PC Magazine Reviews

by IPad Gamer!

With new update, app doesn’t work. Freezes!!

by STLKeebler

Once again, magazines especially tech mags need to look at WIRED. I already have a subscription to PC Mag, why do I want to get a second subscription? Yes PC Mag is already Digital and everyone has been reading it through Zinio. But why do I have to have my copy on Zinio and buy the magazine on here as well? There should be an option just like WIRED magazine has that I can input my account information and get the magazine in both places. I know that the new PC Mag on iPad is suppose to have more digital content and videos (at least from what I read and heard) so I understand there is a change coming from the Zinio layout, but still. Are your customers not valuable? I am in no way connected to WIRED in any way, but I do respect them a lot for letting me have both a printed magazine and a digital copy all for one price. This has created a long time relationship that will last with WIRED as long as they don't mess that up. Please PC MAG give existing customers a way to read the magazine without having multiple purchases and continuing that great customer support and customer care that you have always had.

by Beresk

I would love to give this a much higher review. The magazine content is solid. One of the recent updates results in PCMagazine crashing if you try to read a downloaded issue offline. No message, no warning, just a crash.

I travel for a living, and regularly find myself in places where I cannot connect to a network, and I would love to read to make the time valuable. Since I cannot read this, I read something else. In effect, I am paying for content that is taking up space on my iPad that I cannot use.

I will consider revising my rating when the offline functionality is restored.

by MelRaff

I would recommend not downloading this buggy app and not subscribing to PC Magazine. I subscribed because I wanted to support the great tech journalism they do. But it was a mistake to do so, and if you haven’t committed yet, I suggest you rethink it.

The irony of PC Magazine’s app being terrible is amazing. And the entire support staff seems to have been laid off, because I have just sent the third request for assistance over the past two weeks and have yet to receive a response on any of them.

I have had multiple issues with my password suddenly being unrecognized and my account access not being valid, but I complained loudly and often enough that these problems were eventually resolved. Now I have a new problem but when I ask for help, nobody’s home.

I subscribe but am unable to read the December issue. It shows up on the Issues tab, with the option to buy or to subscribe. It does not show up on the Library tab at all, though all the previous issues do. I cannot restore purchases because I receive an error message saying there is nothing to restore. I am logged in. I have tried logging out and back in again, but the situation remains the same.

My subscription doesn’t expire for 7 more months. I wish it expired now.

by Frecklesdog

I love the magazine but hate PCMagazine . I have poor eyesight. You can't change the font or the font size. The font lines are too thin and the font size is too small. Half the page is blank or taken up with material that is not important. Pictures should be in same area of page as the text not in a separate area that keeps the text area from expanding. I love the Kindle format which reads like a book, font can change, and font size can change, and pages turn like a book. I want to cancel but can't find a way to do that. You can't reach a person and if you finally do they are not the one that can help you. HOPE YOU HAVE GOOD EYESIGHT AND LIKE THE PAGE FORMAT!!!!!!!!

If you have a limited data internet BEWARE. PCMagazine is not on your device you read it from the internet!!!!!!!

OH and I forgot to mention it only works in portrait mode!!!!

by Rwcinci

Subscribing to this “magazine” makes me long for the days of printed page. Every time I start PCMagazine it asks if I want to restore my purchases. Once I get past all that and start reading navigation is not to bad until I decide to exit. It follows no conventions to bring up a logical place to close the issue and perhaps read a different issue by returning to the library. Basically the only obvious way out to another issue is to force close PCMagazine and restart it. For as much IT savvy as they purport to have available they have managed to completely ignore designing an intuitive interface.

by 0v3rdr1v3

I upgraded my Iphone and my subscription would not restore. I contacted Apple who said they had no control or ability to fix my issue and suggested that I contact PC magazine subscription support directly to resolve my issue. Well after over two weeks and 3 emails asking them if they could resolve my issue sending them iTunes Id as well as a screen shot of my subscription page proving that I had a valid and current subscription I just gave up! You would think that a tech magazine would be better equipped to handle these types of issues. Sad but needless too say I won’t be renewing for another year. Just a heads up to my fellow techies.

