WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: The WIRED app for the iPad

It’s pretty neat. There’s a lot to be said for embedding video and audio, (even – if not especially — in revenue-generating ads) and the interactivity in articles (click buttons to view different products that are being reviewed on the same page, or get a step-by step of the assembly of that famous ice hotel or listen to a Trent Reznor track in progress) is handled in an unobtrusive, natural manner that reminds me of a highly-refined version of their website. There are issues, though: the vertical scrolling inside of an article is not obvous enough and I was honestly a bit confused the first time I came across it and while editorial has worked hard to make sure the layout works in both landscape and portrait orientations, there’s at least one article fragment in the inaugural installment that is driving me up the wall

Still, $5 for a future magazine that doesn’t litter my floor with those annoying subscription cards and cleverly gets me to look at and interact with advertising? That’s a perfect price point. This is the first issue of Wired I’ve read cover-to-cover in years and I’m pretty sure they’ve got their hooks in me for future installments.