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The entire model for tablet/smartphone app "Newsstands" has outlived any initial usefulness it might have had several years ago. In retrospect, it has Time Inc.'s misguided 1995 Pathfinder concept written all over it. Virtualizing the physical newsstand experience online is a fantasy of magazine publishers that strokes brand ego and has no practical use for consumers. The notion of highlighting periodical brands in their own app sub-section may convince publishers of their enduring specialness, but it also commits multiple cardinal sins of digital interactivity. The model literally hides the content from the home deck by nesting titles under a nondescript icon. And the process requires user recall--relying on an invisible brand and double-click activation.
At the very least, consumers and publishers need the option to surface both digital editions of the iOS and Android tablet OS.
The Google Play Newsstand experience is doubly frustrating to consumers and publishers because it adds another...