by RockhoundRhonda

It really amazes me that an app provided by a well known and established technology magazine could be so bad. The cover looks great, but that is the only page of the magazine that downloads! I’ve been a chump and wasted my money for a year. Some unfortunate things have happened and kept me too busy to tackle this issue again. I provided my proof of purchase like customer service requested then I never heard back. Well I once again returned hoping by now PCMagazine was fixed and I would download all past issues and catch up, but nothing has changed. I can see by the reviews that PC Mag has done nothing to remedy this. I only hope I can cancel my subscription without any hassles. PC Mag should be ashamed and embarrassed to offer such crap to their readers!

by Mroy5150

I bought a 12 month subscription about 6 weeks ago. The price was great and the magazine looked great on the iPad. I was a little disappointed at the lack of landscape support but overall I like the magazine and love a lot of the interactive features.

However, I take the bus to work every day and bought the magazine specifically for reading on the bus. This worked great for a couple of weeks until an update that broke PCMagazine . Now, PCMagazine will not even open unless I am connected to the Internet. Since my iPad is WiFi only I am no longer able to read the magazine unless I'm in range of a hotspot. I called PC Magazine a week ago and they said they are working on a fix but nothing yet. In the mean time I have been unable to read the magazines I download offline. By the way, I'd like to know why they require you to download an entire magazine to the local device in order to read it but not allow you to view the file offline. The files are huge and are taking up a lot of space for nothing.

Until they fix the glitch I would recommend you skip PC Magazine and subscribe to Maximum PC Instead.

by Ksbuff

I am a subscriber and it took weeks and several email exchanges with customer service to be able to download the February issue. They kept telling me to uninstall and reinstall PCMagazine , and sign out and back in, all of which I did repeatedly. It finally downloaded but only on one device.

When it can time to download the March issue, same problem. It is nearly the end of March and I still cant download the issue. Customer service has said a lot of subscribers are having this problem. These are supposed to be tech experts, how hard can this be to fix? If your customers can’t even read the issues they are paying for, why bother to subscribe? I love the content in the magazine, but this barely functioning app is making me wish I hadn’t resubscribed.

by TonyW99

Works fine for me, and basically easy to manipulate once I figured it out. Not too great about direct access to various stories - have to go to Table of Contents each time. the 3-D imaging is OK but for me it's just a gimmick. Still doesn't seem to have as much content as in the glory days of the 90's. Quality of writing and reviews is high; I should go to the website more and compare amount and breadth of content.

by ArthurPJohnson

For a long siege, this outstanding magazine failed to operate on my iDevices, but now it's back and earns five enthusiastic stars. PC Magazine has graced our coffee tables all the way back to the eighties, when it was my secret of keeping those new-fangled microcomputers updated and running smoothly. Decades later I still can't wait to check out John C. Dvorak's column, and the writing and reviews both remain a standard.

by BPSmalley

This magazine has completely reinvented itself, while still giving a lot of valuable info from tech experts. It's beautifully designed and I really like being able to see products spin around so I can check out every angle. Even the writing has more energy to it. Having been a subscriber for 10 years, I was waiting for a change like this!

by Geeky Fan

PCMagazine and digital edition do everything and more than what I expected. Love the vertical and horizontal swiping; it makes the experience multi-dimensional and intriguing--i feel like I'm navigating a layered editorial map, which is neat and executed flawlessly. The large images are great for viewing the products. And stories as always are pcmag quality. What more can you ask? I'm looking forward to coming editions!

by Pretzel Jesus

I am so frustrated with seeing the majority of iPad magazines nothing more that digital PDFs of the print magazine, and often at astronically higher prices.

I am glad to say this magazine does not fit that mold. Much like National Geographic, Popular Science, Wired... This magazine is made for the iPad and done in an extremely intuitive way. Magazines like this one prove that the iPad is the way of the future for print media, when its not done as a quick cash in.

