It’s a decent magazine, and a fun read, but the app is really...whimsical?....could be much better, and seems like it is not well thought out. Why can’t you just download the PDF version?
I've been using this app for over a year with no issues. After reading the physical magazine for many years I've completely switched to the app now. It's a fair price for the content in my opinion, especially if you have a yearly subscription. My only complaint is that I purchased the subscription through Apple and it syncs with my phone but not my iPad, which is the device I want to use the most for reading.
I can’t download any issues, so I have cancelled my subscription. A lot of apps have gone to requiring one to register an account even though purchased through Apple, I don’t know if that is the case with this, but if it is, then good luck with that, you won’t be getting any more money from me unless I can see the issues that I have already purchased. Update: Apparently I could restore purchases on my iPhone, but not my iPad, which is where I originally purchased the subscription. So bye bye…
I really enjoyed reading this issue of Popular Science and all the large photography used in the iPad edition. My biggest problem with it is that things aren's linked. There are places where you see a "coming up" list of articles but tapping them doesn't jump to that article. Ads also have addresses to websites that I can't tap to view in my browser. It's strange to be using such a modern device as the iPad without something as basic as links. It's also annoying that I can't select text to be able to copy things and search for more information in my browser. I wonder if this entire magazine issue isn't just giant images to make stuff like that impossible. I hope not. It's 2010 and this isn't print! I would consider the lack of hyperlinking a big enough issue to give the magazine 3 stars, but I enjoyed it so much as a first-pass at an iPad edition that I gave it 4.
Paid for subscription years ago and never had issues. Subscription renewed in March this year and it will not recognize the purchase. Restore purchases does nothing. App just hangs. Deleted app, reinstalled and same thing. Cancelled subscription. Would like to get a refund but know how that will go. Don’t waste your money.
Have iTunes subscription. After not using for several months needed to restore subscription. Spinning wheel of death for infinity. Never could access subscription. Cancelled subscription and deleted app.
I bought a subscription yesterday, and it isn’t letting me access the most recent issue. I’d like my money back. I should have looked through the recent reviews before subscribing.
Wanted to go on a camping trip and read a few back issues downloaded to my iPad. Turns out, if you’re off-line, the app can’t call home to the mothership to authorize the content on your own iPad. Fail.
The Fall 2023 issue is the last one I have. Restore purchases does nothing and the publisher did not respond to my email inquiry. Disappointed. I’ve been a subscriber for over 50 years 😢
OK, the price is high, but the actual App is great!
I just wanted to chime in and give a 5 star review to offset somewhat all the 1 star reviews based on price alone. I almost passed on even considering this app because of the relatively low user rating. Thankfully I read through the reviews, and saw while most agree it's a bit expensive, the actually app is great. I installed and downloaded the last 2 issues. I gotta say after the initial getting use to the interface, I really love this format. When I show off the iPad, this is one of the apps I use. And after reading through the first issue, I'm hooked. So yes, while each issue is expensive for now, I'm hopeful the price will come down in time as more people start buying. I hope they can make this work, because I really love the format and it presents the content beautifully! For now I'll just wait until the previous month drops in price, and cross my fingers they come out with some lower cost yearly subscription. One suggestion though, make any URL's listed active. You can't click on the link, and there's no way to copy and past it either.
I'm very disappointed by this app. I expected content comparable to the print version of the magazine and that's just not the case. Although the app itself presents absolutely beautiful images, navigation is random and unintuitive, and app is extremely light on content. One interface device they've employed that's actually kind of nice is the ability to hide text so you can view the imagery without clutter, but it doesn't make up for the other UI issues. Articles are shallow, and there just isn't much "there" there. If all I wanted were pretty pictures of science and technology topics with pithy commentary I would stick with USA Today, or some similar mass media outlet. Additionally, rather than downloading the current issue to your Mac for synchronization, it downloads the current issue upon launch, which is extremely poor implementation, IMHO; I don't want to have to wait 90+ seconds to read the magazine after launching. This app would be worth it at perhaps $0.99, but definitely not for $4.99. I would suggest the editors at PopSci go take a look at Wired, which hasn't skimped on content at all and is a better model (though still needs improvement) of how to deliver content in the iPad era.
I can deal with the large size of the files, but a number of problems make the size of the files particularly problematic. First, I can't tell it to automatically download my newest issue automatically at some point when I'm not actively using the iPad. Second, today I spent 10 minutes or so downloading an issue, really wanting to read that issue over lunch. After it downloaded, I tried to open it, only to be told that I needed the latest update to PopSci+ to read it. So I downloaded the update, which took only a minute or so. But then, I discovered that I had to download that issue AGAIN, from scratch! Ridiculous. Also, developers, please add the ability to tell it to STOP a download. I accidentally clicked to download an issue that I didn't want to read, but then there was no way to stop it. At least the latest version allows me to simultaneously download a different issue, but that dual download undoubtedly slowed both downloads down considerably. If I click on the meter showing the download progress, that should give me the option to stop that download for now.
What a great way to get a magazine, I first thought, no trash to throw out or recycle, and Popular Science tries to spiff the digital issues up with videos and animations, which I must admit are clever, but often do nothing to enhance the story. The first glitch I noticed was that the videos often lost their sound. The touch interface often does not do what I thought I was asking it to do, I really think it is a case of too many options, (vertical,horizontal, touch, double touch) a swipe that is just a little off is read as sideways rather than up and down. The final insult was the common one in all of the bad reviews: when a new issue appeared on the news stand app icon, I would go to my library only to find that not only was the new issue not there, all my past issues were gone! The last two months I was able two restore the issues using the "missing issues?" button, but this month - NOTHING! I tried to access my account, but it told me that none of my passwords would work. There should be a way to contact popsci easily through this app to tell them about the problems, but I look through the app in vain, maybe you can do it through the inaccessible "my account" ......A good idea, but poorly done..
Amazing Application! Well thought out and executed
While I understand the issue of pricing, the application itself is amazing. You can really tell how long and hard the design team spent rethinking what a online magazine could be. I have purchased every online magazine available for the iPad and there are simply no others that come close. I have stopped reading magazines all together due to the bulk, wasted paper, and the inability to keep up on what issues I had read. Now, it's as easy as a keystroke. When friends and family ask me what makes me love the iPad, I simply show them the future of print technology contained in Popular Science and USA Today. This is simply the future. Anyone not on board will feel like they are still selling or using floppy disks. This makes virtually every other media print resource obsolete. Couldn't be more excited about how we obtain and digest our information.
Goofy interface; single issue pricing is a bad deal
The interface is bright and fun, until you jump in and try to read the articles. With all the swiping and finger gestures required to read a single article, you would think this was Need for Speed video game! I give them credit for trying to get this App out early, but it needs a LOT of simplification (look at how clean the USA today app is). It's as if the first year web designers locked the old print media guys in the closet during the whole design of this App. I'm all for exploiting the potential of the iPad, but isn't the point to have the interface 'fade away' so you can just focus on the content? Instead, the snazzy interface just seems to get in the way. Better luck next time. P.S. If they think we're all going to pay more per edition than the comparable cost of the print subscription, I think that's a recipe for failure. We all know they are saving boatloads of money by not having to print physical magazines and ship them. Pass on those savings, or I'll just subscribe to other magazines that do.
I enjoy reading PopSci through this app as I feel it takes advantage of the rich media possibilities without the authors and editors having to reinvent the wheel. Of note, there is a lot of downloading and updating that seems to be happening, though to be fair I'm not sure if it's a design flaw or the engineers tweaking the program, in either case I'd like my required participation in this end of things to be a little more hands off. I just want to pick up my tablet and read the articles - I don't want to have to update, archive or download when the mood strikes. Issues should just download when they become available unless that functionality is disabled in the app's settings. With all of that said, I intend to stick around while they get this thing worked out - in the end, content is everything and the convenience of not having paper magazines lying around is substantial.
I downloaded the December 2011 issue and have only made it halfway through. The first thing that sticks out is how awful the interface is. Article after article is presented in an inch, maybe inch and a half, wide column that just scrolls and scrolls. I'm using landscape orientation which gives me 7 1/2 inches width. It's like the layout designer really wanted to make sure you touched your touch screen, because that feels like all I was doing! For a single article, I'd have to swipe up like 6 or 7 times while the same picture stays stagnant in the background, completely wasting my screen real estate. Even on the "single" pages, they tried to be fancy with a slight scroll up/down to add reflections or just move the page title up a bit. This just added confusion to an already confusing layout. The content that I was able to read was nice though.
I love the app, and the way the magazine is designed. And naturally the magazine as well, I bought a years subscription. =) However, I liked the old interface better. When I'm reading I'm lazy and relaxed, and honestly double tapping is more effort than I'd like (I know right? Never thought that'd actually be a complaint). I also preferred the old style of "where you are in the issue," where it displayed the little bars for each article that varied in length on each side of the screen. The new bar is uniform and doesn't give you an idea of how the magazine's content is organized. You guys left in the "drag up from the bottom" control without saying so, so why not give the option for other legacy controls and features as well? In addition, the "contents" section of the home screen doesn't convey what each article contains well. A specially designed thumbnail for each article is needed. Lastly, the home and bookmark buttons are not necessary (for me anyway) and only serve to clutter the screen since there are other ways to access those functions just as easily. An option to enable these old features and fixes to the thumbnails and corner buttons (or an option to disable them) would make this app worth five stars again!
Like I said for my review of the Time Magazine App I wanted to like it, but while I found the Popular Science Magazine App to be marginally better than the Time Magazine App I still could not give it more than 1 star. The only feature that really separates it from the Time Magazine App is that it comes back to where you left off when you restart the App. The "Dog Ear" feature is awkward to set and impossible to undo. The navigation and UI are just ok and there does not appear to be any way to change text size. The App takes over the entire screen so you loose the iPad status bar at the top, which means you have no idea of your WiFi or Battery status. For an App where the issue you are reading was downloaded prior to your reading it, it can be very slow when going to the next page. And that ridiculous price of $4.99 an issue with advertisements, what were they thinking! I would rather purchase the printed copy and access their website. The sad thing is I wouldn't read PS with this App if they gave it to me for free. Where is a good focus group when you need it!
I did a year subscription for this and you should not make the same mistake as I do here. First off this is one of the worst mag apps for showing magazines in the app store. Almost every other page is a ad. So 40 pages 23 ads. This is a paid app so inserting a few ads might be okay but every other page is just ripping off people here. Like I said I paid for a year of this junk and when you go to your account in the iPad app store and select this Subscription, you can "NOT" Turn off the AUTO RENEW for a year. Every other one I have purchased you can turn off the AUTO RENEW but on this one you can't. I have submitted a ticket to Apple on this and an still waiting for a reason why you can not turn off this AUTO RENEW on this app. I sure do not want to paid for an additional year of this AD magazine. I really hate being this blunt on anyone's apps but really I feel others should know just how bad this really is because it is not cheap. Just pass and find something else as there are wonderful options on the app store that will not plaster so many ad's in your face.
I have to say reading the mag in this format is fun, and feels kinda techie. The layout, art and text, feels like a magazine. The way you scroll through the stories and pages feels natural. Scroll up/down through a story like you would a web page or PDF file. Flick left/right for the next/previous article. Only complaint on the interface was it didn't track left/right swipe very well. You have to swipe pretty straight, or it thinks you are trying to scroll up/down. The cost is a little over the top considering printed costs as little as $10/yr or $0.83/issue. $1 or $2 per issue wouldn't be unreasonable. April issue is only $2.99, instead of $4.99. I think it would be better to just have an info button or just one page to summarize how to navigate the mag. People are already familiar with scrolling and swiping. No need to beat them over the head with it.
The popular science app is very slick, but marks a departure from the established image of popular science as a somewhat crowded and clearly non-slick magazine. The new app is at times hard to use, but in the end is interesting and enjoyable. However, on balance, it should take advantage of the ability to display many images as opposed to the few that are present in the iPad version. The text floats over the images and can become disconnected from the images so you are not sure what the text refers to. Also, I am not tempted to buy future versions unless the price is around $1 - $2 ! Lastly, the app does not have a personality, but appears to be a collection of stylish programing tricks to float text and images. The authors should not forget that they are communicating information not just an experience. After having said all of that I congratulate the magazine for attempting to go where no one else has gone - keep it up.
Popular Science is one of my most favorite magazines, and probably one of the best out there. It has great articles, and the iPad design is really cool (once you get used). The pictures look stunning on the retina display. The one issue I, as well as many other people are having is the ads. For every article page there is AT LEAST one add page and sometimes even more. That is absolutely ridiculous. Even more annoying is the fact the that every page is so immersive you some times don't realize you are looking at an add! I can imagine this is done in order to keep costs down (and it does, a one year subscription for $14 is a very low price) but honestly I would pay double that to eliminate the annoying adds. What should at least be done is all add pages should be clearly marked as adds to eliminate confusion.
Terrible app from a terrible company that censors all comments on its website. If they don't want the hear from readers online why would I buy the digital copy of their mag or any other copy for that matter--they don't care what apI as a reader think. And what is worse, unbridled propaganda and stupidity on the part of unethical propagansist that masquarade as journalists, or a few Internet trolls? Obviously it's not a few "Internet trolls." And really who is an Internet troll? Mostly they are people that vehemently disagree with the status quo. Before the 1960's that would have been black Americans that disagreed with Jim Crow, in 1917 it would have been women that thought they should be able to vote, to this day it's native Americans who think their country was stolen from them, in the 1950's it would have been those that didn't go along with the red scare, and in the 60's those that didn't support Vietnam. It is BEYOND INSULTING THAT THOSE THAT BUCK THE STATUS QUO ARE BEING CALLED TROLLS. THE REAL TROLLS ARE THE THE PROPAGANDIST AND THE MONSTERS THAT CON-TROLL OUR MEDIA TODAY THAT WANT TO SILENCE ALL DISSENT. WE MUST NOT ALLOW THIS.
My very first iPad magazine purchase and my June issue displays alternating black and white pages. No text, just entirely black or white pages. (I rebooted the app. I rebooted the iPad. I re-downloaded the app.) The new July issue seems ok but there is no feedback when you touch it to begin, so you touch it again, then again, then it starts up. And I know, call me naive, but I was actually surprised to see full page ads in a magazine subscription I paid for. Of course, they do that in the printed version and of course they'll say it keeps the subscription price low but, still, I imagined the digital version would be all Popular Science and a feature of the next generation magazines. Anyway, I'm going to download the July version again if archiving it will let me do that. Oh, that reminds me, the app really should turn off auto-sleep while an issue downloads and then turn it back on when it finishes. These suckers are big and I had to monitor and touch the screen every minute so it wouldn't go to sleep and stop downloading. (And no I'm not going to change the auto-sleep timeout value just to download a magazine.) Just a thought. Oh, one more idea. I'm wondering if the digital version could take out embedded video and access it when needed via the net. Yes, it might not be available if you are away from a connection but maybe the app could provide a choice for those of us with slower connections.
I hadn't read Popular Science for a few years, and didn't have any use for the Newsstand app until now. I've enjoyed the new PS app, and find the magazines well worth the $1.99 per issue (when a year's subscription is purchased ). Updated: This app has gone down the toilet. Downloading new issues is very counterintuitive or downright impossible. Trying to turn pages has become a crapshoot: will it turn, bring up the main menu, or do nothing? When I try to scroll down will it scroll, turn the page, bring up the main menu, or do nothing? You never know. When I try to turn a page with an ad on it by touching the edge of the screen like every other page, it brings up a special screen for the ad like I clicked it. That's just sneaky. I almost can't stand to use this app, and won't be renewing unless the garbage thing is fixed. It sure looks nice, but it's maddening to use it. TL;DR - content is good, user interface is annoyingly bad
After reading many of the one star reviews I decided to finally bite the bullet and try it out myself; I'm glad I did. Priced the same as the newsstand, I expected a hell of a lot more than a vanilla pdf and I believe popsci did a great job here. I like it A LOT. A very interactive, fluid, and polished app. The navigation may take longer for some to get used to but I adjusted in no time. As a few others have noted, the subscription is coming soon. Info is on the site as well as the Twitter feed. If the digital subscription is comparable in price to the print version I'm definitely signing up. Aside from digital sub not being available now, I really can't understand all the one star reviews. It's a very good first attempt and the implementation is arguably better than a few of the other magazines.
Take a good magazine and turn it into a Myst parody. If you got to the end of Myst then you will probably enjoy this overly clever interface. Sitting down with the paper version and going through it page by page I can see that it is all there (except most of the ads; which can explain part of the high price). Generally you scroll right, but sometimes you scroll down and it is not always obvious when. There are also "off screen" options like going to their website (the link is broken) or accessing previously purchased editions (I saw it once but haven't found it again) and, somewhere, there is an in-app option to purchase the latest edition. I gave up trying to find it and stopped at a news stand. I am sure they are trying to be cutting edge, particularly given their subject, but I have several magazine apps at this point and this one is the worst and the only one that made me go back to paper.
Can't access issues when have paid for yearly subscription
When it works, I like it. Good content and features. The problem is that it keeps trying to sell me issues or a yearly subscription when I already purchased a yearly subscription. Since I can't access the last two issues, guess what my choice will be when it comes time to renew my yearly subscription. Nice magazine but the subscription part is buggy and aggravating. Okay, I was finally able to get my September issue by completely closing the app, going into the App Store, to the bottom, to my account, to my subscriptions, to Popular Science, tapping it and reentering my password, exiting the store and then coming back to the app. Man that is just too complicated and tiring and I'll probably have to redo the same process next month if I can remember the process. Great magazine, but the subscription process is screwy and I'll probably pass when it is time for renewal unless they can simplify by it simply remembering I have a subscription within the app itself.
Getting my Popular Science via iPad is great, although I am one for scalable font or larger font. Understand economics of smaller font in a printed version but not in an electronic version. I would highly recommend allowing for a setting or option when opening the file. My BIGGEST issue/problem is with downloading the files. I'm fairly good with electronics but the process seems to be either changing month-to-month or just not an easy process to remember. Plus it does not seem to let me download more than one copy. So if I am not done with the past month in terms of reading, and postpone the download, it becomes harder to find the next month download since the subscription does not appear in my Notifications for some unknown reason. Besides those items I have been a subscriber for over 30 years and enjoy the magazine, it is the only one I subscribe to.
Short term, the new distribution process through Mag+ just does not work! Even after deleting the Popular Science+ app and reinstalling, the update/restore process displays the message: "Error update device. An unexpected network error occured 404" and then hangs in an infinite loop with a busy cursor displaying "Please wait = talking to the iTunes Store." The app no longer functions at any level for me. Popular Science+ should be pulled from the App Store until the update/restore issue is resolved. Long term, the novelty of the freeform, hypermedia format wears out fast and leaves the reader wishing for a more comprehensible format such as that offered through Zinio. And although the prices has been reduced, using the Zinio distribution method allows other magazines to offer the digital edition below the price of the printed version - not at a premium. In summary, Popular Science would be better to use Zinio for digital distribution at a competitive price rather than stick with the current model which is obviously too labor intensive to hit the sweet price spot for electronic distribution. It's time to face reality and get back to basic and concentrate on the magazine content rather than format. And it's just plain fraudulent to continue with the current broken Mag+ system which is not meeting its contractual obligation with Apple App Store customers to restore previously purchased editions after the current "update."
This is an awesome app for one of my favorite magazines. I'm glad they were able to make the transition from app to newsstand without me having to abandon all my previously downloaded magazines. There have been a few times where I have had to re-download my entire library when updating, but they seem to have fixed that bug now. My favorite stuff is What's New, astronomy stuff, and sustainable/green technology& design. I love the way it's designed to interactively read, just one other thing.... I'd like to see more clips or pop outs of stories, short videos/animations, of What's New and explanations on processes the average science enthusiast might not understand what a trained scientist does. Thanks for all you folks do.
As the ultimate consumer of magazines, I have been looking forward to the day when I can give up all of my print subscriptions in favor of electronic versions. The idea of only carrying one device loaded with all of my magazine subscriptions is very attractive. I also really like the idea of not having the print versions pile up around the house. Unfortunately, in this case, the execution of this reality is very underwhelming. As others have pointed out, I too find the interface unintuitive and distracting. This sadly reminds me of the days when publishers began producing content on CD-ROMs. There's just too much going on and trying to navigate, up, down, across, etc., is just frustrating. Please take a cue from something like the USA Today iPad app and revise the user interface. I would happily subscribe if you come up an intuitive uncluttered experience. Until then, I would have to say this attempt was a fail.
Very disappointed with this App. The magazine is difficult to read with many pictures too big to really see on the iPad screen. Lack of easily accessible contents makes reading a chore. I like to pick which articles to read and jump from one to the other instead of plodding through the magazine from front to back. There is no indication where you are in the magazine so you can tell how far from the front or back you are. Once I was finished reading, I could not figure out how to get to the front without laboriously flipping backwards a page at a time. App needs major upgrade before I would want to buy another issue. I would prefer that the layout be like a regular magazine….2 pages in landscape mode and 1 page in portrait mode with a direct link back to the table of contents and possibly a slider at the bottom to quickly move through the magazine.
I'm struggling hard to find the point of the app/"e-zine". When I can simply go online directly from my iPad and get all the content I could possibly want, couple with the option to click on live links that'll take me to ,ore info about what ever product or subject I'm reading about. I mean really why would I back track by buying the "e-zine" when I loose functionality. I won't be purchasing anymore issues from them, I'll simply stick with my outdated paper magazines, and the web at least that way I can be productive. 2nd. Why can't I jump to what I want to read, through simply touching on the pictures or he story title. When I first open the app I see an option for the table of contents but then it goes as soon as I touch the screen. But that's my two cents.
Thanks for the sale price. I was a long term print subscriber until I located overseas. E-price is reasonable and getting electronic copy is much easier and faster than the international mail. Why can I not have more than one issue in the newsstand? I am not done with January but would like to peek at February, yet to do so I have to download it, only to lose January, which I then have to download again. Content is as good as ever, presentation great, navigation interesting. Good product. Update: it appears I can now get to other issues easily, although I still can only have one issue "on the shelf". The rest are in the library. I enjoy most of the interactive content, but some is silly.
Okay content, UI designers too cute for their own good
The content is alright: think Newsweek for science and technology. That is, the dept-of-coverage is shallow, but broad. If you want to keep abreast of advances on the near horizon, this is an acceptable way to do it. On the other hand, the app's UI designers are obviously talented, but seem to be too interested in showing off their skills instead of highlighting the content. I can't help but thinking as I have to swipe this way and that, as text content appears and disappears in a dizzying variety of ways and locations, as transparency is used for wonderful visual effect but occasionally obscures article content, that I wish--really, really wish--their UI and interaction designers were as interested in enhancing the reading experience as they were in showcasing the wizzy animation capabilities of iOS.
I have to give it to them to attempt to bring Magazines into the digital age, but the navigation is not yet quite there. It's not so much the navigational gestures, more the implementation. Making pages swipe left and right feels clunky and needs to be very deliberate, and the "left margin for photos, right margin for text" works if it is pointed out, but otherwise makes no sense. There needs to be more visual feedback in terms of user actions. It's a good start, but needs more work. But most importantly it CAN NOT BE SOLD FOR 4.99 AN ISSUE!!!! Especially given that 12 month subscriptions are normally about 10 dollars. A digital version MUST be cheaper than the dead tree version. I think 99 cents to 1.99 an issue works for consumers, especially if advertising is still included. Tweak it guys!
I thought that Popular Science was the primary mag I would replace with my iPad. Unfortunately, I have to agree with all the other reviews, too expensive and too large a memory requirement. Since the iPad cannot multitask, you need to stay "logged"on to PS in order to download the issue. Worse than that, once the several hundred megabyte file is downloaded, I still haven't figured out how to access my new issue. The issue is dimmed out with a check mark....but nothing happens when I click on it..... I also thought I was getting both the April issue and the May issue with the download, but no such luck. So I paid my $5 and still only have access to the cover and sample of the magazine. Sorry, but with all the other negative reviews, I just cannot see the expense and time associated with what I get (or rather don't get).
It is awesome to have popsci on the pad. The interactive stuff and vids make good use of the pad and make the experience great. Despite others complaints of the interface I find it intuitive but I am a tech nut. BUT... The ads are dumb. Seriously the mag already is an ad for products I don't want bonus ads. I didn't pay for popsci to use my hard drive space for ad crap. We are paying for ones and zeros here not paper, delivery, and shelf space so they are not being very nice to us as loyal customers. The magazine is way too bloated in file size. Half a gig?! I know part of the problem is the pads small mem but still. Its good but not that good and Internet isn't everywhere. There has to be a way to trim some fat. Overall good but needs work.
Ok for one if you get an iPad why would you get the small 16GB version when their is a 32GB out their for only 100$. More if all you are going to do is complain about a great magazine that obviously takes up a lot of space because if you think about it all you are reading is a popular science magazine that is in the format of a PDF and on top of that is HD. I mean I have the first iPad 32GB and I have 6 seasons of family guy on it all HD and I still have 12 GB left over and 6GB of magazines is not on my worries I mean it is only 6GB.I mean popular science has done a great job on their magazines and if you are just going to complain just don't buy them.
As to the content of the magazine, it is as always informative and interesting. The layout of the pages could use some work: pages are out of focus for a few seconds when flipping to them, additional pages of an article scroll up without control when scrolling through text, and pages are oddly sized when the IPad is oriented either vertically or horizontally. These features take away from any sense of control and distract from from the articles, it is also easy to miss when there is more to an article due to unusually small indicators or even a lack. I would suggest that changes be done to make the layout more intuitive and changeable for a better reading experience. Thank you for your time.
