iPhone Zinio app for iPhone is out

[curtw]

I didn't see an announcement here, but it's been available for about a week already. I've only been playing with it a few minutes, but there seem to be three magazine viewing modes: full-page (nearly useless), one level of extreme zoom/magnification (pinch-enlarge doesn't work; you double-tap the screen to get the magnified view), and a text-only reflowed mode with two font sizes that looks REALLY nice, but is also EXTREMELY difficult to invoke. There must be some special kung fu to it.

iPhone-compatible titles are still scarce (nothing in my existing library works):
Popular Science
PC Mag
iPhone Life
Car & Driver
Motocross
Popular Mechanics
Motor Trend
Automobile
Yoga
Vegetarian
Skateboarding
Popular Mechanics

[Sullivan]

Ah I wasn't aware of this, I havn't been keeping could track of my iPhone apps. That sounds really good. But yes it's true that titles are scare Ah well.

[GJN]

I think I'll keep it off my iPhone after my latest experiences with Zinio on my Mac.

I opened a newly-downloaded magazine and was told that a later version of the software was available. Unlike on previous occasions, I foolishly agreed. The new version downloaded, installed "successfully" but wouldn't work. I repeated the process several times with similar bad results.

I uninstalled the new version and attempted to reinstall the old version. I was told that it couldn't be installed because a later version was installed. I searched my Mac for any signs of a Zinio app and deleted them. I downloaded and ran an uninstall app from Zinio. Nothing worked.

I called Zinio tech support. After being on hold for some 45 minutes, I reached a technician and explained my problem. We tried installing the latest version together and got the same result as I had before. He consulted a higher authority at Zinio but they couldn't come up with a solution. I asked about reinstalling the old version and we tried to reinstall with the same "couldn't be installed because a later version was previously installed" message. He confessed he'd encountered that problem before but couldn't find a workaround. I urged him to consult the higher authority. He did so, but the higher authority was equally helpless. The culprit seemed to be a particularly vile form of third party DRM software they were using.

Bad applications are one thing, but bad applications that cannot be fully uninstalled are pure evil. I deleted all things Zinio from my computer and cancelled all my digital Zinio subscriptions. And I'm not about to let them near my iPhone.

[The Old Man]

I see there is now a Zinio iPad app that seems pretty good. Not many magazines available yet but they promise more to come. I bought the PC World issue and like the way you can read just the text of view the page as printed in the magazine.

[FourOhFour]

Originally Posted by The Old Man

I see there is now a Zinio iPad app that seems pretty good. Not many magazines available yet but they promise more to come. I bought the PC World issue and like the way you can read just the text of view the page as printed in the magazine.

I looked at it and decided it was nearly useless... the delay in loading pages is, at least to me, unacceptable. And the opening video is tacky... apps are supposed to launch quick and save state so you can switch to another and back without going insane; zinio does neither.

[scottjl]

i've never been impressed with zinio's applications, content, nor pricing. they've been around for years as a mac application and later on various handheld devices. i took a brief look at the ipad app and ditched it. pdf's of print magazines don't impress me. i want something that actually uses my ipad's capabilities (like the popular science "magazine")

[The Old Man]

Interesting comments.
I had used Zinio on a computer but thought the navigation clumsy. Now with a touch screen I find it very satisfying. I'm looking forward to more mag offerings.

[Fugubot]

Disappointing. Why does zinio uncompress each page for the iPad? It does not doe this on the desktop version. Does the zinio think it's on an iPhone and then compensate for the larger screen? zinio should be able to deliver an uncompressed document to the iPad. bier fail for the user experience on this app.

[Drybonz]

The app is really slow. It's a nice concept, but it loads everything too slowly.

I noticed that some of the magazines (Dwell is one I saw) have individual apps for their publication and I'm wondering if they will perform better than Zinio?

*edit* At a glance, it looks like about $20 a year is going to be the cost of subscriptions.

[scottjl]

for $20 a year i can have the dead tree subscriptions. no thanks.