If one thing is going to shine on the new iPad, it’s digital magazines. Sadly, it’s taking a couple of weeks for publishers to roll out Retina versions of their properties to Newsstand. Late last week Fast Company took its magazine Retina (it’s fantastic by the way), and today Condé Nast has updated two of its more popular magazines, GQ and Wired, to include Retina support.
Some apps, especially those heavy on generated text, can get away with non-Retina support in the short term, but the Newsstand properties are suffering from the lack of Retina support at this point. If you have a new iPad, and you’re big on Newsstand, you’ve probably noticed just how illegible the digital magazines can be without Retina support. Currently I subscribe to Fast Company, Wired, and the New Yorker, and I’ve only got the New Yorker left without Retina support. The differences between the Retina-ready magazines and the non-Retina magazines is astounding.
As always, file sizes have increased with the Retina-capable magazines. But if you were already willing to download 300 MB magazines to your iPad, the extra 50-100MB won’t be much of a deal breaker.
If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your apps, it’s time to go hit up the App Store and update. There’s probably a ton of Retina goodness waiting for you.
A quick aside, the Fast Company magazine is only 12.00 for an entire year subscription. It’s worth it.
Via Electonista
