Thanks for your quick reply, Hugh.

I fully understand the extra work in the initial phase. Again, I am really impressed with the app you've made, and can see that a lot of thought and work has been put into this.


By the way, when do you think can I expect the March issue on the iPad?



Thanks,
Kai

Edited by KChris (05/03/12 11:57 AM)

Quote Bob Bickerton:

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Will you offer a counseling service for people who become addicted to buying gear as a direct result of subscribing to your app?

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Of course we will Bob... now tell me, how do you feel about that?

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote KChris:

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When do you think can I expect the March issue on the iPad?

---

Sorry Kchris, I can't answer that because I don't have the schedules in front of me, but hopefully someone who does will be able to tell you very soon.

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

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Quote KChris:

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When do you think can I expect the March issue on the iPad?

---

Sorry Kchris, I can't answer that because I don't have the schedules in front of me, but hopefully someone who does will be able to tell you very soon.

Hugh

---

Hi KChris,

Feb and March are both done already, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks - Feb is going through the submission process at the moment, and March is next on the list Can't be more specific about timings I'm afraid, as it really depends on how quickly our friends at Apple manage to approve each issue (and that, of course, is dependent on how busy they are with all the other thousands of apps that get sent for approval).

We're hoping that the apps will 'catch up' with the mag over the next couple of issues so there should be less of a delay between the mag being on sale and the app arriving each month.

--------------------
SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
Friend SOS on Facebook | Follow SOS on Twitter

Quote Jennifer Jones:

---

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

---

Quote KChris:

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When do you think can I expect the March issue on the iPad?

---

Sorry Kchris, I can't answer that because I don't have the schedules in front of me, but hopefully someone who does will be able to tell you very soon.

Hugh

---

Hi KChris,

Feb and March are both done already, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks - Feb is going through the submission process at the moment, and March is next on the list Can't be more specific about timings I'm afraid, as it really depends on how quickly our friends at Apple manage to approve each issue (and that, of course, is dependent on how busy they are with all the other thousands of apps that get sent for approval).

We're hoping that the apps will 'catch up' with the mag over the next couple of issues so there should be less of a delay between the mag being on sale and the app arriving each month.

---

Hi Jennifer, and thanks for your reply.

I am a little puzzled, as I have the Feb issue on my iPad already. Do you mean the March issue is going through the submission process atm?


Thanks,
Kai

Ah, perhaps Feb has already finished! In that case, yes

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SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
Friend SOS on Facebook | Follow SOS on Twitter

Yes, the February edition is already out, and I'm told the March issue is in the Apple works, and the April edition is well under way...

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Hi all -

I've been following this thread for months, and I'm really excited that the US app finally made its way thru approval! I downloaded it this morning (9:30am CST) and tried to subscribe, but the subscription process looks broken? I get an option to "subscribe for 1 year at(null)" - which seems like a fantastic price! - but clicking that option just returns me to the library.

I suppose you're still working out the kinks, but can you can provide any info?

Thanks! Your faithful reader - Jeff

--------------------

-->Jeff

Hi Jeff, thanks for the heads-up & your comments.

I've passed on your message and I hope we can get this fixed for you asap so that you can subscribe I'm hoping it's just a glitch that is easily fixed, but I'll post again when I know more.

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SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
Friend SOS on Facebook | Follow SOS on Twitter

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Jennifer.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the (iPhone!) forum app.

If you need a beta tester you know where I am!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Bravo, well done on getting this through. Downloaded the trial version, it looks good and is logical to navigate. Zooming in on images is a nice touch too. I've been looking forward to this. Will start subscribing again when the March issue is available...

The March issue is now available on iTunes (in the UK at least -- I can't see the US version!).

I'm also told that the app team is very hopeful that the April edition should appear on iTunes pretty much simultaneously with the paper edition reaching the newstands.... but that's not a promise because it's not under our direct control!

