Introducing Computeractive for the Apple iPad

Just a month short of it's 14th birthday as a printed magazine, Computeractive has launched its dedicated app for the iPad. A number of magazines have beaten us to it, no doubt, but many of them have opted for what we think is a cop out - a replica of the magazine pages that can be 'turned' with a swipe.

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that approach as a solution to electronic publishing, and indeed Computeractive is available in that format.

But a page turner is not an app. Limiting the iPad version to this simple format would negate the possibilities this revolutionary device can deliver. 

One element that we have incorporated into the app is a smarter way to display our Jargon Buster columns, which can be displayed or concealed with a double-tap of your finger.

That's just one example of how the iPad complements our approach to technology - interactive tools that are clear and simple to use. Unlike the magazine, Computeractive for iPad includes animated step-by-step guides, screencast videos that enable you to watch what we're doing on screen in software tutorials, product reviews that let you see the great (and not so great) features that we base our star ratings on. And we'll be working to constantly develop and improve the app.

The first edition of the app that you download, whether it's issue 1 or issue 101, will be free. After that you can take advantage of one our subscription deals.

If you already subscribe to the print edition of Computeractive then we hope to announce discounted pricing for you in the near future, as we integrate closely with Apple's Newsstand platform.

We're working with Apple to tie our print subscription system to the App that will be sold through the App Store, which means magazine subscribers will get a discount. But the App is not the same as the magazine - each part of the app is created fresh.

Like all publishers, we have to pay Apple 30 per cent of each sale, so that means it can't be free. We will develop new content and ideas as we go along, so it will, in effect, be a different product. But we'll offer magazine subscribers the best deal we can.

We gave a quick preview of the app to members of our Facebook page last week and one of the first questions to be posted was 'what about Android?'. The fact is that publishing for Android Market presents a new set of technical and publishing challenges, and with the iPad dominating tablet sales we wanted to get established on that platform first. So we'll look at producing a version for Android devices in 2012.

In the first issue of Computeractive for iPad we review the latest Amazon Kindle, and a way to watch live TV on your iPad. There's lots more packed into our first app and I hope you enjoy it. I would like to know what you think by sending me an email or leaving a comment on our Facebook page. Your feedback will be of great help as we work on the second issue, which you'll find in the App Store from mid-January.