So the Retina version of T3: iPad Edition has seen us leap back into the carousel slot alongside the App Store’s great and good. Always a nice surprise as the App Store doesn’t have the best categorisation in the world, so stand out is key. To mark all movements “Retina”, I also did an interview with Future’s Intranet news team for a piece they did on our recent updates. Here it is in its geeky glory…
T3 is fully optimised for the iPad 3’s Retina Display
We catch up with Matt Hill, Deputy Editor of T3, about their new digital developments. Most recently these have included T3 Tech Life Drive, a special iPad edition dedicated to technology and motoring, and the optimisation of their best-selling iPad magazine to utilise the iPad 3’s Retina Display.
What challenges did you face while putting all these together?
“The sheer amount of projects on the go has been the biggest test. Even before you count occasional special editions like T3 Drive on iPad and our recent Kindle book ‘When Tech Goes Wrong’, not to mention the lesser-intensity likes of our Zinio, Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook replicas, our team is currently producing five different, labour-intensive digital editions every four weeks.
“The iPad Edition and now its Retina-optimised shinier brother, of course, then the Android Edition, a T3 Germany translated digital version, the interactive Zinio Fusion Web edition; oh and let’s not forget the good old print original and the not-so-little matter of T3.com. All bring their own design, editorial, production and resource challenges – often at the same time – and we’ve all had to very much learn on our feet. “There’s no map for where we’re going,” as the say.”
How were these challenges overcome?
“Solid communication and a lot of trial and error. Being first to market on so many digital fronts has enabled us to be ahead of the curve in fledgling industries, and in turn adapt quickly to things we’ve got wrong while building on those we’ve got right. Sharing these learnings with each other, and reacting carefully to external feedback – because, unsurprisingly, our readers really know how tech should work – has become vital.
“The senior editors and design team have also worked closely to create content, not to mention build a team, that can work successfully across multiple formats. Whether it’s web videos that can thrive in their own right while supporting our print edition on tablet or magazine featured containing sidebars that can be expanded into T3.com galleries, content has never had to work harder.”
What have you learnt from the process?
“That you can’t be a technology brand and stand still; that on every format available there’s someone who wants to read T3; that no matter how good your issue, someone on iTunes will give you one star; and that we have a cracking team that can adapt and produce great results across multiple mediums really bloody quickly.
“The volume of products T3 produces will only grow, as we look to take the UK’s best-selling iPad magazine to the US, produce new specials to sate reader demand, not to mention flirting outrageously with new tablet formats as they are introduced. Knowing we are more than able to embrace all of these challenges is the best lesson you can learn – about yourself and your team”
T3’s new Retina Display-optimised iPad Edition is available here.
Matt Hill 