NOTE: This post is part of our “The 10 Best iPad Applications for News” series. Do check back and view the latest reviews.
Press Reader iPad App
This application is free to download, and offers a huge range of news titles (some of which are free and some are paid). There are over 1,500 full content newspapers and magazines on offer, presented as exact digital replicas, which are zoomable and flippable. It is easily to navigate publications using thumbnails or a table of contents.
This application also adds in non-print elements, including audio. You have the option of an on-demand radio and you can press an audio button to listen to the content. There is a share-by-email function, but nothing for the major social platforms. It is claimed that the landscape mode will be arriving soon. In terms of whether portrait or landscape mode is more successful for media apps, it is completely up to the consumer, as part of the revolution of user having more control over their content and the methods with which they read it.
Our ratings:
Usefulness/Value to User
This application is very useful as it allows easy access to a huge range of different newspaper brands across the world at a reasonable price. 8/10
Useability/Interface
The downloading of new content is quick and easy. The zooming, flipping, and clicking gestures now standard across most apps are present. However, it is worth mentioning that Press Reader is a website with an app. Therefore you must make sure you have downloaded all the articles you want before you go into an offline zone. 7/10
Price/Business Model
The application is advertised as free to download and also for the first 7 issues, but then you have to start paying to download articles at $0.99 per issue. It does however offer multiple price options. There is a 1-month subscription for $9.99 that allows you to download 31 newspapers (you can download whatever you want, so you’re not stuck with a subscription to just one newspaper, you can download a different newspaper every day if you’d like or download several ones on one day), or a $29.99 one-month unlimited download. You can also read the front page of every newspaper for free if you go online. 8/10
Additional Functionality
The simple addition of audio adds a whole new dynamic to viewing news content. This is going to attract people for whom news consumption is a ‘sit-back’ or secondary activity. 9/10
Summary
Press Reader attracts traditional readers who seek an exact replica of the print newspaper, cover-to-cover as opposed to select articles. The free trial is a good way for iPad debutantes to sample and make their new transition into digital news without commitment. They will not be bewildered by this app as it replicates print format they are used to.
NOTE: This post is part of our “The 10 Best iPad Applications for News” series. Do check back and view the latest reviews.
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