Disappointing

A dud with a long way to go. The app is slow, prone to crashing, clumsy to navigate, slow to update each page, displays low resolution images of the print magazines layouts, and provides no content enrichment or display creativity. It provides links to "share" via mail or social media, but the option is lame: it links to a pay wall, and even then links to print pages, not to individual articles. Evidently AAAS doesnt get that the strategy of sharing via social media is to drive traffic to a web site on the strength of content, which then can be leveraged to sell subscriptions and products. As it stands, only subscribers can see any anything on the app or via "shared links," and even then only after first providing account credentials. How very disappointing. With their transfer from Zinio to the Apple Newstand, there is sadly no alternative other than using a web browser to read the online copy. AAAS is clearly clueless about the iPad/tablet publishing revolution. This is an embarrassment for a flagship science publication, to be so behind and so inept in adopting and taking advantage of modern technology and electronic publishing platforms.

Ricardo J. Salvador about The Journal Science