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

I am still not able to subscribe here in the US. Is this being worked on? Looking forward to it! Thanks!

Gil

Quote digimidi:

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I am still not able to subscribe here in the US. Is this being worked on? Looking forward to it! Thanks!

Gil

---

Yes, as we speak! Unfortunately, the US version of the app approval process did not go as smoothly as the UK edition, and there was a hitch with the US subscriptions. Our app team are busy working with Apple to get this sorted ASAP, but with the pending launch of the 'New iPad', Apple have got a lot on their plate right now. In the meantime, we do apologise for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience!

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SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
Friend SOS on Facebook | Follow SOS on Twitter

Yes, the problem has been found and a solution is in the works -- I suspect the delay is because of Apple's approval process again (they're probably swamped in dealing with apps with higher resolution graphics! )

Edited to add: Look at that! Nothing for ages and then two come along at once!

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Edited by Hugh Robjohns (09/03/12 03:57 PM)

Does eSub + Digital Edition subscription (12 months) Code: UKeSub12 £24.00 give you both web access and iPad?

I'd hope so as the iPad subscription is £30 so if you pay on the iPad and the site that's £55!

Will there be an option to sub to the iPad and have access to the sos website from a desktop?

Ideally, i'd like to download SOME articles as PDFs on the site after browsing on the iPad. You sell some articles so why not enable this? I'd pay!

I'm waiting on this to see how i'll carry on my subscription..



Edited by Mushroomman (10/03/12 09:17 AM)

I'd like to see this possible ultimately, but have subscribed to the iPad version anyway, it's well worth it in my opinion- no idea how long I have to run on my web subscription.

Can you remind us how long it is before web access becomes freely available anyway, can't remember. If its a matter of months then it's simply a question of referencing recent mags through the iPad app and searching for historical articles on the web with the brand new search engine

Bob

--------------------
www.bickerton.co.nz

Quote Mushroomman:

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Does eSub + Digital Edition subscription (12 months) Code: UKeSub12 £24.00 give you both web access and iPad?

---

No I'm afraid not ... Not yet anyway. Currently we have no means of linking the ipad app subscription (which is controlled by Apple) with our own esub / digital edition / paper subscriptions. It's immensely frustrating for us as well as for our customers, but it's a limitation of the technology currently in place. Hopefully the situation will change as the technology evolves, but there are no guarantees.

So, if you want both web and iPad access I'm afraid you'll have to subscribe separately to an esub with us, and the ipad app through the app store. And yes, we do know that makes it quite expensive. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it at the moment... but as Bob says, the magazine content is all freely available on the web after five months anyway, and the forums are free to use too.

hugh


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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote Bob Bickerton:

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Can you remind us how long it is before web access becomes freely available anyway, can't remember.

---

Five months.

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Oh that's not too bad, in fact somewhat generous, so thanks.

Simply means 5 current months stored on the iPad and then prior issues (virtually archived) available for search as necessary.

Actually sounds like a good solution.

Bob

--------------------
www.bickerton.co.nz

I think the SOS App is fantastic. I think I will actually get more out of it than the physical magazine. I only have one request which has been echoed in some of the posts above. It would be great to be able to zoom in as some of the text can appear very small particularly in the adverts.

However, you have to be congratulated on a excellent v1.0. I'm sure over time, future updates will only make it even better.

--------------------
And Bagpuss, once he was asleep, was just a saggy old cloth cat.

Edited by Guy7 (14/03/12 10:29 PM)

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

---

Currently we have no means of linking the ipad app subscription (which is controlled by Apple) with our own esub / digital edition / paper subscriptions. It's immensely frustrating for us as well as for our customers, but it's a limitation of the technology currently in place. Hopefully the situation will change as the technology evolves, but there are no guarantees.

