At $13.99, Spectra Magazine HD is definitely one of the pricier apps in the store. However, the purchase includes six full issues, monthly, from September to February. You don’t get them all at once, but when the next issue comes out, it’s a free update. The magazine includes 96 pages of science fiction stories, science news and sci-fi movie reviews. Even though it doesn’t really take advantage of the iPad’s full capabilities, it’s still a must-have publication for sci-fi fans.
The magazine itself is full of great content with a variety of news, reviews and stories. The news articles are interesting, the movie reviews are current, and the stories are lengthy, creative and well-written. However, the disappointment comes when you realize the app has absolutely no customization or creative use of the iPad’s capabilities. There are only a few on-screen controls. Tapping the right side of the screen will turn to the next page. Tapping the left side of the screen will return to the previous page. Tapping the center will bring up the very limited menu. The menu allows you to view the table of contents, navigate to a specific page, and set bookmarks.
There are several features missing that would make this app much more intuitive. There are no options to resize text, and you can’t pinch to zoom. There’s no way to interact with photos. You can’t make them bigger, or share them. There really is nothing to interact with at all in this app. It would be nice if there were things to tap to open up another part of the app. Maybe there could be some animated parts or videos. The app is very static, just like a real magazine. However, that’s not the point of having magazines on the iPad.
If you’re a sci-fi fan, then you’ll love this app simply for the content. If you’re looking for something more creative, then this one might disappoint you.
