Saturday, March 9, 2013

Some huge bargains on Google Play.

I like eye candy.  I use eye candy to light a fire or inspire a thought that will swirl around my head.  Now that everything is digital, things got a lot easier.  While browsing through a magazine, I can screen capture a page then crop it and add it to a folder (no printing -- it's the digital workflow).  I can pop it into some conceptual book for presentations, or I can use my tablet to flip through them with a client or friend.

That's why I subscribe to digital magazines.  And I love it when the ones I want are discounted lower than print.  The list below represent some of the best bargains of eye candy in Google Play.
  • Hi Fructose for $19.95 / year (4 issues) -- Yes, this awesome magazine that's almost like a collector's item, is available exclusively (for the moment) in Google Play, and at just $4.99 an issue, it's a decent 28% discount from the $6.95 newsstand price, for a brand that doesn't need to offer discounts (just check out resell prices on Amazon, to see what I mean). $
  • Interior Design for $19.99 / year (12 issues) -- It's a requirement to have this magazine, if you do interiors, just because the ads let you in on what's new; single issues are $9.95 (83% discount) and print subs are $59.95 (67% discount). $$$
  • HOW for $19.99 / year (6 issues) -- A single print issue varies in cost between $10.95 (85% discount), $12.95 and $14.95, and print subscriptions are $29.96 (33% discount), while Amazon's sub for the digital copy is $24.99. $$$
  • Design Quarterly for $6.99 / year (4 issues) -- I haven't found DQ at the newsstands, but Amazon has it for $56.02 (88% discount) a year.  It's not quite as good as InDesign, but at $1.75 an issue, it's cheap eye candy. $$$
  • Habitus for $6.99 / year (4 issues) -- Single copies are $15.95 (89% discount); it's a little like Arbitare and a little like Dwell, except .  $$$
  • InDesign for $6.99 / year (4 issues) -- Foreign magazines are always expensive at the newsstand, and InDesign is $21.99 (92% discount) per copy, so this is an enormous deal, just as the other foreign print mags from Australia (see the Design Quarterly and Habitus). $$$$
I'm currently waiting on Google to add Juxtapoz and Metropolis, though.  Hopefully, they'll add these two titles.

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