Time Inc. demos tablet-friendly magazine concept

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Time Inc. released a video walkthrough as well as a working model of its digital magazine format designed for touchscreen tablets.



Less than a month after competitor Condé Nast revealed that a digital version of Wired magazine would be available by the middle of next year, publisher Time Inc. released information Wednesday on its plans for making digital magazines a reality. Time announced that Sports Illustrated would be the first magazine to undergo the digital transition, and produced not only a video walkthrough but also a working example.



Peter Kafka at All Things Digital recently had access to the working demo of the format and reportedly had "quite a bit of fun." He reports that Time plans on making this technology available by the middle of next year or sooner.



The video features a floating hand walking the viewer though the format's various features and capabilities including: multi-touch controls, live links and sports scores, multimedia content and advertisements, and sharing though social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.







AppleInsider reported several weeks ago that rumors had been swirling over the creation of plans for a multi-publisher iTunes-like digital store for selling magazines. While both the Time Inc. and Condé Nast demos look similar in presentation and capability, it is unclear whether they will share a common format.



What is clear is that Apple's forthcoming tablet has greatly influenced the thoughts and actions of print publishers. It was reported earlier in the year that Apple had contacted various publishers in order to gain support for a new device that would revolutionize the way print media is presented, and the publishers have begun to respond.



Other important players in print media have also begun to make concerted efforts to break into the digital realm. Wednesday, The New York Times officially released the Times Skimmer, an application designed to make it easier to read the paper on different screen sizes and browsers. The Times claims that it provides online readers with the layout and experience of paging though an actual newspaper.
«134

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 78
    This is getting interesting. Though I am no SI fan, the concept would of course work for many other mags and things.



    I want my Tablet for Christmas!!!
  • Reply 2 of 78
    Think of all the trees that won't get cut down because of the Apple Tablet replacing all the paper publications.
  • Reply 3 of 78
    Let's hope these companies don't put all their eggs in one basket like the record companies did.
  • Reply 4 of 78
    Another game-changing product in the off-ing. No doubt about it.



    Congratulations, AI, for calling it early (perhaps, first?), and sticking to your guns on some of your basic predictions (e.g., no budging from your prediction of first quarter of CY 2010).
  • Reply 5 of 78
    eaieai Posts: 417member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post


    Think of all the trees that won't get cut down because of the Apple Tablet replacing all the paper publications.



    At the same time, trees are planted so that they can be cut down and used for paper... If the land doesn't have a value has a forest, it might be used for something more profitable and less ecologically sound.
  • Reply 6 of 78
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Beautiful. This is how ebooks and electronic newspapers should be.
  • Reply 7 of 78
    apple will rule the news too, just wait and see Steve will rule the world one day.
  • Reply 8 of 78
    floccusfloccus Posts: 138member
    I was trying out Times Skimmer earlier today, and I must say that it's rather nice. I don't prefer it for reading articles as the layout of the interface constrains the available viewing area compared to their normal webpage, but I definitely preferred the way you browse through articles. Looks like these formats are perfectly positioned for any future Apple "tablet" and the next generation of ebook readers.
  • Reply 9 of 78
    oc4theooc4theo Posts: 294member
    This is it! I want mine now. I'm beginning to think clear now. What other company has a platform that can already do this, but Apple? None, that I know of.



    This is IT. The future has arrived, sooner!
  • Reply 10 of 78
    Engadget said the demo was done on a HP Laptop.



    AppleInsider story doesn't mention this. Curious as to why? Isn't that misleading to suggest it's the rumored Apple tablet?



    http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/02/t...ure-anger-abo/
  • Reply 11 of 78
    bcodebcode Posts: 141member
    Anyone else notice that the icons on the tablet are identical to those in the iPhone OS? The search, home and bookmarks icons are exactly replicas.



    I wonder if they had a little help with this demo from their friends at Apple.
  • Reply 12 of 78
    bcodebcode Posts: 141member
    Actually what they said was "The company not only buzzed everyone with the charming walkthough video -- a floating hand paging through SI on a sleek, black tablet (embedded after the break) -- but also had a live, functioning variation of the product up and running on a touchscreen HP laptop"



    The tablet is a fictional illustration that could very well be based on something that Apple is putting together.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AngusYoung View Post


    Engadget said the demo was done on a HP Laptop.



    AppleInsider story doesn't mention this. Curious as to why? Isn't that misleading to suggest it's the rumored Apple tablet?



    http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/02/t...ure-anger-abo/



  • Reply 13 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bcode View Post


    Actually what they said was "The company not only buzzed everyone with the charming walkthough video -- a floating hand paging through SI on a sleek, black tablet (embedded after the break) -- but also had a live, functioning variation of the product up and running on a touchscreen HP laptop"



    The tablet is a fictional illustration that could very well be based on something that Apple is putting together.



    OK, how about TechCrunches article that claims

    Quote:

    The demo was shown on an HP table computer with a touchscreen, but it could easily be ported to an iPhone or an Apple iTablet, whenever that becomes available.



    http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/02...ital-magazine/



    Do you really think Apple is going to go along with a digital magazine concept based on Adobe Air as the article says the demo was done with?



    It would make it much more portable to Google Android than it would the Apple Tablet that has been rumored for the last 10 years.
  • Reply 14 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AngusYoung View Post


    Engadget said the demo was done on a HP Laptop...



    You expected them to do the demo on an Apple tablet?!
  • Reply 15 of 78
    Those were Safari symbols in the demo! The open book for bookmarks, etc...
  • Reply 16 of 78
    New format, same trash content.



    Still, it's a major success on Apple's part that they've been able to convince large media outlets to actually pursue a new business model, specifically one dependent on Apple. This is quite possibly bigger than Apple's taming of the RIAA, given the general "the customer is always wrong" attitude of mainstream media.
  • Reply 17 of 78
    The publishers need to design for multiple platforms not just Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 78
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    The publishers need to design for multiple platforms not just Apple.



    Adobe already runs on Google Android Mobile Platform. It doesn't run well on OSX (any version) and isn't compatible with the iPhone.



    I seem to be missing where Apple comes into this picture? Other than they have a rumored device that is going to be betwen 200 & 2,000 dollars and will run an operation system still unknown.



    Edit. Google's OS is going to be free. This could be why they created Google Chrome OS to run on a tablet.
  • Reply 19 of 78
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AngusYoung View Post


    Adobe already runs on Google Android Mobile Platform.



    Adobe is a company.
  • Reply 20 of 78
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post


    Apple scoring another green coup

    Think of all the trees that won't get cut down because of the Apple Tablet replacing all the paper publications.



    Speaking of ?green?, the music industry wasn?t hurting when Apple came along and wanted to sell music online, but the publishers are hurting. This is a way they can save their business and increase their profits.



    I won?t pay for a magazine anymore and won?t pay for online newspapers, but I would consider paying for magazines and newspapers to arrive on my tablet automatically like Podcasts get DLed.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    The publishers need to design for multiple platforms not just Apple.



    If iTunes LP and iTunes Extras are any indication of things to come then the use of HTML, CSS and JS to build these mags is already set in motion. Having each one DRMed for certain content or packaged in a way that it?s protected on the device isn?t much of an issue.
Sign In or Register to comment.