More and more publications are moving online and one of our favorites CORAL Magazine is testing out a digital rendition of the reefing magazine. CORAL Magazine is taking the approach of using third-party online publishers to make the content mimic the pages of the physical magazine. You won’t find a stripped down version of the magazine here, the digital product is nearly the same as the printed version plus some of the top digital accoutrements of being online. You can view the digital edition in one or two pages and easily zoom in to a level you are comfortable with for easy reading, the table of contents includes a simple link that takes you right to the beginning of that article or department and a handy search feature will help you find content by keywords or phrases. If you find something interesting it’s quite simple to email it to a friend, post it to your favorite social network and even create a custom widget to add to your blog or website.
By using Google Gears you are able to download an offline copy that you can read on your computer when you don’t have an internet connection. A perfect fit for breaking up a long train ride to work. The transition of the pages was pretty solid and smooth and with a newer computer with a heck of a lot of processing punch and gobs of memory, it will be like a hot knife through butter. We also enjoyed the collection of website and email links in the table of contents. If you find a product mentioned or want to get a hold of one of the writers, a simple click will take you to the website or start an email message to that person. CORAL Magazine is one of the finest hobby publications in terms of content as well as quality of printing, so it is always best appreciated with the physical product in your hand but this is a very close second delivering all the same content and advertisements in a nice digital package. The digital version is not looking to replace the printed magazine but is being created as a bonus for their subscribers and advertisers. Look for the final digital edition to roll out in January 2010. Give the demo version a whirl at http://livedemos.texterity.com/coral_demo/2009.
