Jun 21, 2010

EReader Roundup: Creating Successful Custom Content for the iPad

With the huge success of both the Kindle and the iPad (as well as other eReaders), the written word is rapidly becoming more and more comfortable in the digital format. But should custom content transferred from the page to the screen really be so different? Popular Mechanics’ Senior Technology Editor Glenn Derene recently told Daily Finance, an AOL Money and Finance site, "No matter how excited you get about interactive design, you can't lose sight of one basic thing, which is nobody needs to learn to use a magazine." When creating their iPad app, the magazine decided that their goal was not to impress their readers with fancy technology, but instead to replicate the most successful aspects of the magazine format while utilizing the iPad’s capabilities.

So should we think of digital magazines as just that—a magazine that just happens to be read on a screen instead of paper—or does this new format demand a new attitude? Here’s more on the subject:

Popular Mechanics keeps its app simple. (Daily Finance)

David Hepworth asks, “If the iPad’s the answer, what’s the question again?” (InPublishing)

38% of iPad users say they read magazines on the iPad, compared to 11% of other eReader owners: Survey from ChangeWave Research. (InvestorPlace)

IPad giving struggling publishers revenue hope. The design and walled nature of the iPad engages readers more. (Miami Herald)

"Outside of the magazine and newspaper worlds, there are a handful of other media apps that have some cool takes on tablet formats that we think the print mags might want to steal." (MinOnline)

New digital publishing house claims to bridge the gap between "authors and publishers." (Publishers Weekly)