1. USA Today
The front of this app looks just like a newspaper. This paper is a non-local newspaper available all over the country, and one always filled with general news. The iPad version is no different. On the face of it is the headlines, sports scores, and weather that you can match to your own local weather. Clicking on a news article pulls up the full text along with the options to change the text size for easier readability and sharing options, including Facebook, Twitter, Email. This app is 100% free.
2. Chicago Tribune
I’m a Chicago girl, so I’m looking for some more local news. While I can get an iPhone app for a suburban newspaper, I like the Trib app because it’s laid out great and has everything I want except extremely local news. It, too, looks like the front of a newspaper, with top stories, breaking stories, and the weather. It also includes options to “Favorite” an article you want to remember, and the same sharing and viewing options as USA Today. While the app is free, and the headlining articles are all included, to get the full paper electronically, a subscription is required.
3. Chicago Sun-Times
Again, I’m looking for some Chicago news, and this electronic news is so much different. Instead of having clean and attractive articles, the entire newspaper is scanned in. Every single page is here, including the ads, and it’s all free with the app. You can flip through the entire newspaper and just read the parts you want, just as you would a paper edition.
While the Sun-Times includes options on the side to flip through, highlight articles, etc., you can do a two-finger click on an article of interest, and it will pull up a larger version of just the text for you to read.
4. Newsweek
If you’re a political news junkie, Newsweek is a magazine you might already be buying, but you can also get daily stories on your iPad. You can subscribe to it on your iPad and also buy individual issues, including archived issues. Additionally, it offers slideshows for viewing.
5. People
This one works much like Newsweek, except it doesn’t have the daily news articles. All that’s offered in the free People app is the opportunity to buy individual issues or subscribe electronically. It also includes archived issues. If you’re already a print subscriber, subscribing to the electronic version will be free.
6. Sports Illustrated
Again, it works much the same as Newsweek and People. However, the Sports Illustrated app is more like Newsweek in that it also has daily stories to be read. It, too, can be subscribed to electronically, and can also be purchased through single issues. If you’re already a print subscriber, the electronic version will be free.
7. Oprah
Oprah didn’t hide her love of the iPad, making it one of her last season’s “Favorite Things.” because of this, it only makes sense that she would have a great iPad app for viewing an electronic version of her magazine. Oprah’s Magazine app isn’t just great for reading the magazine’s articles, it’s also very interactive. Opening an issue for the first time, a video of Oprah plays as she introduces the issue. Older issues are free to download, but the newer ones will cost you. This issue from last December featured her Favorite Things with interactive 360 degree views, yet it also has regular articles, such as this interview with Tyler Perry.
This is just a small sampling of the newspapers and magazines available for the iPad. The Kindle now makes periodicals available on its iPhone and iPad apps, but so far the choices offered don’t come close to what’s offered via individual apps for the iPad.