---

AIUI it's not a technology restriction but an Apple restriction to make sure they get their pound of flesh(tm). For instance, here's a quote from The Register last September: Apple insists on a 30 per cent cut of recurring subscription revenue, from all content companies, not just magazines and newspapers. Apple blocks companies from the Apple App Store if they dare direct potential subscribers around this tollbooth to a more complicated web signup form.

Here's a story about what happened when the FT objected.

CC

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Put the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

I'm not sure what the technical mechanism is, but I know that for both Time & Entertainment Weekly (both Time Warner pubs) print subscribers have free access to the iPad versions. But they use standalone apps that do not reside in Newstand. Their apps allow you to login with your account info and then download the current issues as they become available. This seems to be where most of the big publishers are heading (based on my personal experience), since there appear to be some commercial limitations to Newstand.

Both the the Time & EW apps are extremely robust in terms of readability, links to additional content, etc. I know SoS is a much smaller operation, but that might be an avenue to consider for long-term tablet integration.

In the meantime, I am waiting for the subscription issues to be worked out on the US side before committing...

--------------------

-->Jeff

So... Is it retina-display friendly?

Guess I'll see for myself in a few hours!

Quote Guy7:

---

I only have one request which has been echoed in some of the posts above. It would be great to be able to zoom in as some of the text can appear very small particularly in the adverts.

---

There's a reason for that. Whereas some e-magazine publishers charge their advertisers extra to appear in the on-line or app versions, we don't. Everyone who advertises in the magazine appears in the app for free. However, as you have found, adverts designed for the printed page don't translate well to the app because of the smaller screen size and so some can be difficult to read. That's the whole reason that we spent so long coming up with a way of reformating the magazine to make it readable on the ipad without having to continually zoom in and scroll around.

The obvious solution is for the advertisers to come up with adverts either that work equally well on paper and in the app, or, more likely, for substitute adverts that are specifically optimised for inclusion in the ipad app and potentially taking advantage of the added features such as including audio or video and so on. Some have already expressed interest and have started down this road and I'm sure others will soon too. So we're confident that the issue you describe is a very temporary one and that aspect of the app will develop quickly in the months to come.

Quote:

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However, you have to be congratulated on a excellent v1.0.

---

Glad you like it and many thanks

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote ConcertinaChap:

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AIUI it's not a technology restriction but an Apple restriction to make sure they get their pound of flesh(tm).

---

Quite right -- it was a turn of phrase to simplify the situation. There are ways around it... but none that are available to us at this time. We don't have access to the required technology.

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote AtomicBeagle:

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I'm not sure what the technical mechanism is, but I know that for both Time & Entertainment Weekly (both Time Warner pubs) print subscribers have free access to the iPad versions.

---

Yes, as I said in the previous post, there are ways to link paper and app subscriptions, but they generally involve a level of technology that we don't have access to and which is, currently, only affordable by the really big international publishers. Hopefully the situation will evolve in the months and years to come... we'll have to wait and see.

However, as it is, we think the ipad app is very good value and everything over five months old if freely available on line anyway.

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Boo! It's not retina friendly! Just as you win me over with your fabulous newsstand edition, you come over all pixelated, even the text.

Drat. My eyes have gone HD now after half an hour of being spoilt with the new ipad. can't bear the pixels!

The old world looks blurred!

Quote Dan_Pop:

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Boo! It's not retina friendly!

---

It should be -- and it has been tested on a retina screen.

Which version (UK or US) and edition are you looking at?

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

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It should be -- and it has been tested on a retina screen.

Which version (UK or US) and edition are you looking at?

hugh

---

UK version, March 2012 issue. I just did a screen shot so you can see:

http://www.ooberman.net/dan/pixels.PNG

All the other newsstand apps are super HD!

I'm told that the app is 'retina-compatible' and that the current resolution was chosen as being the best compromise between visual quality and file size/download time. When viewed from a normal distance it should look absolutely fine on either the old or new ipad screens, but if examined very closely you might be able to see some pixelation on a retina screen.

