A Review of Popular Kindle Magazines

A Look at Newsweek, Time, and Reader's Digest

Looking to subscribe to a magazine on the Kindle? Or are you just curious about how well magazines translate on an electronic reader? This article reviews three of the most popular magazines available on the Kindle: Newsweek, Time and Reader's Digest. At the very least, all three magazines share one major benefit: no ads.

Newsweek (Issue: Jan. 12, 2009), $1.49 per month

(published weekly)

Newsweek is the number one magazine in the Kindle store. The sections available on the Kindle are "Cover Story," "The Issue" (a collection of news articles), "Periscope," "Voices," "My Turn," and "Letters to the Editor." Cut from the issue were sections like "Perspectives," "Checklist," and "Tip Sheet" (most likely because they rely on visual images).

It's easy to go from article to article (readers can choose to navigate from "Articles List" or "Sections List" or go through the magazine manually). Each article is in an easy-to-read format, clearly distinguishing titles, subtitles, author, and text. It also appears that Newsweek is experimenting with photos, which accompany a few articles. Hopefully that will mean eventually adding the aforementioned omitted sections that are reliant on graphics. Overall, it's a little dull, but Newsweek has a solid, reader-friendly design.

Time (Issue: Jan. 12, 2009), $1.49 per month

(published weekly)

Time ranks number two among Amazon's magazine offerings. Sections include "Cover Story," "The Well," "10 Questions," "Arts," "Briefing," Commentary," "Essay," "Inbox," "Life," and "Post Card." Time has the same set-up as Newsweek to browse through the magazine.