Future US magazine Mac|Life comes onto the iPad this week with a special edition that buzzes with a few of the customary tablet bells and whistles but emphasizes media sharing and user interaction. The free app ($1.99 for each subsequent edition) is not a facsimile of the magazine so much as a re-engineered version of a recent iPad Handbook special issue. The animated cover and table of contents draw readers into the guts of the content, which is a compilation of 101 iPad app reviews that are of course immediately relevant to the reader. Many reviews have slide shows embedded in the thumbnail image for the reviewed app so users can swipe through multiple screenshots.
Future US and development partner B3 Publishing have recreated the reviews from the handbook but also focused on social enhancements. Every review has direct links to Twitter, posting to Facebook, an article send tool via email and a link to post a comment. The reader can see the dynamically updated rating from other users of the app as well as a live view of how many people have seen the article and voted on the app. Towards the front of the issue, Mac|Life also includes a live feed of current Twitter conversations from its own page on the micro-blog site. “Digital and mobile readers deserve more than just repurposed print content,” says Kate Byrne, vp of technology and active group, Future US in a statement. The company says that each iteration of the app will incorporate feedback and input from the last version.
Its ambitions to the contrary, the Mac|Life app is at heart repurposed print, but with a layer of social connectivity and modest amounts of multimedia added. Nice, but not revelatory. If the conversations from the comments section had been folded into the app itself then it would get closer to its noble goal of integrating social interactivity. And dynamically updated apps do come at a price. In this case there is a Mac|Life placeholder screen that sits between most pages as the next page’s content and live ratings/viewings updates were pulled in live from the Web. Some readers might trade a smoother experience (perhaps some advance caching would help?) to getting live data.
Nevertheless, the Mac|Life app and its 101 app reviews is clearly on target for its audience and has enough extras to feel distinct.
iPad News Source: minonline.com
App Store: Free
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