It is something that could be changed if necessary, but Sound On Sound is such a huge magazine compared to most, and has so much embedded audio and video content (which is going to increase further in the months to come), that the file size is a significant issue. Increasing the image and text resolution would have a big impact on that which could quickly become very counter-productive.

Thanks for the feedback, though. We'll keep an open mind on this one and see what other reactions we get.

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

No it really does look blurry. It looks a bit more pixelated than the same thing on the iPad 2, because of the pixel doubling artefacts.

But the main reason it looks blurry is the very stark and obvious difference between the low res iPad 2 and the new iPad retina display.

I promise it's not something you need to stare at close up, it's a marked difference - exactly the same difference as text on the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.

Blurry, clear, blurry, clear.

You don't need to enhance the image resolution, only the rendering resolution of the text, which I'm sure is in some kind of vector format rather than bitmaps anyway, so fixing this just for the text shouldn't require the download size to be any larger.

I was comparing the January edition on the iPad vs the Print copy. The iPad edition might be better in some ways. The colour reproduction on images seems more accurate to the source, placed side by side the font is larger, images are clearer and you can zoom in on them too. For example you can zoom-in on a Pro Tools session to see the individual tracks and all the settings on plugins & buses in good detail. Which is a nice bonus.

I was expecting this to be a simple PDF of the printed magazine shoved on the app store. But its actually really good and optimized for viewing on the iPad.

Edited by Nites (16/03/12 05:19 PM)

Quote Dan_Pop:

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I promise it's not something you need to stare at close up, it's a marked difference

---

Sorry Dan, I don't doubt you but I'm only relaying what I've been told. I've got a positively obsolete iPad 1 here so can't comment either way. The team at the office do have an iPad 3 specifically for checking these things and I've passed your comments on.

Edited to add: The team have been exploring this issue further and agree that there is a marked difference in text quality on a page formatted to the new HD settings rather than the current settings we're using. They're looking in to the best way forward as there are a couple of options open to us, but a test version optimised for 'HD' has shown that the file size is three times bigger than the standard res version! Watch this space...

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

This is a real shame... I only got the esub in the first place because I wanted to read SOS on my iPad.. that was the WHOLE point! I rarely read SOS on my laptop... I have no intention of getting an eSub for iPad as well.

I really hope there is some leeway for us here because technology aside I think we've been terribly mislead.

Quote Hugh Robjohns:

---

Quote Mushroomman:

---

Does eSub + Digital Edition subscription (12 months) Code: UKeSub12 £24.00 give you both web access and iPad?

---

No I'm afraid not ... Not yet anyway. Currently we have no means of linking the ipad app subscription (which is controlled by Apple) with our own esub / digital edition / paper subscriptions. It's immensely frustrating for us as well as for our customers, but it's a limitation of the technology currently in place. Hopefully the situation will change as the technology evolves, but there are no guarantees.

So, if you want both web and iPad access I'm afraid you'll have to subscribe separately to an esub with us, and the ipad app through the app store. And yes, we do know that makes it quite expensive. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it at the moment... but as Bob says, the magazine content is all freely available on the web after five months anyway, and the forums are free to use too.

hugh

---

Well, having only 2 issues left on my eSub, I caved and subscribed. Really is a great way to read the mag.

In response to the larger issues, it would be 500mb-ish file size? I've got several game apps that are larger than that, so I wouldn't object to that size of issue, though I've got an iPad 2, so I probably wouldn't notice the difference!

--------------------
www.exaviormusic.com
www.manninmusic.com Music Teacher, Isle of Man

Hi,

I have just tested the SOS iPad app on an iPad 3rd gen. and thought I would let you know my feedback. First, thanks for bringing SOS to the iPad, this will make life easier for many of us.

