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Lonny Magazine breaks into mobile space with interactive iPad app

Digital home and lifestyle publication Lonny magazine has launched an iPad application after seeing 15 percent of readers accessing monthly content on mobile devices.

To promote the app, Lonny is offering consumers a free subscription for one month. After the first month, users can pay for either a monthly or yearly subscription or buy single issues.

?Livingly Media acquired Lonny Magazine about two months ago, and one of the first things that we did was listen to avid readers about what they loved and what they wanted,? said Tony Mamone, CEO of Livingly Media, New York.

?In terms of requests, an authentic iPad experience was at the top of their list, so that's what we built first. Tablets are a very compelling canvas for magazine content.?

Livingly Media-owned Lonny magazine is a digital magazine that publishes 10 issues per year. Livingly Media also owns and operates Zimbio.com and StyleBistro.com.

Mobile décor
Consumers can browse the app in either portrait or landscape mode.

All of the magazine?s content is linked to let users learn more about the brands and products featured in the magazine. Links to this content can be switched on and off in the top right-hand corner of the app.

Boxes outline linked content. When clicked on, a landing page loads with information about the product. For instance, one of the articles featured in the October issue includes a picture of a stack of books. When users click on the photo, they can buy the book directly from Barnes & Noble.
 
Additionally, users can zoom in on high-resolution photos and download content for offline use.

One of the biggest challenges for publishers in transitioning content to mobile is giving users extra features as an incentive to interact with the digital version.

Lonny?s Web publication is already commerce-enabled similarly to the iPad version. However, letting users shop the pages from their tablets is a great way for the publisher to capitalize on the growing mobile commerce market.

Pay up
It is important to give users a variety of ways to interact with mobile content, which Lonny is tackling with a few different choices to buy content.

Consumers have two choices for subscriptions, both of which are automatically renewed. A monthly package is $1.99 and a yearly subscription is $19.99.

Single issues can also be purchased for $2.99.

The app includes access to the past three years of Lonny issues.

Lonny?s PC-based magazine will remain free to users.

The company?s next big push is getting the content onto other tablets, per Mr. Mamone. The executive offered two reasons on why the app initially launched on iPads.

?The first is that the iPad is what our readers requested most,? Mr. Mamone said.

?The second is that that Apple has the largest tablet platform and audience, so it makes sense to start in the iTunes Newstand and then expand from there,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York