Glamour, Rolling Stone debut key iPad releases
updated 10:40 am EDT, Tue August 3, 2010
New Rolling Stone issue integrates iTunes
Two important magazine issues have made their way to the iPad. The first is the inaugural iPad edition of Glamour, which -- like other electronic editions from publisher Condé Nast -- is enhanced with special extras like video. Some exclusive fashion picks have been added however, and the app encourages consumption by letting people tap on some images to go to a website, where they can buy a product. Condé is not receiving a cut of any of these sales, at least at present.
The issue is also notable for attracting an unusual amount of advertiser interest due to being on the iPad, pushing its page count up to 420 -- Glamour's highest number in 23 years. Condé moreover developed the app in-house, as with GQ and Vanity Fair, instead of relying on help from Adobe as it did in the case of Wired. The publisher is said to be interested in gauging which route is more effective, and to that end the upcoming New Yorker iPad app will be based on Adobe technology as well. Each iPad issue of Glamour is selling for $4, the same as the print edition.
Rolling Stone, meanwhile, has released an enhanced version of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time issue through the Zinio iPad app. While Zinio is meant to be a generic platform covering a broad range of magazines, the new Rolling Stone issue allows readers to sample and buy music in-app, via iTunes. The technology is a result of a special collaboration between Zinio and Wenner Media.
