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Readly
I've never been a die-hard magazine person for several reasons: Subscriptions cost money and I can never decide which publication to commit to, I'm only interested in about 40% of any magazine I do buy which is never cost effective, and I feel like I'm contributing to the global waste crisis when I eventually bin them even if I do dump them in the recycling bin.
Thankfully, an excellent new app called Readly has arrived to fix all those problems. Instead of spending ages trying to choose which magazine you're going to buy (because, frankly, I've always found prices for single issues extortionate and can never justify buying more than two at a time), you can flick through as many as you can possibly manage whenever you want without feeling like you have to read every page to get your money's worth. You don't have to make financial sacrifices with your subscriptions because for £7.99 a month you can have them all.
Not only are you saving space by not hoarding volumes of glossy mags, but you're also saving trees because most magazines end up in the trash eventually anyway. Even better, there are tons of back copies for a lot of titles, so hunting down a specific issue need not be a Sherlock Holmes task anymore. You can also get notifications for new issues of your favourites, so there's no need to keep checking for new arrivals.
Plus you'll never be bored. Gone are the days of trying to enjoy a three month out-of-date copy of Good Housekeeping at the dentist office as you shoot furtive glances at the woman who beat you to the only Vogue in the room. With Readly you'll never complain about waiting times again. You can view a massive range of magazines in excellent quality - the only downside being that you can't peel off perfume samples in digital form. Even those gorgeous double-page fashion spreads can be viewed in landscape view, fixing the single page issue of reading page by page.
Readly also allows you to favourite issues, bookmark important articles and download pages for later perusal. The puzzle books are even form fillable, and you can save individual puzzles to complete another time. I did have trouble getting the search function to work when searching for keywords within every magazine issue I looked at, which is my only real complaint.
The app has by no means a comprehensive collection of publications. There are a handful of favourites that aren't there, mostly science and culture related, but the beauty is it really makes up for what it lacks because you'll end up discovering heaps of new magazines that you never knew existed. And when it comes to fashion and entertainment, you really can't go wrong.
By Holly Mosley, Features Writer
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My main complaint about magazines now is the cost. I know I age myself considerably when I say- the price of magazines these days is extortionate.
I can’t justify spending five pounds of my shopping budget on a single magazine for myself, so they have ended up being something of a luxury for me. I only buy them now when I go on holiday or as a special treat.
Magazines fell off my radar as I felt like I got more bang for my buck in a chunky novel. However, Readly has changed my perspective on this altogether. It’s easy to set up- all you have to do is tell the app what you are interested in reading and it will tailor the magazines to these interests. That is unless you know what you want to read, in which case you just tap it into the search bar and begin.
I know this app won’t suit everyone- I know people who are still partial to a paper copy will carry on as before, but this app is ideal for people who enjoy technology. With that said, I know someone who has the app, but still orders her favourite magazine as a paper copy. You can have the best of both worlds if you wish.
As I write a lot about minimalism, I know this will appeal to people who are wanting to pare down the physical magazines in their home. The Readly app has done for magazines what the Kindle did for books- it means you no longer need an excess of paper in your space anymore.
As a new mum, I also know that any papers lying around don’t last very long in the hands of toddlers, so parents everywhere can rejoice- this app protects your reading material as it’s all safely stored on your phone.
In terms of price, the app costs you about the same as two magazines (£7.99)- so as long as you read two of the offerings on the app every month- your costs are justified. Similarly, it’s about the same as a book- so if you get through a book a month- you could switch to this instead and not be out of pocket.
I particularly liked the back-catalogue feature as magazines I have wanted to read have come and gone, so it’s good to be able to go back and read the ones that caught my eye from months ago.
By Lucy Walton Lange, Editor
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When it comes to consuming media via the use of technology, I'm always in two minds about whether or not I want to indulge. I had a Kindle for a number of years, for example, but eventually went back to reading books as they were designed to be read - physically in-hand, with that distinctive smell of a freshly-printed paperback luring you in.
So, when I got the opportunity to check out Readly, I wondered if it could convince me that reading magazines on a tablet or mobile device was the way of the future. Cautiously I jumped in head-first, but was quickly impressed by the techniques used by the app to ensure your experience is as streamlined and personalised as possible. Upon registration, you're asked to tick the boxes of all the categories you're interested in, so that magazines catered to your taste can be sent to the top of your recommended list. It's a simple but effective way of ensuring instant gratification.
I must admit, it's very rare that I go out and purchase a physical magazine. They do seem to be a 'thing of the past' for most people, as tragic as that may seem. That's why I think Readly is so fantastic. It reintroduces the vast array of content available to an audience that may have forgotten all about it; and will of course also be bringing magazines to a bunch of youngsters who may never have read one in their lives. I'm not entirely sure how the pay structure for the content creators works, but if this is one way to ensure the industry doesn't go under, then it's one we all can surely get behind.
By Daniel Falconer, Entertainment Editor
Readly, the digital magazine app
Over 4500 titles - all your favourite magazines and new ones too. Reading is a great way to relax, be inspired and feed and a passion over the holiday period and into the new year. Enjoy the magic of magazines. Now with brand new features such as Instant Articles sent to you, based on your interests and previous reads.
Discover your favourites among thousands of titles – all in one app: In the Readly app, you’ll find over 4500 magazines in all areas you can imagine: food, fashion, celebrities, cars, interior, cartoons, business, family, health, children/youths, history, hunting/fishing and art? www.readly.com or to get a Readly subscription for someone you love for Christmas, go to https://gb.readly.com/giftcards/winter