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Editor's Notepad

iPad Magazines Are Here, Now

By Daniel Morrison
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DOWNLOAD THE APP and start reading Fine Homebuilding magazine on your iPad.

The NEW iPad app and one issue of Fine Homebuilding are FREE to everyone. Plus, print and online subscribers get all the issues of the new iPad edition for free

We got word from Apple the other day that the Fine Homebuilding magazine app meets their approval and is now available in the App Store. This is exciting news because we have been working toward digital magazines for some time.


Everyone gets to read at least one free issue

There will always be at least one free issue in the app, so even if you’re not a subscriber you can sample all of the great features of our new iPad edition

Subscribers get the latest issues for free
Anyone who is already a print magazine subscriber or online member can read the current (and a few past) issues free on their iPads. Just download the Fine Homebuilding magazine app and go to the Apple’s newsstand to open up the magazine. You will be asked to enter your print-subscription or online-membership credentials to access all of the issues on your iPad.

Android and Windows 8 versions are coming soon
We’re working on tablet editions for other platforms (Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile); we will let you all know when they are ready.

Of course, you can continue to read the digital magazine on any tablet or computer here: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/digital-issues/index.aspx

New ways to deliver home-building how-to
The iPad edition can offer many things a traditional magazine can’t deliver, and we are excited about the possibilities. At The Taunton Press, we work hard to deliver information in the best way possible, using photographs, illustrations, layers of text, and great layouts to make the important parts clear. Sometimes these tools aren’t enough-as when Myron Ferguson talks about the angle at which you should hold a drywall knife to achieve the best finish most efficiently. In the paper magazine, this is shown via a couple of small photos with annotations accompanied by a small drawing illustrating the angle.

A 30-second video makes Myron’s knife angle clear a lot more quickly.

One of the coolest things about an iPad edition of Fine Homebuilding is that it represents a makeover of how our editors do their work. A little over a year ago, we brought in a video producer to work alongside our editors as they develop magazine articles with builders and architects all over the country.

Long and short video instruction is included
One of the first things we did was to move the Master Carpenter department from the back of the magazine to the center as a regular feature. Master Carpenter always has an accompanying multiepisode video, and we have at least one other feature article with a multiepisode video series to go along with it.

Online members get these videos as part of their membership, and these videos are linked to the magazine article. It is great to be able to take in a process both by reading and looking at the photos and drawings, but also watching a video of the process. 

We can use the video for photos in the magazine article, too. In the paper version, it will be a photo, but in the iPad version, the photo will turn into one of the aforementioned 30-second video clips.

In addition to the multipart videos, we have some short videos that align with some front of the book and back of the book departments: Tips & Techniques and Building Skills.

A better way to explore the houses
In the Houses issue, all six of the award-winning houses have accompanying design videos where we meet the house, the architect who designed it, and the people who live there.

In the future, we hope to add features such as the ability to spin detail drawings for better examination, small calculators for back-of-the-envelope feasibility estimates, and link boxes for additional magazine articles on related topics.

Please let us know how you like the iPad magazines and how we can make them better either by commenting here or by writing a letter to the editor: [email protected]

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View Comments

  1. alain91 | Sep 03, 2012 02:47am | #1

    Hello Taunton,

    This is a great news.

    Will there be a 'digital only' subscription in the future ?

    Regards,
    Alain

  2. Sean_hogan | Sep 03, 2012 03:07pm | #2

    I joined a month ago soonly get the magazines from then onwards, can I get previous magazines that I have missed before I joined, great magazine Sean from Scotland

  3. BrianP | Sep 04, 2012 06:32am | #3

    Alain,

    Web members can download the tablet issue for free. So, a web membership is a "digital only" subscription that offers a lot more than just the "print" magazine.

    Brian

  4. BrianP | Sep 04, 2012 06:36am | #4

    Sean,

    There are two simple ways to get access to everything we have ever published: A web membership allows you to access the archives on this site. Or you cab buy our DVD archive, which has a very user-friendly interface and excelent search function.

    Brian

  5. wolfman999 | Sep 04, 2012 08:49am | #5

    Will there be an Android Phone version coming at any time? I am a Digital Subscriber, but do not use an iPhone and it would be handy to read on my Android Phone.

    Thx
    Wayne

  6. FHBdotcom | Sep 04, 2012 09:41am | #6

    Several Ways To Get the iPad Editons

    The way this works, there are several ways to get the iPad editions of Fine Homebuilding:

    1. If you have a print subscription, you can get all of the issues that you get in the mail on the iPad

    2. If you have a subscription to FineHomebuilding.com, you can get the iPad editions while your online subscription is active

    3. You can go directly to the Apple app store, download the iPad edition, and pay for a year's subscription directly in the app (this would just get you the iPad edition--not the print magazine mailed to your home--so you get the most for your money with one of the 1st 2 payment methods)

    4. You can even download the app and buy individual iPad issues right in the app, if you don't want a subscription

    So, to recap, there's:
    1. Print + iPad
    2. Online + iPad
    3. iPad only
    4. individual issues on the iPad

  7. FHBdotcom | Sep 04, 2012 09:45am | #7

    Android and Windows Versions Are Coming Soon

    wolfman999: Yes, we are working on versions of the magazine for Android and for Windows 8, so all tablet users can enjoy the digital editions soon. We don't have the launch dates yet, but it should be sometime in October or November.

  8. kpeters | Jun 15, 2013 01:50pm | #8

    For over a year now, FH staff have said that the Android version of the magazine is coming "any time now." It's disappointing that there have not been any updates on when this might actually happen ... and actually is begining to appear that it might not.

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