Weak Gourmet Live App Comes To The iPad
September 28, 2010
In June, we told you about the future return of Gourmet Magazine as an iPad app. This week, the app was released as Gourmet Live. In time, I fully expect this app to appeal to foodies of all ages, but for now the app is short on content and a little bit frustrating in its execution.
The long-published food and wine magazine Gourmet ceased production in early 2009. However, despite its publication's demise, Conde Nast continued to use the Gourmet name in a website of the same name. Last summer, it was announced that the new app would be HTML5 compatible and include new and old content dating back to the original publication's 1941 start date.
For right now, Gourmet Live is a work in progress. It only works in portrait view, which is annoying. Apps, especially ones considered magazines, should work in both portrait and landscape. This one does not.
The content in Gourmet Live is currently limited to eight (yes, eight) articles. One of these is a link to a quick (and very dry) "Welcome to Gourmet Live" article, that shouldn't be counted in the number of articles available. What you do have is an article on "Autumn Cocktails" and a fluff piece on actress Julianne Moore, plus several others.
Some articles include video content, which is a nice feature. Yet even this addition doesn't make up for the app's limitations.
The app encourages its readers to sign up for a rewards program, although there is no mention of why this is important or what it means for the reader. Strangely, you need a Facebook or Twitter account to do this. However, once you confirm your social status, you're asked to give an email address and password too. Again, very confusing.
The Gourmet Live app is free and available today in the App Store. As a previous subscriber to the magazine edition, I'm pretty confident that in time, the folks at Conde Nast will make the app something special and a must read for many. However, for now, the app is short of content and a shell for what it might be someday.
For right now, Gourmet Live is a work in progress. It only works in portrait view, which is annoying. Apps, especially ones considered magazines, should work in both portrait and landscape. This one does not.
The content in Gourmet Live is currently limited to eight (yes, eight) articles. One of these is a link to a quick (and very dry) "Welcome to Gourmet Live" article, that shouldn't be counted in the number of articles available. What you do have is an article on "Autumn Cocktails" and a fluff piece on actress Julianne Moore, plus several others.
Some articles include video content, which is a nice feature. Yet even this addition doesn't make up for the app's limitations.
The app encourages its readers to sign up for a rewards program, although there is no mention of why this is important or what it means for the reader. Strangely, you need a Facebook or Twitter account to do this. However, once you confirm your social status, you're asked to give an email address and password too. Again, very confusing.
The Gourmet Live app is free and available today in the App Store. As a previous subscriber to the magazine edition, I'm pretty confident that in time, the folks at Conde Nast will make the app something special and a must read for many. However, for now, the app is short of content and a shell for what it might be someday.
