Apple and Time Inc. struck a deal, and the per-issue price fell from $4.99 overnight
Here's a window into the economics of magazine publishing.
Monday's Wall Street Journal reports that Time Inc. (TWX) and Apple (AAPL) have reached an agreement to allow subscribers of Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated to get digital versions of their magazines on the iPad for free.
The deal breaks an impasse that dates back to high-level meetings Steve Jobs had with publishers back in February 2010. It also means that thanks to the special Senior Citizen Offer I received in the mail last week, I can read Time Magazine -- a publication on which I labored for 27 years -- for $0.283 an issue on a free iPad app, down from the $4.99 Time Inc. was charging me the day before. And I get a free Ultronic Multi-Functional Global Clock Radio in the bargain.
What's the catch?
This week's People app is free to subscribers. Time, SI and Fortune are expected to follow
Image: Time Inc.
There's more to the iPad issue of People that appeared on the Apple (AAPL) App Store this morning than Sandra Bullock's new joy.
This People app may also signal the end of a four-and-a-half-month impasse that put the digital dreams of every major magazine publisher on hold.
Until now, the iPad versions of People, MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 19, 2010 1:33 PM ET
Cleaning up the App Store in advance of the iPad's release
Source: AppShopper.com
After four days of confusion and adolescent hand-wringing, Apple (AAPL) finally spoke out about the change of policy that has removed thousands of risqué applications from its iPhone App Store.
The response came in an interview that senior vice president Phil Schiller gave Jenna Wortham of the New York Times.
Over the last few weeks, he told Wortham, a small MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 23, 2010 6:28 AM ET
Can Steve Jobs' tablet do for magazines what the sneaker phone did for Sports Illustrated?
Image: Time Inc.
Joe Zeff, who ran Time Magazine's graphics department for a few years while I was there, is getting some attention for an idea he floated on his new Design Blog: publishers, he suggests, should lure readers to their struggling magazines by giving away free Apple (AAPL) iPads in return for paid subscriptions.
It's MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 3, 2010 6:31 AM ET
When the real thing arrives, will it be as good as the YouTube versions?
Image: CourseSmart
If reality catches up with rumor, Steve Jobs will give one of the great demos of his life next Wednesday at Apple's (AAPL) invitation-only "latest creation" event in San Francisco.
But you don't have to wait until Jan. 27 to get a taste of what he might be showing.
For months, Apple has been secretly meeting with MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 19, 2010 7:23 AM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
| Citigroup Inc | 32.36 | -1.00 | -3.00% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
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| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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