With the arrival of iPad, Kobo and Kindle, and an array of new tablets or e-reading devices on the horizon, we’re on the cusp of a mobile electronic publishing revolution. Digital media specialist HAIG ARMEN provides a hands-on introduction to these mobile media technologies, providing insight into how they work, design implications and business opportunities associated with present and future mobile publishing platforms.

1. -hands on-
Mobile Digital Publishing
Haig Armen
haig@liftstudios.ca
@haigarmen

2. Most magazines have terrible
ratings in the App Store
(few rank higher than 2 stars)

3. a little bit about me
What happens when you mix
an architect with a jazz musician?

7. 1. The Reading Experience
Context & Behaviours
2. The Numbers Are Out
Mobile Usage Statistics
3. The Hardware
The devices we love to hate
4. The Software
The good, the bad & the unusable
5. The business
Digital options & business models?

8. Understanding
Context
(Why Mobile?)

9. We read
as a ritual

10. We want
our magazines
on the go

11. Reading when we can...

12. We read
where we can

13. Sometimes
we like to read alone

14. or we read socially

15. To create the best
reading experience
we must understand
how people
are reading
Here are some behaviours
we should think about

16. We scan
& browse

17. we are drawn
to imagery

18. jump from publication to publication

19. & cross-referencing

20. we take notes

21. we highlight

22. and we bookmark

23. Defining Digital?

25. Are readers ready for digital content?
The Numbers Are Out
Mobile Usage Statsistics

31. The Hardware
a look at mobile devices

32. iPhone

33. Android phone

34. iPad

35. kobo
Kobo

36. kindle
Kindle

37. Where and when are these
devices being used?

38. Kindle

40. Is Apple the silver bullet
that publishers have been
waiting for?

41. The iPad is a game-changer
but not for the reasons you’ve been told

42. Native Mobile Web
Applications Applications
Proprietary Standard Web technology
Platform dependent Platform agnostic
Programmed in: Programmed in:
Apple: Objective -C HTML
Android: Java CSS & Javascript
Windows: Visual Basic Free press
Regulated Marketplace?

43. Native App Benefits:
pay per download
better access to hardware
(camera, sensors, microphone)
access of user data
traditional control over design
processor performance
multi-touch functionality

44. Native App Disadvantages:
Expensive Development costs
Apple's inconsistent App Store Approval
Apple's 30% cut of sales
Cost of Upgrade maintenance
Platform dependent

45. Magazines as paid apps don’t
seem to be panning out

47. Numbers are down.
Magazine September November
2010 2010
Wired 31,000 23,000
Vanity Fair 10,500 8,700
Glamour 4,301 2,775
GQ unavailable 11,000
http://gizmodo.com/5720597/magazines-doomed-once-
again-as-ipad-sales-slump

48. AppStore Observations
Major complaints mentioned in the reviews
section are:
• slow downloading
• unintuitive or annoying navigation
• you’re just getting scans of the printed book.

49. Unreasonable Downloads
Downloading issues over 200mgs
are a major obstacle.
"I waited an absolutely deadeningly long time for
the Kayaking magazine to download all its page
spreads, AND it forced me to download a product
guide edition before I got to see the real content."

50. Lost in Translation
Many high-profile magazines are built using
Adobe’s Digitial Publishing Suite, which takes
InDesign layouts as PDFs and wraps them up as an
App, providing a standardized swiping navigation.

51. Let’s look at some examples of
the App approach:

52. Case Study:
Time Magazine

54. Page-turning digital editions
systems leave something to be
desired in terms of UX

55. User Experience
a user-centered design approach
is crucial part of this equation

57. Periodicals approach publishing
like Website producers -
responsive and agile

58. Publications are Social
How are you encouraging that?

59. What about the Web?
Let’s look at some examples...

60. Geist Magazine
following web standards &
appropriate design decisions

64. Case Study:
Flipboard: a hybrid approach

68. think strategically
in these directions:
What would mobile reading look like for my
magazine?
How can I use web as platform to achieve that?
How do I manage digital and print at same time?
Does going digital mean selling/delivering your
content on a digital platform?
Why does a digital workflow make sense?
even if you’re not publishing to the web

69. Where's the Business Model?

70. Thank you
haig@liftstudios.ca
@haigarmen