Time Inc. has pushing out iPad apps, to showcase their step into new media. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for them. Inside the publisher, the digital editions have become a source of hair-pulling frustration. That’s because the magazine giant has been unable to get Apple to let it sell and manage subscriptions for its iPad apps–much to Time Inc.’s surprise.
Last month, the publisher was set to launch a subscription version of its Sports Illustrated iPad app, where consumers would download the magazines via Apple’s iTunes but would pay Time Inc. directly. But Apple rejected the app at the last minute, forcing the Time Warner unit to sell single copies, using iTunes as a middleman, multiple sources tell me.
Since then, Time Inc. executives “have been going nuts,” trying to figure out how to get Apple to approve a subscription plan. One of the more desperate suggestions, which apparently didn’t get traction: pulling the publisher’s apps out of the iTunes store altogether.
Subscriptions, whether they’re for ink-and-paper magazines or their digital editions, are a big deal for Time Inc. and every other magazine publisher. They value them in part because they provide recurring revenue, but primarily because they provide a treasure trove of data.
The ability to control digital subscriptions also gives publishers the ability to make their existing print subscriptions more valuable, by bundling the two together. Imagine a scenario where existing Time or Sports Illustrated subs get the digital version free, or at a very steep discount.
No other magazine publisher has approval to sell their own iTunes app subscriptions, either. But Apple and Steve Jobs had made a point of reaching out to Time Inc. executives and editors before the iPad’s launch, and encouraged them to build digital editions for the platform.
And Time Inc. executives tell me they had been communicating with Apple throughout the spring as they developed their subscription plans, and had been told that Apple approved.
So what happened? The Time Inc. insiders I talked to don’t have a clear answer, presumably because they can’t get one from Apple itself. One theory: Apple is concerned about the publisher’s plans for the consumer data it would collect with each subscription. A darker one: Steve Jobs loves the idea of digital magazines and wants to control the market for himself.
Time Inc.’s official comment on the topic is oblique: “We are working with a number of partners and potential partners and hope to offer in-app subscriptions some time later this year.” And so is Apple’s: “We have two platforms that we support for apps of all types, including magazines: HTML5 provides an open platform for developers to create and distribute whatever they want, and the App Store which is a curated platform offering customers the largest offering of apps for any mobile device with over 225,000 apps and 5 billion downloads.”
Confusing the issue even more is that Apple already allows a handful of app makers–like Amazon and The Wall Street Journal, which like this Web site is owned by News Corp.–to bill customers directly. Amazon itself, meanwhile, has been sparring with publishers over subscriptions for its Kindle platform. Jeff Bezos keeps most of the data and money that those transactions generate, too.
Hearst says it plans to sell iPad subscriptions to its Esquire and Oprah magazine apps when they debut later this year, but they’re not really subscriptions in a conventional sense. Instead, the publisher will sell a bundle of magazines as a one-time purchase, and iTunes will keep 30 percent of the purchase price and all of the billing data.
Hearst Magazines Executive Vice President John Loughlin says he’s not happy about the arrangement, but says it will have to do for now. He hopes that competition from the likes of Google, which has announced plans to sell its own magazine apps, will force Apple to relent.
Conde Nast, meanwhile, hasn’t talked about subscription plans except to acknowledge that it has some. Newly appointed President Bob Sauerberg says the company may have more to say about the matter within a month. But others at the company say the problem is a vexing one. One executive at the publisher offers this summary: “Don’t get me started.”
With the recent launch of Apple’s iAds program, advertisers and marketers have realized they can now create rich media ad units for consumers on both the iPhone and iPad platforms. While Apple iAds is a certainly a great service, they’ve placed a minimum requirement of a $1million media buy to get on their ad network and have a minimum development time of 2 months for HTML5 ads.
Prohibitively Expensive? Yes.
Long Development Time? Yes.
Is there an alternative? Most definitely!
Plus Factory Mobile is here to offer you what Apple iAds can’t.
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We build all our iPhone/iPad ads in HTML5, the cutting-edge technology that Steve Jobs has declared as the new ‘it’ technology for mobile. To learn more about our iPhone/iPad programs and solutions, please contact Jamie at jamie@plusfactory.com. Or call her at 800-774-0680 ext. 111.
