App Publishing Made Easier

Why didn't anyone think of this before?

After working at Apple for three years, Paul Canetti left to work on a series that would train businesses on iOS development. He's since turned his attention to MagAppZine, a new service that he co-founded that will make it much easier for users to publish content on the iTunes App Store.

MagAppZine's makeup is relatively simple, it is a white label, do-it-yourself platform that, as of now, is limited to allowing users to upload PDFs, make website viewing available in an in-app browser and let users offer in-app sales of multiple issues of any publication.

What really makes it a great service, however, is its simplicity and accessibility. The service began just last spring with the goal of evening the playing field for online app publishing, mimicking the strengths of blogging on the Web in an application-driven era.

Having your content available in the App Store means that your work is published on the world's most famous destination for applications, and with the total dominance of the iPad in the tablet market, that's a pretty good place to be. iTunes provides you with a central location for consumers to search for your app, download it, read reviews from other users and discover related materials.

The company is expected to roll out a new pricing schedule in September that starts at $99 per month, thanks in part to the soon-to-be released MagAppZine 2.0.

"Our most basic app package launched in April of this year," says Canetti, "But in September we are re-launching MagAppZine 2.0, which will include the new links and multimedia, an InDesign tool, and integration with Apple's upcoming Newsstand feature. We're also rolling out a new tiered monthly pricing structure that has plans starting at $99 a month."

While this product obviously hasn't reached its fullest potential yet, MagAppZine 2.0 sounds like it is going to be a very big step in the right direction. Those who have simple, print-based content that you want to get distributed to a larger audience (retail catalogs, perhaps?) should certainly consider application publishing, and as of now, MagAppZine seems to have that niche covered.