Next Issue for iPad launches, offers bevy of popular magazines for just $10/month [Video]

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Next Issue, a subscription-based iPad app for magazines, finally hit the App Store today after first having launched as an Android app on the Google Play store.

The sales pitch is simple: “All the magazines you love. All in one app. All yours for one low price.”

Folks need to visit NextIssue.com to create an account and start a 30-day free trial, and then they can download the app to access a bevy of titles from Conde Nast, News Corp, Hearst, Meredith, Time, and more major publishers. A few of the more enticing magazine titles include: Allure, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appétit, ELLE, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Fitness, Fortune, Glamour, GQ, InStyle, People, Popular Mechanics, Real Simple, Self, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, TIME, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Wired.

Next Issue offers two subscription types: the $10 monthly plan only provides the top magazines, while the $15 monthly plan boasts the entire catalog with weekly selections. A quick gander through the catalog shows enhanced digital magazines, which are tablet-optimized and feature bonus videos, photography and interactive elements.

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Apple has fixed the corrupted DRM App issue according to a statement

Seth Weintraub

Apple just released the following statement on the App corruption issue we reported earlier today:

“We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded. It affected only a small number of users.

“The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again,” Apple said. Those who have an affected app can re-download it from the App Store.

The “small number of users” seems to run counter to what Instapaper developer Marco Arment found as he publicized his issues with Apple (along with Good Reader) today.

Apple: This is a serious problem. It’s not isolated. Please fix this.

Sources told Macworld that Apple will be removing one-star app reviews developers earned unfairly because of the company’s server issue.

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Phil Schiller: App Store is more democratic than traditional retail, Passbook is not a direct payment service

Jordan Kahn

In a recent story about growing concerns among app developers who want better ways to promote their apps in the App Store, The Wall Street Journal published quotes from an interview with Apple’s Vice President for Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller about the “tremendous amount” of work Apple does to help new apps get discovered. Schiller also talked about how things will improve with the redesigned App Store, Facebook integration, and new user tracking tools for developers in iOS 6:
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Apple’s VP for Europe Pascal Cagni says au revoir

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Le Figaro, a well-respected 186-year-old French daily newspaper, just reported that Apple’s Vice President and General Manager for Europe, Middle East, and Africa Pascal Cagni resigned yesterday.

During his 12 years at Apple, according to Le Figaro, the French executive stimulated Apple’s sales in hundreds of countries. He also engaged in the development of the iPod, iPhone, and the AppStore platform, while helping to expand Apple Stores.

Cagni joined Apple as the Vice President of Europe in 2000, according to Apple’s website, and before that he worked at NEC/Packard Bell Europe as the Vice President of Consumer Products. He previously held sales management posts at Software Publishing Corporation and Compaq Computer. Cagni obtained an M.A. in Law at Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and an M.B.A. from Institut Superieur des Affaires. Le Figaro noted that Cagni is a graduate of HEC and Sciences Po He and a former member of the Ernst & Young Europe advisory board and the Council of Foreign Trade of France in the United Kingdom, but he now serves as a non-executive director for Kingfisher.

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Gameloft’s ‘N.O.V.A 3′ lands in App Store with impressive console-quality visuals

Jordan Kahn

Gameloft has done a pretty good job of promoting the latest title in its Halo-inspired sci-fi FPS franchise known as “N.O.V.A- Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance.” Yesterday, it launched a new trailer for the iOS game (above), and today the follow-up to the first two critically acclaimed games, N.O.V.A 3, is finally going live on the App Store.

With vastly improved visuals thanks to real-time dynamic lighting and shadows, “movie-like” depth of field effects, and improved ragdoll physics, the new game is even closer to console-quality graphics and one of best looking iOS titles we have seen since Unreal Engine-powered Infinity Blade. New features include 12-player multiplayer on six maps, enhanced vehicle gameplay, and a ton of new weapons and enemies.

The universal app is already live on the New Zealand App Store for $9.99 and should hit the U.S. store any minute now. We will keep you updated.

A full list of new features below:
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Apple axes Chomp for Android following acquisition

Jordan Kahn

We reported in February that Apple acquired discovery app Chomp and was thought to be using the company’s technology to help improve the App Store and iTunes experience. We later confirmed Chomp’s CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards already started working at Apple on the iTunes teams. Today, it appears Apple has shut down Chomp for Android with Chomp’s website now only listing links to iOS versions of the app, as noted by GigaOM.

The “Download Chomp” tab in the upper right corner of the Chomp.com now leads directly to the iTunes download page and only iPhone and iPad options are available for searching online. However, when searching for apps on the website, changing the platform to “Android” in the URL still allows you to view Android apps. As we noted earlier, Chomp helps power Verizon’s Android market, so it is unclear what will happen with that partnership going forward.


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