After much hoopla, Apple’s iAds are now slowly launching into market. The first one was for the Nissan Leaf. If you haven’t seen it live on your iPhone, thru one of the apps (hint: try the AP app), then you can view this live capture version on YouTube. Some notes:
- The app is pretty clunky on the 3G network, and not as smooth as depicted in the YouTube video
- Its hard to see that the ad is an iAd. In its default state, the ad is a small tiny banner on the bottom of the screen. In the corner is an “iAd” text, indicating that its an iAd. Without the “iAd” text, you would never know its an iAd or not. Once activated, the iAd takes over your full screen.
So without much further ado, here is the Nissan iAd. Enjoy.
As promised, Apple has launched iPhone 4 Case program to give away free cases to customers. Do note that the free Bumper aka case will be given only to those customers who purchase iPhone 4 before September 30.
The customers who will buy iPhone 4 before September 30 would be eligible for free iPhone 4 Bumper. After buying the phone, users will have to download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App store. You need to sign in with iTunes Store ID or Apple ID to select the Bumper of your choice and then order it.
The app reads – if you’re experiencing iPhone 4 reception issues, then you’re eligible to receive an iPhone 4 Bumper or other select third-party case from Apple at no charge. However, those who’ve purchased iPhone 4 before July 23 must apply before August 22 or within 30 days of the purchase.
Microsoft guru extraordinaire Mary Jo Foley has retweeted a company employee boasting of a commitment to hand out Windows Phone 7 devices to each and every one of Redmond’s 90,000-plus employees around the world. That’s certainly one way to spread the word — and realistically, the cost to Microsoft is a drop in the bucket if they can really take advantage of the word-of-mouth advertising effect here. Of course, step one in that process is going to be making sure the product is absolutely rock solid by the time those gratis units start getting handed out.
Hot on the heels of the death of its Kin phone line, Microsoft is scrambling to get Windows Phone 7 (WP7) ready for its October launch. The company has said it is sending out “thousands” of preview phones running Windows Phone 7 to developers to get them producing apps for the new platform. A few phones were sent to the press, and reviews are appearing of the new mobile platform. Here are some highlights of the reviews:
The current experience is amazingly stable and fluid and I am quite impressed with what they have done. It has taken some time and they were pretty much out of competing for customers for most of this year, but it looks like they will come out firing with all they have this coming holiday season.
Still, those issues aside, Windows Phone 7 is easily the most unique UI in the smartphone race right now, and the real perk here is that it doesn’t just seem like an arbitrary decision to make things look different than other OSs — there is real purpose and utility to a lot of what Microsoft has come up with.
What’s interesting about Windows Phone 7, though, is, at times, it feels like you’re getting two completely different experiences on the phone. The Start screen/menu list, and some apps like the phone dialer, e-mail inbox and calendar, are completely minimalistic, while other aspects of the phone, like the aforementioned hubs and multimedia features, are more sophisticated and elegant. It doesn’t hurt the navigation, per se, but is [sic] doesn’t really make the phone feel like a cohesive unit either.
So there’s a lot of buzz now on HTML5. Even Steve Jobs says HTML5 is going to take over the world (or at least the stuff Adobe Flash does now). Is it true? No one really knows for sure but if you are a web developer, its good to start looking into it. Here is a quick guide from W3C that gives a good outline between the differences with HTML5 vs HTML4. Enjoy.
Microsoft appears to be quite pleased with Apple’s iPhone 4 issues and a company executive has gone on record saying that he’s “okay” with Apple’s troubles. Truth be told, after the Kin disaster Microsoft probably shouldn’t be handing out smartphone advice to anyone, least of all Apple.
During his keynoted at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner blasted Apple over the iPhone 4, but he also managed to shoot himself in the foot.
“It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that,” said Turner. Basically he admitted that Vista was overpriced and broken at launch.
He also told the crowd that Windows Phone 7 handsets will work no matter how you hold them, which leads us to ask: “Where is your iPhone Microsoft?”
Consumer Reports has recommended a solution to current iPhone 4 owners. Obvisiously they can buy a cover for the phone (Apple sells one for $29.00, nice of Apple right?) or Consumer Reports recommends a cheap solution by covering the sides of the phone with a piece of black masking tape. The issue seems to be cause by human contact and a little sweat onto the side of the phone, which interferes with the antennae’s reception (both sides of the iPhone 4 is the antennae).
Looking for a bright side, Consumer Reports states that minus the reception issue, the iPhone 4 would have been the highest rated phone they ever reviewed.
So take that as a good news/bad news situation Apple.
So Google has made the iPhone YouTube App (created by Apple) totally obsolete. Now you can log in at m.youtube.com and get the same seamless experience that you would get from the app, and according to Google – an even BETTER experience. Judge for yourself, check out the video released by Google:
