iGRM?

Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store

CUPERTINO, California—February 15, 2011—Apple® today announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store℠, including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc. This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service that Apple recently launched with News Corp.’s “The Daily” app.

I have resisted the temptation to purchase an iPad, but a GRM App would change that!

It's coming. Not quite around the corner, but possibly before we see a new president. (Unless you live in Egypt.)

There are some big hardware changes out there now; the current iOS (iPhone/iPad) stuff is very well suited to magazine content but others are less clear. The Kindle and Nook don't play well with photos yet, but I hear good things about the Nook color. Android works well, but doesn't have as much to offer on the hardware side until somebody popularizes a larger screen device on this operating system.

When there's a little bit of stability in this area it will be much easier to chart a path forward.

To turn the question around for my own nefarious purposes, let me ask this-

How many of our website users would buy online subscriptions?
Would that be instead of or in addition to paper copies?
What device are you using or do you see yourself using in the next year or so?

Your participation in this super-exclusive research effort are appreciated.

I would not buy an online subscription. I like paper for the reading room.

What I would like is an easier way to browse back issues digitally. I have WAY too many old magazines hanging around that I may need. Having an easily searchable database of old articles would fix that. I know there have been efforts in that direction, but they weren't really optimized last time I looked.

1. I would buy an online subscription, but

2. I already have a paper subscription from my NASA membership. I don't know if I'd pay another $20 for the online version. Ideally there would be three options, paper only for $20, online only for $20, and both for $30 or so.

3. I'm using an iPhone and a laptop at the moment, I'll probably add an e-reader or iPad, but I don't know which or when.

Thanks for doing what you guys do!

1. Not me, I like having the hard copy.
2. Refer to #1
3. Android, I despise Apple.

I agree with Dave, a searchable database of back issues/articles/etc would be AWESOME. Make it a subscriber only feature.

I would prefer both , the I pad may be nice but the paper version will not crash/ be come unstable and will be around for years to come

Paul B

1. Maybe
2. Only as an add-on, like my paper copies as I don't fancy dropping expensive electronics in the bath tub. I heard paper copies also work when there's a power outage.
3. I can't quite see buying myself an iPad anytime soon and I'd think the screens on both my iPhone and my Droid are too small to comfortably read them. I would prefer to get something I can also read on my laptop...

1 Depends on how good it is and how easy it is to navigate. and if i need a connection all the time, or just a download.

2) depends on how good 1 is. I like my paper a lot, but dig reading my nook. It's a great book reader, but don't see it as much a magazine reader- scale and screen issues.

3- I have a nook. As I've said before, I would like to want an i*, but can't see the need to get one. The nook was a gift, and fills the need of a paperback quite well. If it's JUST a GRM subscription, not sure if that will do.

I would hope that there would not be more content on a virtual version, though. I never got that one digital issue to work, so I missed out on the whole deal. If the world wants to leave behind non-i kind of people, so be it, I suppose.

In reply to alfadriver:

The 25th anniversary e-pub is still available. Click here to check it out.

It's interesting though since the technology has already progressed to the point that the anniversary e-pub from December 2009 looks dated. The march of technology is incessant.

+1 for keeping my paper subscription, but publish searchable PDF back issues.

I would buy an online subscription only if they are delivered as DRM-free, platform independent files that I can save to my hard disk. (PDF or whatever.) If that were available I would probably do it over a hard copy subscription.

If it's only available for certain devices, or I have to install some stupid iTunes crap to purchase it, I wouldn't bother.

1) No I like hard copies.
2) I would love to be able to look back at old issues
3) iPhone (I hate the Android)

1. No
2. Yes
3. Apple

What I really need is the Forum on my iphone.

For some reason my wife likes me to hang with her in the family room and watch boring HGTV shows. So I bring my smart phone and check ebay and facebook stuff. GRM forum would be sweet.

