I currently have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 which I mainly use for email and internet browsing. My only gripe is that the browsing experience would probably be better with a faster processor, especially the graphics.
I subscribe to The Guardian/ Observer which costs me approaching £39 per month: I get vouchers that enable to pick up the printed newspaper from any newsagent without further charge.
The newspapers are also available as a download to an iPad. It doesn’t look like it will be coming to Android devices any time soon. Switching to the downloaded version only would reduce my monthly bill to £11.99 per month, but for that I would need an iPad.
If I get the 32GB version of the iPad and switch to download only the subscription saving I would make would fund it inside 18 months.
There are other bonuses: SkyGo would work and BBC iPlayer should be a happier experience. The Retina display would be an improvement too.
But there are some concerns:
How does the reading experience on screen compare? Can any Guardian/ Observer readers give me there opinion? I realise that the full Guardian content is not available but nothing critical I hope.
I will have to use iTunes to subscribe to the newspaper but I do not intend to use it for anything else. I want to continue to buy actual CDs, and rip them to my PC, storing them on my NAS. I also have radio recording and TV programmes. Is this going to be a problem?
The lack of a microSD reader is a drawback as far as I am concerned.
I am reluctant to switch to the dark side but the economics means that I have to seriously consider it.

http://guardian.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspxWorks out at £8.50 per month from your Tab.
Obviously the Guardian gets ear enough the same amount as they would from an £11.99 app, just without the Apple tax.


And does not the Kindle app for Android do the paper? (less income for the Guardian too with this I imagine)

Just a thought. Have you considered downloading Calibre (the eBook manager)?

With that you can scheule it to go off to the guardian website, download all the very latest content from the site and convert to easily read format. You could then use the kindle app on the ipad to view it.

May not be as slick as what you want but it is free.

Hmmm...
I really like my Guardian and do I do not want to compromise the experience too much. I certainly don't see a Kindle version being anywhere near good enough.
In the meantime I have read a couple of reviews of the iPad app of the Guardian and it does sound quite promising, though some actual user comments would be preferable.

Well sorry, I thought you wanted to read it rather than 'experience it'.

Let the Guardian tell you the specific differences.
The Web subscription gives a major saving over anything else, and for many also working on your work PC.


I have no idea if the Kindle app + Guardian works on your Tab.
However it does seems slightly strange that you have not yet gone on to a free trial.

I tried the Guardian iPad app when it came out. Loved it, it's how a newspaper should be done on a tablet.

I don't use my Nook HD tablet much but I had a relook at newspaper apps.

Press Readers blurb on iTunes says "“PressReader offers a more traditional newspaper-reading experience than any other iPad app.” Rick Broida, C NET"

There is a one day trial on Android so I tried both the Independent and Guardian earlier.
I must say it works brilliant, appears to have loads of extra features(News Radio?!) and whilst a full cover page is readable, zoom makes it easier.

My Nook HD is 1440 by 900 (720p+++) so this as likely as not shows where an iPad Retina, Nexus 10 or even a Nook HD+ come into its own.
Simply put, I am sure you can comfortably read a whole tabloid page on a larger higher definition screen like on that amazingly priced £150 1080p Nook HD+ (Nexus 10 and iPad Retina should be even better)

The only problem with the iPad app is that there is that common surcharge, in this case $10 extra per month. Its is $30 on Android and Windows for full access to 2100 newspapers.

Thanks for taking the time to look at some alternatives.
I think it is fair to say that the existing display on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 at 1280x600 is not going to be enough for a decent trial so it would require me to take a leap of faith to upgrade to a tablet with a higher pixel count.
Bearing in mind your comments about premiums charged by Apple and my reluctance to succumb to Apple I will have to ponder a bit more.
On the upside new products keep popping up and maybe something compelling is just around the corner.

What premium does apple charge?

By premium I mean how anything through Apple seems to cost more than other sources, assuming you can get it elsewhere. A previous poster referred to a surcharge from Apple which might be a better word.

They found me and it was useful to find a decent use for the Nook.

1280 X 800 is fine. You have a bigger display than mine so it might just be readable in full screen.

I can't see it mattering as the 1st zoom setting will suffice too, probably even on an iPad Mini.
You would be mad not to try that free 14 day Guardian via kinde app trial.

Yep, the iTunes surcharge is usually mandatory. The Android app does not need Google Play but maybe there is simply no surcharge for subscriptions. And the Windows app is currently not sold through the Surface store.

It is a shame that Press Reader has no middle ground subscription plan. It is quite tempting.

From what I gather, Apple takes 30% of the sale price.

So if it sells for £7 elsewhere commission free, you can add 43% to the price to make it £10 essentially making that same £7 income.
Obviously, there is a double commission basis there with PressReader, in that they do block deals with newspapers.

I looked at PressReader when I was thinking about getting a Kobo Arc. It had an impressive range of papers but it does appear to be purely a facsimile of the print edition rather than an edition optimised for tablet users.

