subscriptions

Is 'Netflix-for-magazines' app Next Issue worth the money?

I'm a magazine junkie. I grew up reading titles like Games, Omni, and Starlog, then moved on to every computer magazine I could get my hands on. (Show of hands: Who remembers Amiga World? PC/Computing?)

Eventually I started writing for them, and even went so far as to start my own magazine: Tap, a PalmPilot enthusiast rag that later became Handheld Computing. Good times.

Needless to say, it was with great interest that I learned of Next Issue, a Netflix-style magazine service that's now available for Android and iPad.

Although a growing number of magazines offer their … Read more

Add feeds quickly in Chrome with RSS Subscription Extension

Google's RSS Subscription Extension for Chrome automatically scans pages for RSS feeds and lets you subscribe to them with a single click on the RSS icon in the Omnibar. You must be signed in to Google to use it. It works with Chrome in Incognito mode, too, and supports multiple feeds per page. RSS Subscription Extension is freeware.

As with other Chrome extensions, you might miss RSS Subscription Extension's installation if you blink or look away, and (unlike some other Web browsers) you don't need to restart Chrome to activate it. We opened the Extensions Manager page … Read more

Facebook's payment platform changes its currency

Facebook made a simple announcement today -- its virtual currency, "credits," is to become real currency, such as dollars, pounds, or rupees. Despite this being a seemingly straightforward notice, a lot can be read into this plan.

It points to the social network looking for additional ways to make money besides advertising and it shows the company's goal to grow as a payment platform embarking on a similar path to Apple with its iTunes store.

The idea of Facebook credits were first debuted in 2008 when the social network changed the monetary units for its "gifts&… Read more

Time turns page on iPad subscriptions

Skype's got ads, Vizio's got PCs, and we got issues (a whole Newsstand full of 'em):

Time Inc. has had a change of heart with Apple and will now begin selling magazine subscriptions through iPad's Newsstand app. Previous apps for Time Inc. magazines, like Sports Illustrated, only allowed for one issue to be purchased at a time. It also gave print subscribers free access.

Last year, Time Inc. opposed how Apple handled subscriptions, such as taking a 30 percent cut of sales and not releasing data on subscribers. But since then, Apple has lets readers opt-in to … Read more

Apple, Time Inc. settle magazine subscription dispute

Time Inc., once a prominent opponent to selling magazine subscriptions for the iPad, has reached an agreement to offer subscriptions to all its magazines for Apple's tablet.

The two companies have reached a deal that allows iPad users to subscribe to 20 Time Inc. titles, including Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, and People magazines through Apple's App Store, Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang told The New York Times. Until now, Time Inc. was the big holdout to Apple's digital subscription plan, which sells iPad versions of magazine content.

Until now, Time Inc. had sold only single-issue app versions … Read more

Google announces in-app subscriptions for Android apps

Google today announced a new feature for Android applications offered through the Google Play store. Available immediately for Android developers, in-app subscriptions will allow users to pay for monthly or annual subscriptions directly inside of apps. And as detailed by Google, the feature is set to auto-renew by default with transactions managed by the Google Play store.

In addition to adding a new level of convenience, the move opens the door to added revenue streams and even new types of content through Google Play. Looking forward, today's announcement could entice magazines and news journals to offer subscriptions to consumers … Read more

Low Latency No. 21: To the cord-cutters

We here at Low Latency are all for convenience, which is why we love Hulu. But requiring a cable or satellite TV subscription for the service seems like a step backward in practicality. Despite making nearly half a billion dollars in ad revenue last year, Hulu is now flirting with an authentication protocol. If we need to pay for cable TV to watch TV on the Internet, then what's the point? … Read more

The 404 1,044: Where we make May day (podcast)

Could you last a year without the Internet? It's not the first time we've heard of someone going off the grid, but a guy from The Verge has decided to spend the next year offline, so we'll challenge each other to do the same.

In other online news, Facebook has launched a new organ donor tool for Timeline that lets users add a life story to their profiles with a link to sign up for donation services in their area. Mark Zuckerberg went on ABC news and credited Steve Jobs as inspiration to use social networking to … Read more

Spotify signs ad deals with McDonalds, AT&T and Coca-Cola

We now know something about Spotify's press conference scheduled for today in New York.

Spotify has signed new advertising deals with AT&T, McDonalds, Intel, and Reebok and a worldwide ad deal with Coca-Cola, CEO Daniel Ek said today at the AdAge Digital conference. The Verge reports that Spotify will create new "brand apps" that will live inside Spotify's desktop.

The news, which was first reported by All Things Digital, comes hours before a Spotify press conference scheduled for this afternoon.

There's a lot of attention on Spotify now. The worst thing the company … Read more

iPad users spending $70K a day on newspaper and magazine content

A new report, released by the analytics firm Distimo (via Business Insider), finds that iPad users are spending upwards of $70,000 each day on magazines and newspapers for their iPads.

The report looked at the top-100 Newsstand apps in terms of gross sales, finding that iPad users seem willing to pay for newsy content. At the top of the list, as expected, are apps from The New York Times, The Daily, and the New Yorker. Also interesting to note, news apps account for 7 percent of the top-200 grossing apps.

The revenue from those apps comes largely at the … Read more