Not that I need even more to read, but I had a very good offer for a subscription to Time magazine and yesterday, I signed up. I was really on the fence about it, given how much I already have to read, but one-and-a-half things pushed me over.

First, free with my subscription is access to the iPad edition of the magazine. And second (the “half” thing), is that I don’t watch the news or read the papers and can barely keep up with what’s going on in the world. Maybe this would help fill that gap.

Once I was subscribed I had instant access to the iPad version of the August 1 issue, which I downloaded and read on the iPad. I was hoping it would be an exact replica of the actual issue, the way that New Scientist is on Zinio, but it isn’t. I looks like all of the articles and sections are there, but it is more interactive than New Scientist. I suppose this is the direction for magazines like these and it will take some getting used to. That said, it wasn’t bad and I was able to get through the magazine before bed last night.

The print issues will begin arriving in 3-4 weeks, but I don’t really see the point. The fact is they will get thrown away or recycled. I wish there was an option to get the iPad edition by subscription but there isn’t. In fact, their pricing of individual issues is way out of whack for the print+digital subscription. I paid less than $30 for 56 issues. That includes print and iPad versions. But without a print subscription, individual iPad issues of Time magazine cost $4.99 each!

In any case, I am happy I can get the issues on the iPad, even though they are not in the same format as New Scientist. And I am hopeful that I will be a little more up on current events than I have been.