One of the benefits of tablets such as the iPad and
the Android Honeycomb devices (think of the
Motorola Xoom or HTC Flyer, for instance) is that they are perfectly positioned in terms of size and the quality of the displays to replace magazines and books.
Of course, without the right
software apps to provide these types of content no reading can take place. Ebook software such as Kindle makes it possible to enjoy free and premium books, ComiXology is great for buying and reading comics, but what is available for buying and reading magazines?
The app you should probably check out first is
ZInio, a free tool from the
AndroidMarket that is also suitable for Android mobiles. Using this app you can quickly signup, browse, purchase and download magazines to read at your leisure on your Android tab!
Installing and Signing Up
You should find ZInio in the Android Market, listed as free to download. If you’re using search, the term “zinio” should be enough to find it; the full title is Zinio Magazine Reader. The download is just 5.72 MB and the
app will take up 8 MB of space; currently App2SD isn’t an option so you may need to check if you have enough space and free this up.
Once installed and running, you have the option of signing up or logging in. If you already have an account then of course you will choose the existing users option, but newcomers will need to sign-up, providing a name, email account and password.
After you have joined Zinio, a list of magazines will be displayed, which can be sorted by date or title thanks to a selection of buttons at the top of the screen.
Browsing and Buying Magazines with Zinio
When ZInio opens you will be presented with a selection of free magazines that can be instantly downloaded to your device and read. There is a nice spread of options here, from craft to computer with plenty of outdoor and sports related options thrown in. These are all provided to demonstrate the strength of the Zinio platform.
Reading a magazine on Zinio is made extremely easy, and you can use these free demo titles to try it out. Basically, you can scroll left and right through the pages, and use the contents page to jump through the magazine to the item you wish to read!
To view the full list of available titles, however, you will need to tap the shopping basket icon, then expand the list as required; for instance, Android Magazine is listed in Science & tech > Electronics.
(By default, Zinio will display magazines that are available in your territory, and this can be altered via the International Stores button in the menu.)
When you tap on the magazine that interests you, you will have two options: subscribe or purchase. Different pricing choices might sway your choice here, but there is no compulsion to purchase more than one title.