First thing one notice on the iPad 3 is page rendering is not using the higher resolution capabilities of the device. Using an iPad 3, we quickly get accustomed to the new resolution so going back to lower resolution is immediately visible. On the other hand, the display is immediate and smooth unlike some other magazines using vector rendering. With the page layout you adopted though (smaller pages), which is great, I guess it should be possible to use vector fonts with reasonable performance, it would be nice to give it a try.

Now the magazine comes on the iPad, we can expect to hear sounds. Some sections have sound samples, but many others could benefit from sound. For example, I read the Minibrute review in the March issue and could not hear a single sound from this synthesizer, which is quite frustrating on a digital edition. The Readers Tracks section could also benefit from sound extracts, and probably many others, given the nature of the magazine.

Last thing, the commercials are sometimes unreadable because of the low resolution. I am not especially fond of commercials, but if they are there, they should be readable.

Overall I am really glad SOS is now available on the iPad, this is a great step forward, the adopted layout is excellent, there are still a few things to tweak I believe though, so looking forward to seeing improved iPad and sound support over the coming months.

--Oli

Thanks for the feedback Oli, and glad you like the app. I think I've already discussed all of the points you've raised in this thread or others, but to recap for the benefit of others...

1. Screen resolution --yes, we are aware of the text 'jaggies' on the iPad 3. We are evaluating the options at the moment. The main issue is that increasing the text resolution appears to increase the file size quite dramatically. But rest assured that we are working on it...

2. Sounds -- yes, obviously one of the advantages of the iPad app is the ability to build in lots of audio and video. Some articles already have this. Many more will gain them in the months to come as we commission the material and as our reviewers get into the habit!

3. Adverts --unlike some of our competitors, we include the print edition ads in the app at no additional charge to the advertisers. However, as you have seen -- and our advertisers are realising -- print ads don't always translate well to the app because of the different 'page size' and limited screen resolution. I'm certain that you'll start to see customised ads in the app that work better and will probably include audio and video as the advertisers start to explore the creative possibilities now open to them.

The app is presenting a learning curve to all of us, but It has a huge potential and I think we have already set a significantly higher benchmark than most of our competitors. In many ways the app is a work in progress and I'm sure it will develop in the months to come, but I'm glad you like where we've started and thanks again for the feedback.

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote orangefunk:

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This is a real shame... I only got the esub in the first place because I wanted to read SOS on my iPad.. that was the WHOLE point!

---

The eSub has only ever provided access to the locked website content, and you can access that on your iPad through the safari web browser. Nothing has changed and I don't understand your complaint.

Quote:

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I have no intention of getting an eSub for iPad as well.

---

You don't need to. The eSub allows access to the locked website content via whatever means you use to access the website: desktop computer, smart-phone, tablet or whatever.

Quote:

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I really hope there is some leeway for us here because technology aside I think we've been terribly mislead.

---

I don't see how! The eSub is unchanged. It does now what it always has and what you paid for.

The iPad app is an entirely separate thing. It is an equivalent of the paper magazine and the 'digital edition magazine' that we offer through subscriptions and via the newsagent in the case of the paper mag.

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Hi,

First of all congrats as the app is quite well done. It´s good to see that it actual takes advantage of the ipad as opposed to being a simple pdf file.

Having said this I have to say I am quite disappointed with the fact that existing subscribers cannot access the Ipad version.
I have just recently renewed my subscription because there was an announcement that there would be an ipad version (my mistake I guess).
I read all my mags on my ipad and now I cannot even download from my esub a pdf version of the mag (which could be done before).

I do understand the limitations with the app store but maybe you could give away a free code for your subscribers. Or at least a special price.

I just payed the full price for the 12 months subscription and now I´m stuck on only accessing it through the browser and not even be able to get a pdf version of it. In no way I condone piracy nor will I be doing it but it is in fact easier to just download it than being an actual paying costumer.

I do understand that the app has costs you have to recoup but having been a subscriber for the best part of 5 years I have to say I do feel totally neglected.

Best regards,

Filipe Galante