Next Issue for Android: Daily App Pick

BreakingModern — I have always been an avid reader of magazines. The only problem is that over time these periodicals accumulate into unruly stacks and piles. I have found help for this problem with an online subscription to Next Issue.

All the Magazines You Can Eat

Next Issue fills your magazine cravings with an all-you-can eat buffet of magazines for one reasonable monthly payment. The service currently provides over 140 magazines including Better Homes & Garden, Car & Driver, Consumer Reports, Essence, Forbes, Golf, Glamour, Martha Stewart Living, Motor Trend, National Geographic, O, PC World, Real Simple and Southern Living.

There are also many magazines aimed at individual interests like Eating Well, Men’s Health, Parents Health, Midwest Living, Runner’s World and Successful Farming. The Basic Plan costs $9.99 a month and includes all of the monthly magazines. For an additional $5 a month you can add all of the weeklies, like Businessweek, Entertainment Weekly, People, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated and Time. Check out the Next Issue website for a complete listing.

next issue Main screen

The Next Issue app is available for Android on Google Play, Apple iOS and Windows 8. Your subscription allows you to view it on five different devices, but be aware that the available features and navigation controls of Next Issue are very different depending on which operating system you are using. You should try to take advantage of their 30-day free trial to see how it works on your device and if you like the layout.

Not only does Next Issue bring you a wide selection of newly released magazines, but the subscription service offers back issues as well. Most of these back issues go back at least a year, and many reach back two years. If you love magazines, there is plenty of content to keep you reading for a very long time.

next issue Back issues

Breaking the Mold

The real beauty of Next Issue is that it lets each magazine develop its own online version. And this allows each magazine to project its unique personality, substance and layout. Some of the titles even add special online-only features, like photos, videos and other information not found in print editions.

To promote continuity, all the titles share the same easy-to-use navigation features. You can flip page by page or tap the screen to use the navigation that will take you to a specific section. You can choose magazines by category, mark favorites and download magazines for offline viewing.

next issue Navigation

Left Wanting …

As much as I like Next Issue, I was left with a “want list.” The app needs a way to bookmark your place or to mark articles you may want to go back to. These magazines take up a lot of space and there’s no way to store them on removable storage, which can be a bit of a hassle.

Also, the saving, sharing and search needs improvement. Currently there’s no way to search or save an entire article. Also, the sharing options are minimal in iOS (page screen shots can be emailed or sent to Evernote or Facebook) and non-existent in Android. When I inquired about when sharing might be available on Android devices, a company representative said,

“We’re always introducing updates and new features but at this time, those features [sharing on Android] aren’t available.”

That did not give me any hope that they would be available any time soon.

In spite of my longing for more features, I find that for the magazine lover, Next Issue is more than worthwhile, especially if you already subscribe to any of the magazines mentioned above.

For BMod, I’m .

Featured image credit: © Africa Studio / Dollar Photo Club

All screenshots: Sandy Berger

Sandy Berger

Author: Sandy Berger

Based in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Sandy Berger is a veteran tech journalist and reviews editor at aNewDomain.net covering tech tips and tricks, apps, gadgets, and consumer electronics. Follow @sandyberger on Twitter, +SandyBerger on Google+, and on Facebook.

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