For example, I have the Telegraph for iPad so I can do the crosswords and Sudoku, but I also like reading the film reviews and sports sections. To access any of these on the iPad, I tap on the index icon, and select the section I want (and all the headlines etc are displayed for each section). And of course the puzzles are interactive and you can check your answers in the next day's edition.

Reading a facsimile print edition on a tablet sounds like a step in the wrong direction when there are versions optimised for tablet screens.

Sounds exactly the same as the Android Kindle app to me.

Personally, I was wowed by the hybrid nature of PressReader.
Like buying the real thing, but with easy reading modes too.
Yeh, you need a screen shot app PDF editing app to do the crossword, but maybe they will also fix that in future.
If you currently buy newsprint, then the emotional connection of PressReader will appeal.

http://www.pitchengine.com/newspaper...app-ever-award

BTW, with pressreader being a content viewer like Kindle app, then I think if you have already purchased it on the real web then you get to skip the Apple surcharge.

Its that quirk that is making the web the enemy to Apple and Microsoft. Me, I'd prefer it if all that surcharge went to the treasury as an Internet tax. A Daily Mail editorial dared suggest it the other day so I'll stick my neck out and say the ball is finally rolling there.

I got to have a play with the Kindle app at the weekend.
I was mistaken with the Guardian. They did not include interaction nor the crosswords. That may also count for the slightly cheaper price c/w Amazon tax.

What was very apparent was that the edition felt depressingly bad. Yes, it was easy to navigage and maybe it is attractive to new readers but anyone switching to it from hard copy has one heck of a hill to climb.

The PressReader app one is fantastic in comparison. It is a full facsimile of the newspaper and you can also switch between Smartflow for easier app like usage if need be.
The Guardian might have made a grave mistake in how they do their apps, though new 'non print' readers may be lesser bothered.


edit - That Newspaper Direct link 'sort of' lets you see some of the difference. In a tablet, setting the site to 'desktop mode' shows you the newspaper(shrunk though) whilst standard 'mobile web view' mode shows it in an app like mode.

I've used the Guardian / Observer app on the latest ipad and it is a very good reading experience. MInd you, the ipad is excellent for reading all-round. I'm now slightly long-sighted so the flexible and instantaneous zoom is great for me. I don't buy paper magazines anymore as they're better on the ipad.

I have to say that, despite your payback projection, it does feel like an expensive way to read a newspaper but then you clearly value it as you're currently paying £39 / month. If you consume any other paper media (books, newspapers or magazines) you could switch them to ipad and get more use out of it. I certainly don't miss paper media at all with the ipad.

Just tried it on my iPad mini. Works fine and looks great. Very readable despite the small screen.

It is something that sits on your desk that you dip into.
http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2...s-guardian.php

That, whilst dated still explains the deal/experience aspect of reading real newsprint.
Being on screen does not make it better, just very different.

So, can someone clarify: does the Guardian edition for the iPad include interactive crosswords and other puzzles? And if so, does it include all the puzzles? For comaparison, the Telegraph only has the daily cryptic, quick and sudoku but not the general knowledge or "special" puzzles that sometimes appear in the print edition.

I thought it did but maybe not. Maybe that was always just the Telegraph.

Obviously you could fangle it with the £8.50 one yet I'm not 100% sure if that one would automatically also appear in the PressReader app

The best alternative to the official Guardian iPad app would appear to be PressReader but I have read comments elsewhere that are a little concerning.
Given my attachment to the Guardian I feel that the app supported by them could well be the safest option. Comments about it are positive and encouraging.
However, whilst switching from paper to digital can offer money saving in a reasonable period it only works if you actually take the leap and stick to it.
Given my antipathy to iTunes and the lack of a microSD slot I could well be better off agitating the Guardian to go Android.
I'll review the situation closer to Christmas when I decide what present to buy for myself (the only time that I am generous).
Thanks for the input which has been very useful.

"In my limited experience, the more weekly, traditional, wordy and formulaic a magazine is the better suited it is to reading off a screen. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/medi...agazines-apple

"Is the tablet magazine a busted flush already?" (I used that more general word 'tablet')

Well, this answered any questions I was left with in wondering how on earth Kindle manages to survive for business on IOS

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/07/3...e-for-ios-app/

All a bit bizarre but that is just how IOS is

Isn't this because Apple and Amazon want different business models for selling ebooks? Apple wants the "agency model" where the publisher sets the price and Apple takes a cut of the revenue, whereas Amazon wants to buy the books at a steep discount and sell them at a price that makes money. If I've understood this correctly, Amazon is trying to sell books using its model, but make them available via its iOS app which should therefore conform to Apple's model.

No, the IOS requirement is that items sold pay 30% to Apple.
Considering Amazon probably charge publishers 30%, operating normally would have meant a 60% charge, 30% for Apple and 30% for Apple, this no Kindle on IOS

You can't compete with that was so you have to do it in a big roundabout way. And obvipously media companies already find both 30%s contentious enough so they still have that 30% or so Amazon tax.

http://gizmodo.com/amazons-updated-k...s-ap-966633304
"just told Apple to go f*** itself in the process."

So they explain it in a more abbreviated way.