Paper only

I don't think the 25th anniversary issue technology really worked that well. It was clunky - most online magazines that I've sampled are. I don't know why they're just not released as PDFs. Let Adobe do all the hard work. PDFs can be locked, or they can be left DRM-free. As an advertiser, I'm all for spreading those free PDFs as far and as wide as possible

I like getting the paper magazine, but I have to admit that a searchable digital copy would be a lot more useful to me. I rarely go into the Giant Stack of GRMs even though I know there's good stuff in there.

Pete, you do know there's a mobile version of the GRM forum that works well on iThingies, right?

pete240z wrote: What I really need is the Forum on my iphone. For some reason my wife likes me to hang with her in the family room and watch boring HGTV shows. So I bring my smart phone and check ebay and facebook stuff. GRM forum would be sweet.

m.grassrootsmotorsports.com is your new best friend.

Tom Heath wrote: In reply to alfadriver: The 25th anniversary e-pub is still available. Click here to check it out. It's interesting though since the technology has already progressed to the point that the anniversary e-pub from December 2009 looks dated. The march of technology is incessant.

Same problems. Got to page 38-39, but the next page turn froze IE9 right up.

Thankfully, I got to read the paper version.

That, I would not put up with.

ShadowSix, you took the words right out of my mouth. Make it a choice. $20 for digital, $20 for print, $30 for both, I would buy it.

AlfaDriver is also right on about the content, too. Once its interactive, don't just layout the one tiny press photo, make that tiny photo link to ALL the press photos. Instead of a little blurb about each challenge car, embed a video with the car competing, and the owners telling their story.

I am currently pouring over my tablet options. I am looking at android tablets, in the 10-11 inch size. But Tom is right, there's no stability, new products are coming too fast. I'll be waiting until at least the Summer, maybe even the holidays, to find the best option.

m.grassrootsmotorsports.com is your new best friend.

Thanks for killing my productivity!

z31maniac wrote: 1. Not me, I like having the hard copy. 2. Refer to #1 3. Android, I despise Apple.

Yes, Yes and anything with 'i" infront of it makes me itch

You tube link

Tom Heath wrote: How many of our website users would buy online subscriptions? Would that be instead of or in addition to paper copies? What device are you using or do you see yourself using in the next year or so?

1 & 2. If there was a combo deal where I could pay $2 more a year for paper+electronic, I could swing it.
3. I'm an Apple sort of guy. I'm really interested in getting a Verizon iPhone.

Actually, I'd pay more to be able to download bundles of back issues.

mad_machine wrote: Yes, Yes and anything with 'i" infront of it makes me itch

Well, it follows that you should progess both alphabetically and logically to use the 'f'

• fMac
• fBusiness
• fPhone
• fPad
• fYou

See... progress.

1) I like my dead trees. 2) Were I to get the electronic copy, it would be in addition to a paper subscription. 3) Android, and maybe one of the eBook reader doohickeys (whichever is the most open in terms of being able to read pdfs, txt files, ebooks, etc, and doesn't have some corporate overlord that can remote delete books just because they want to).

1. I'd buy one if it were the same-ish price to replace the paper version, or slightly more to add it to the paper version.

2. This depends on price and content. I wouldn't pay more for the same content in a different delivery medium, but if it were 50% or less more, I'd buy the electronic version in addition to the paper version.

3. I'm currently running a laptop and an HTC Evo, which is an Android phone. If iPads weren't so pricey, I'd have one. If Android tabs were as nice as iPads, I'd have one of those instead. Since both of these issues concern me right now, I have neither. Android tabs are getting better faster than the iPads, which were released at a higher bar and then have had no changes made to them.

I'm a hardware guy myself, but I'm a cheap bastage when it comes to buying. My computers are all trailing edge because it's cheaper. The best thing yesterday is typically cheaper than the third best thing today. That's why I trail behind on things like tablets.

Paper only for me because it is more Grassroots, wont crash, doesnt need to be booted up, and the batteries never go flat. Never found reading something electronically was fun.