After downloading the sample to ensure it wasnt another digital scan PDF magazine, I immediately subscribed for a full year.

by JavaClaws

Bottom Line Up Front: The new look and feel of PC Magazine is very welcome. It is obvious the publishing team is innovating digital content delivery. They may have exceeded their expectations (mine were). PC Magazine's April issue did more than deliver content; it delivered an experience.

Optimizing my iPad 2s real estate with larger and more detailed pictures, art, and commentary allowed me to simply enjoy, engage, explore, and feel like a participant. Content is not sacrificed yet it is a more intimate read. "Pinching" and "zooming" were never required but still available.

My first "Newsstand" subscription was Popular Photography. Newsstand offers the Mag+ element and features 360 degree views, video clips and more. I was thrilled to find PC Magazine in Newsstand after reading its Zinio version. Zinio delivers many of the great improvements but lacks the Mag+ features.

I purchased the Newsstand version and enjoyed it even more.

Well done PC Magazine!

by Dtjacobs

I used to have a subscription to PC Magazine. And like others, I was sad to see the print side shut down. I watched the website grow and develop and evolve into a source of computing information I use on an almost daily basis. Didn't even know they were going to launch an iPad version. I immediately got a subscription. It's sharp. Clean. Well-formatted. Crisp to the eye and stylish. Sure, I'll have to get used to the navigation but it is what I'm expecting from PCMag. Well worth the money and a decent update to the memory of PC Magazine print edition.

by Rick Morris

I just recently ran across the new iPad app and digital edition of PC Magazine. I downloaded PCMagazine and subscribed. This is one of the best magazine apps I've used...it beats the heck out of the old Zinio-based magazine edition. You have done a great job!

I subscribed to the print edition of PC Magazine for many many years, and was disappointed when it went only digital, because the Zinio application just wasn't very good. I let my subscription lapse several years ago because of that.

Your iPad app is terrific, as good as the Popular Science app, but with more depth, I think. I look forward to once again being a regular reader of PC Magazine.

by TryTurningItOff&OnAgain

Love the layout! PCMagazine is extremely easy to navigate, and you can swipe to your heart's desire! The 360 product images are also really cool, and I can't wait to see what the next issue will feature in 360-degree glory. As another reviewer said, I wish they had them for every product review.

The Digital Life section is very helpful for how-tos and tips and tricks. Also, I like how some pages surprise the reader with a glowing image or an image that moves without the user having to do anything, which shows that PCMag made their app specifically FOR the iPad. A lot of other magazines on the iPad are just glorified PDFs. Can't wait to see what next month's issue brings!

by Jcltr127

As an avid reader of the PC Mag website, I love the new iPad magazine. The content is presented in a very intelligent manner, taking full advantage of the capabilities of a digital platform. Navigation throughout the magazine could not be easier. You can simply tap on "links" in the table of contents, and can swipe past an articles that you don't have interest in, though that is unlikely. The magazine has tons of really good content that is presented beautifully. The picture galleries are smart and intuitive, and the 360-degree view for review products serve as a prime example of how digital magazines should be. Slight formatting issues that result in slightly inefficient screen utilization create a slight annoyance, but this small issue does not detract from the wonderful content. At just $3.99/issue ($1.75/issue with the subscription) the PC iPad Magazine is definitely worth the investment.

by Aseembakshi

Although I am a techie I was leery about the digital edition of PC mag. I had tried an earlier version on the pc and it never really suited me.

However I recently realized that there was a iPad version and subscribed to it:
Pros
Content is as good as ever. I have always liked the columns
Convenience of no having to Carryall million magazines is a major plus especially as I travel a lot

Cons
Sometimes I get lost in the navigation of the client
Clearly the same underlying app is being used by a lot of magazines. Even if it isn't, it would be really nice if all of the magazines act like they are under one account
Back issues cost as much as individual issue cost. I would have read the last 5 back issues if there was a more reasonably priced offer than 3.99 per back issue

All in all I am back to being a regular subscriber after a 1 year break. At the end of the day content is king and this magazine has always had my kind of content!!!