep* has found this forum and is wanting to help. I am in another **Australia** Technology forum and there are reps from everywhere there. If there is a problem and member winge and ***** about the product, the rep has direct contact with the unhappy member.
Goes for my service provider. I had a problem and with in 1hr he was on my case and the problem was fast tracked . . . .

Well done to Zinio for taking the bull by the horns and conecting with there customers.
Needs to happen more in this day and age ;)

Cheers
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
17
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Worldwide
This is great that a *rep* has found this forum and is wanting to help. I am in another **Australia** Technology forum and there are reps from everywhere there. If there is a problem and member winge and ***** about the product, the rep has direct contact with the unhappy member.
Goes for my service provider. I had a problem and with in 1hr he was on my case and the problem was fast tracked . . . .

Well done to Zinio for taking the bull by the horns and conecting with there customers.
Needs to happen more in this day and age ;)

Cheers

Thank you for your kind comment :), we appreciate any feedback we can get whether if it's good or bad. We know we're not perfect though the good news is that we can definitely improve and especially with your help, by finding out what problems you encounter we know which areas we need to work on. [As per Bobtomay's earlier post our client notification emailing system definitely needs some improvement...]
So thank you again and please keep the complaints coming...just kidding :D hope there's not that many!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top