subscriptions

I've been reading magazines on my iPad for months. I didn't need iOS 5 to do it. I keep these apps--The New Yorker, Wired--in a separate folder on my iPad, called Reading. With iOS 5, that's no longer the case. A new baked-in app (or, rather, a type of smart folder) called Newsstand has now absorbed these apps into an iBooks-like wooden bookshelf.

Newsstand was one of the iOS 5 features that I'd been long awaiting, because I dreamed it would be a way of integrating books, periodicals, and all reading material into one destination. Alas, that's not the case here. Instead of being slotted into iBooks, Newsstand is a separate app. This means two icons to manage instead of one.

Also, I hoped that Newsstand would become a digital way of discovering not just magazines, newspapers, and journals, but a means of browsing covers and headlines from current issues. I browse real newsstands on the corner of 28th and Park, or at a bookstore, and based on what I see, I actually might buy an issue. A football preview came out this month? A cover story on a dinosaur discovery? Sure, I'll bite.

Newsstand on the iPad does none of this.… Read more

Subscription music services aren't all the same, but they're similar enough that it's becoming increasingly important for companies to figure out a way to entice users into trying out a limited version of their service so they can hook them on it and convert them into paying customers. This freemium model has worked well for Spotify and now Rdio is upping the ante with a free streaming offer for PCs that's also ad-free.

We had to read the fine print to figure out just how free this offer is, but here's the basic deal: you … Read more

Since multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft first rose to pop culture prominence, subscription fees have fueled the revenue stream for developers. Now, a new report from market researcher iSuppli suggests microtransactions will drive industry growth in years to come.

Basically, fewer new players are signing up to play MOGs, the report says, but those who are playing are dropping their money on add-ons and other in-game enhancements.

The iSuppli analysis reports that subscriber revenue in the combined North American and European markets for PC massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and standard MOGs declined for the first time ever in 2010--piling up $1.58 billion in 2010, down 5 percent from $1.66 billion in 2009.

That decline seems even more dramatic when compared with the 10 percent annual growth in 2009 and the 21.6 percent increase in 2008. IHS did the math and speculates that the subscription market will decrease on an annual basis through the year 2015, when revenue will shrink away to $1.33 billion. … Read more

HP launches the TopShot LaserJet Pro printer that can scan 3D objects, Netflix finally arrives on most Android phones, and Amazon.com is rumored to be in talks with major publishers to launch a Netflix-like service for books.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Apple has done away with the 99-cent video rentals of TV shows it began offering last year via the Apple TV and iTunes.

Despite Apple's best efforts, most of the top networks weren't willing to offer shows for that price. News Corp.-owned Fox Television and Disney's ABC were the only two majors that were involved and even they offered a limited amount of content at 99 cents.

Now does this sound like the studios are willing to back a new subscription service from Apple or for anyone else for that matter? No. Don't put any … Read more

Essentially, Feedly wraps your Google Reader (download) in a neat, feature-rich package. It's much easier on the eyes than the bare-bones Google Reader app, and it plays nicely with a whole lot more third-party services.

When you first launch the Feedly app, it opens up directly to featured content. That's because it comes preloaded with RSS feeds from many of the Web's most popular sites. These preloaded "Essentials" cover a number of verticals such as technology, design, and business. This means that even without syncing with your Google Reader account, you can enjoy RSS feeds … Read more

Illegal downloads of some Fox Networks TV shows have increased since the company established an eight-day delay before its TV shows are made available on Hulu and Fox.com, according to TorrentFreak.

The torrent news Web site tracked several popular Fox shows--including Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef--on BitTorrent over the last week to see if there had been an increase in illegal download activity. The results are alarming.

"During the first five days, the number of downloads from the U.S. for the latest episode of Hell's Kitchen increased by 114 percent compared to the previous three episodes,&… Read more

Fox Network announced late today that it will begin delaying Web access to many of its popular TV shows to give cable and satellite TV providers greater exclusivity with programming, essentially putting up a de facto pay wall around its content.

Beginning August 15, only those people who subscribe to a participating video distributor will be able to view TV shows on an Internet portal the day after shows air on the network, the company said in a press release. All other viewers who are used to seeing episodes of "The Simpsons," "Bones," and "Glee&… Read more

The controversial New York Times pay wall has been a success, the company said today in its second-quarter financial filing.

"The second quarter was a historic one for our company, as we successfully launched The New York Times digital subscriptions and began to see the early effect on our overall financial performance," Janet L. Robinson, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company, said in a statement. "The positive consumer response to the digital subscription packages is a strong indication of the value that users place on our high-quality news, analysis, and commentary.

"Our digital model exemplifies our growing ability to capitalize on secular trends that show consumer willingness to pay for content across multiple digital platforms," she said.

The New York Times launched its digital subscriptions in March. At the time, the company was charging customers who wanted access to the paper's Web site and smartphone app $15 every four weeks, and $20 for each four-week span of access to its site and tablet app. Unlimited digital access cost $35 per four weeks.

However, since then, the Times has been somewhat lenient on its subscriptions. The paper is currently offering an introductory price of 99 cents for the first four weeks across all three categories. After that, it's charging the original rates.

The Times allows readers to access up to 20 stories per month at no charge. Anyone who wants to read more stories than that will need a subscription.… Read more