gdgt

I've tried it: some glitches here and there and not always smooth, but this is not the most important point.

I like the concept: it looks like a real magazine while taking into account the new possibilities of a connected device.

Embedded videos or slideshows are obviously here, but I like also the sudoku/crossgame or even enhanced ads.

The price is probably the most interesting "feature" however: this is quite cheap and a complete change from the traditional business model. Very clever move I would say and the only way to compete against free web content.

I think it is a good example to what paper press should be on such a device: good start.

Alright, here are my impressions of The Daily app so far. I think it's definitely one of the better "e-magazine" experiences I've yet seen. For the most part, it seems pretty intuitive and there is a lot of content there. If they hammer out some of the performance issues and if they can actually update each day with tons of content, I think it'll be off to a great start.

Upon loading the application, it downloads the latest issue for you and you're presented with a carousel that displays a thumbnail each of the featured articles in today's issue. The carousel definitely has some optimization problems -- as you scroll through the articles, there is a lot of lag and stutter. It definitely affects your first impressions of the application.

That said, they have some interesting visual cues in this mode. If you've previously read an article, it actually shows the word "viewed" underneath it (I would actually prefer if they removed the content). The thumbnails for each of the articles are also poorly compressed -- you can see a number of compression artifacts in the thumbnail and it takes some of the polish away from the application.

The other interesting thing is that the device will use geolocation to provide you with weather related updates (also displayed on the main carousel page). Clicking on the little weather widget will bring you to a weather screen with more detailed information about weather in your area. Interestingly enough, it also displays your horoscope on the weather page (err, what?).

At the bottom of the carousel page is a navigation bar with the following links: news, gossip, opinion, arts & life, apps & games, and sports.

Touching any of these links takes you to the respective sections. The articles scroll smoothly between pages and display some pretty nice photos as well (it's a nice touch to articles about current events, e.g., Egypt).

To read an article, one needs to just keep swiping to the left or right (a familiar motion for anyone who has used any e-book application). It doesn't look like you can change the size of the text in an article, but it seems to be of a decent enough size.

Turning the iPad sideways (from portrait to landscape), you're presented with a special image viewer that displays photographs for the story you're currently reading.

There is the option to share an individual article via Twitter or Facebook, but it seems like it isn't the most useful feature as most of these articles are silo'd within The Daily app.

The other thing that bothers me (but there's really no way to resolve this) is that I have to remember to open up the application if I want to download the latest issue. It's the same problem I have with Reeder, Instapaper, Podcaster, or any other application that requires me to sync the latest data before use. If I'm in a rush to leave (for the airport, road trip, or somewhere else where I'll lack wifi access) and forget to sync, then I'm stuck with stale content. That said, if you're diligent about syncing your data, this probably won't be a problem for you.

Anyway, it's a pretty interesting take on the e-magazine experience and is one of the better tries that I've seen. I do feel like it's not as revolutionary as Murdoch and others claim (or hope) it will be.

If you're interested, definitely check it out. The first two weeks of the app will be free, then it will be $0.99 per week (or $39.99 per year) for a subscription.