I have this digital subscription and I find that this app runs smoothly and the magazine is very interesting. Specifically with the digital subscriptions look, video blips and other inserts it quickly makes it much better then the paper version. The very few ads in the magazine gives this magazine it's worth. Plus the ads that are in the magazine are vey inventive. Another thing for the people that are still complaining about the paper version not allowing them to get the digital version to bad because I like my magazine with very few ads thanks get with the times go digital.
I have a subscription to both the print and digital versions of Popular Science. When the new issue arrives, I first see it on the newsstand, in a week or more later I get it in the mail, and several weeks later I see it appear in News Stand on the iPad. You would think that logistically it would be easier to get my digital subscription to me before getting issues to the newsstand or delivering my print version by mail. By the time I get my digital version, even though it is supposed to be a "plus" version, I have already read the magazine and have no desire or need to read it again. The extras in the plus version do not attract me to read it through a second time. Therefore the digital version is basically worthless to me. I will not subscribe to it again.
You can always tell when developers spend little or no time on an app. This is definitely one of them. Ok. The magazine is pretty. And it flows smoothly. But what good is that if I cannot download the magazine!?? First off, its slow. I have been trying to download the latest edition, and it keeps timing out. after 100 Mbs or so, it just starts over!! Have you ever heard of download management? Resume support? Simple concepts and easy to incorporate. The fact that this doesn't work is just plain laziness on the part of the developers. And really, why does it stop downloading if you leave the magazine page? I do not want to sit and watch someting download. I want to cue it up and know that it will be downloaded when I come back to it. This simply does not work. So I find myself staring at the progress wheel hoping it will finish WTH????
Not sure if this review is just for Pop Sci or not, but after I read the first month, I went to the app store to look for more MagPlus magazines. They do a great job with utilizing the iPad for reading magazines. As for Popular Science itself, I have been a reader for many years and they have managed to stay relevant in an age where the web has beaten most publishers to the punch. Having said that, they have a tendency to blame everything weather related on global warming. They ignore scientists that contradict their opinions. If you can look past that bias as I do, you will find that it is still a great magazine in all formats.
The magazine itself is beautiful and full of good info, the biggest only thing that make me angry is the fact that if you are a subscriber of PS in paper & mail you do not have access to the app to ready it everywhere. Not even a discount, if you want read your magazine everywhere you must remember to take the physical paper issue with you or pay a lot money to the online app version ( in other means subscribe twice to the same magazine). Many other magazines allows you to have both with the same subscription even allows you when you want receive a printed copy by mail or not. But Popular Science is like a kinda of Bank of America of the magazine Mafia where money quantity is more important than satisfied paid subscriber ! Change it or you will receive more thumbs down from many other readers!!!
I'm a techie and an information consumption junkie and I find the entire experience of using this app to be more distracting than useful. I simply want to read the content quickly and easily and in an intuitive way. I applaud the people at pop sci for trying something new -- after all, where would we be without risk takers? but, this is, in my opinion, a failed experiment. for example, I see the table of contents on the screen... why can't I tap on a story title to go to it? Same goes for the cover -- there are story titles right there but guess what? And why does it feel so hard to find any real content? You'd be doing me a big favor by providing something a bit more utilitarian that is a little less flashy and a little more intuitive.
Popular Science is the magazine for anyone curious about what’s new and next. With a readership of over 6.4 million, Popular Science is a must-have for technology fans, early adopters, and thought leaders. Popular Science puts the latest news in gadgets, software, and robotics in the palm of your hand! Our articles help anyone understand the ideas and people driving the big issues of the day – whether healthcare, energy, robotics, or defense. News and features also provide perspective on the latest breakthroughs in science and technology. Popular Science represents the best hopes for our planet, our lives, our children, and our future. And we reveal those hopes by featuring the innovations today that are laying the groundwork for a better tomorrow. This is a magazine for readers that want the future now. Social Media loves Popular Science: - 3.5 Million Facebook Fans - 1,250,00 Twitter Followers ==== SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE: - 1-year (4 issues) subscription for $9.99 - 1-month subscription for $1.99 Your subscription will automatically renew unless you cancel 24 hours before the subscription runs out. You can turn off auto-renewal at any time from your iTunes account settings. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during an active subscription period. For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: Privacy Policy: https://recurrent.io/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions: https://recurrent.io/terms-and-conditions/ Cookie Compliance: https://recurrent.io/cookie-compliance/
