The Rolling Stone Magazine has been on the iPad for a while through third party applications like Zinio, which basically just mirrored the print edition. Today the company has released its official iPad App, which is native to the platform.
One of the great aspects of the new Rolling Stone magazine is that you can purchase songs directly in iTunes. Spread throughout the latest issue are little orange arrows next to artist names which lead you to that particular song to purchase. Another new feature is the ability to play songs directly within the magazine, without being diverted to your media player.
The new magazine app is a free download from the Apple App Store and subscribing to singular issues is around $1.99. You can start out with a free month if you feel inclined to share your personal information. Like most magazine apps you download, they will appear in your Newsstand. One of the drawbacks is you can only read magazines in portrait view. There is no current functionality to pinch or zoom, or increase the size of the fonts. Everything is fairly readable, but the lack of customization may be a deal breaker for some.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
