Since the iPad appeared in the spring, I've been looking forward to seeing how print media adapts to the digital opportunities presented by the device. There are a bunch of magazines that have made the transition including Sports Illustrated, Wired, National Geographic, People, GQ, Vanity Fair and Time. If you tend to purchase magazines off the newsstand and own an iPad, the digital version will probably be both cheaper and more handy, but for magazine subscribers the deal tends to work the other way. (Wired—one of the first magazines with an iPad app—offers individual digital issues for $3.99 while a full years subscription to the print edition only costs $12.)
Seemingly few fashion magazines have stuck a toe in the iPad app world, which is odd to me considering both the marketing potential and the way this particular medium would flatter the high gloss, photo-heavy genre. I did however discover an app developed not by an established publisher, but by the insanely profitable e-commerce site Net-a-Porter.com. The app is adapted from the online Net-a-Porter magazine — which, considering the purpose of the site, could more aptly be called a catalog—and it takes advantage of the capabilities of the iPad in some interesting ways.
To that end, I created this app test-drive for your viewing enjoyment. (Please note, this is my first foray into video commentary and though I am married to a film editor, his skills have yet to rub off on me.)