The AppAdvice Week In Review

Apple turned some people green, while we heard a little bit more about their fall event. Here are just some of the stories making news this week.

In the Spotlight: Magazines and iOS

Why have magazines on the iPad largely failed with customers? This week, we attempted to find out the answer. A.T. Faust III started the conversation:

When the iPad first launched in early 2010, the tablet was immediately hailed as savior of the faltering print industry. And sure enough, in the 27 months since, we’ve seen newspapers, novels, and textbooks digitally (and popularly) reborn. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of magazines, and though Apple’s Newsstand initiative continues to build up steam, the actual experience imparted by its member publications is decidedly subpar.

Meanwhile, I suggested e-magazines weren't dead. In fact, I suggested their popularity would soon grow, thanks to the Next Issue app, which arrived in the App Store this week. Offered by Condè Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp., and Time, the free Next Issue app offers access to 39 magazine titles, including GQ, Wired, and Fortune. In the coming months, other titles will be added. With the $9.99 Basic membership, you’ll have unlimited access to 34 of some of the most popular magazines today. These include Esquire, Real Simple, Popular Mechanics, and others. The Premium package, priced at $14.99, offers five additional magazine titles not available on the Basic plan, including Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, and Time. One news app that might not have a future on the iPad or anywhere else: The Daily, which we learned might end production later this year.

Apple Upsets Green Team

Cupertino threw environmentalists into a tailspin this week, as they confirmed that they has withdrawn their product portfolio from the EPEAT registry and will no longer seek approval from the government-backed agency. Faust had the non-story story:

In this case, withdrawing EPEAT compliance doesn’t mean Apple is using (or plans to use) less environmentally-friendly materials or innately fewer recyclable parts. Instead, all it really means is that Apple’s portable Macs are taking a page out of the non-EPEAT-qualified iDevice book, and taking them apart will now require uncommon tools like heat guns, precision wedges, and a bit more elbow grease.

Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet later said:

Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2. We also lead the industry by reporting each product’s greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.

Still EPEAT board member Christine Ervin probably put it best, saying the environmentally-friendly standards were "a little long in the tooth."

By the end of the week, Apple reversed course and announced that all eligible products will be put back on the EPEAT registry of green electronics. So there you go! EPEAT stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

Apple's Fall Event Could Be 'Crowded' With Lots Of New Products

For those who felt Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference last month was ho-hum at best, be prepared for a “crowded event” from Cupertino this fall. In addition to announcing the sixth-generation iPhone, Apple could use their September or October event to unveil the long-rumored iPad “mini” and much more, according to Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray. According to the investor, Apple is likely prepping a 16GB iPad “mini” that could launch for $299. With this, Apple could sell 6 million units of the new iDevice this holiday season. In launching the smaller iDevice, Cupertino would “eliminate two of the biggest features for Android tablet makers in price and size.” In doing so, Munster expects Apple to retain their tablet dominance for at least the next four years and not significantly hurt sales of the company’s current line of iPads.