Sideways for iPad. Magazine App which Could Push the Print Media Alternatives for Some Market Share

Sideways iPad Magazine

Sideways [rating: 3.5/5]

One of the things discussed when the iPad was launched was it’s impact on the print media. Would the iPad save it by enabling magazines and newspapers to utilize the new features to earn more revenue to stabilize the falling revenues of the print media or would it be the death nail in the print media’s coffin as millions of users changed their reading habits to the electronic form? The outcome to that debate has a long way to go but what the iPad is enabling is for new alternatives to the print media to grow and in this case it’s a new magazine app called Sideways.

Sideways is a lifestyle magazine with topics covered in it’s first issue including the World Cup, music, apps, food, technology and opinion. The app looks really nice and includes inbuilt music and video as well as the glossy pictures and clear text.

Sideways iPad MagazineSideways can be read in both landscape and portrait mode although the landscape view works best enabling a navigation bar on the left while the main content appears on the right. Navigating the app is easy too with the touch screen being utilized to scroll through the articles and that you have selected. Some of the screens do open up in ‘pop-up’ windows which you can then close down to return to the app.

Some of the nicest content in this first edition of the application were the music reviews which were video based and ran smooth and clear even at full screen.

With any magazine though, however good it looks, it will be based on it’s content and it’s writing and while some of the writing is engaging the articles are relatively short compared to the established magazines of the print world.

At $4 per issue I would hope to see an increase in the content per magazine especially as some content is not available with the launch of each issue but will become available days, if not weeks after the initial launch. It’s also worth noting that an internet connection is required for some of the content so those of you with WiFi only iPads will need to ensure that you have it connected to a WiFi hotspot to enjoy all of the content.

For its initial launch Sideways has produced a well rounded magazine app, if it can increase it’s content to offer even more value for money then they could have a winner on it’s hands.

Pros

  • Great looking
  • Multi-media options
  • Good range of articles

Cons

  • Articles are well written but short
  • Not all articles available at launch
  • More content required for $4

Sideways – The Magazine, June 2010

Price: $3.99 (iTunes Store)
Category: Lifestyle
Released: Jun 09, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0
Size: 2.7 MB
Language: English
Seller: Sideways Software LLC
© 2010 Sideways

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