“Add another startup to the list of those under Apple’s wings: PRSS,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac. “The company launched in 2012 and gained coverage in 2013 as a simple tool for creating magazine apps for the iPad and Android tablets.”
“Essentially, this is a web-based version of iBooks Author that is oriented toward magazines. It’s no secret that Apple’s Newsstand platform, originally launched in 2011 with iOS 5, has not taken off to Apple’s largest ambitions,” Gurman reports. “While the money piece may be one side of the issue, another could be the ease of use for creating iPad-optimized titles.”
Gurman reports, “Apple nor PRSS have confirmed the acquisition, but Netherlands-based Apple blog iCulture says it confirmed the acquisition.”
More info and PRSS screenshots in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David M.” for the heads up.]
The ease of creation was never the reason for holdouts.
The most valuable component of a magazine subscription for the magazine isn’t the acquisition of a recurring revenue stream; it is the acquisition of personal information abut the subscriber, that allows the magazine to optimise advertising and attract higher ad rates. With Apple’s Newsstand model, magazines get nothing but money from their subscribers, and that significantly reduces their ability to tailor advertising to the audience.
Each industry has different needs. Apple tends to place everyone under the same rules. If Apple can negotiate a little differently with Print Subs, then maybe that industry will grow.
I would like to see a way for more hobby magazines i.e. blogger style magazines.
Down the road if it goes the way of other creation software like FCP and Aperture — no thanks.
Something major lacking for the iPad is some DTP software. Pages for iOS has been dumbed down since Pages 09 for Mac, and the only package I know of that can do the job ·and it IS excellent!) is Comic Life.
I want to be able to layout text and graphics on facing pages, with the text flowing through linked frames, so that I can publish parallel-text books in 2 (or more) languages.
Apple—how about iBook Publisher for iOS? I want to use my iPad as a publishing production tool, and there jsut aren’t the apps available (afaik).