The Knot Magazine-iPad App Review

This is part of the Top Magazine iPad series

We move on with the Top iPad magazine app reviews to include newer releases that, in many ways, trump bigger name apps in functionality and ingenuity. The Knot is a wedding magazine that has been very ambitious in its digital services in helping brides and families plan their big day, but also very inclusive in its online community; women make profiles stating their pending wedding dates amongst other important facts, contribute to the message boards and swap ideas. Almost sounds like any other magazine community. right? Not really.

The Knot iPad app has already been hailed as ushering in the largest wedding community onto the iPad platform, coming up with an incredibly community-oriented magazine experience that few to none of the other apps published so far quite emulate.

Our Ratings:

1) Usefulness/Value to User

To say this app offers value to the user is no little statement. Unlike other magazines, The Knot magazine doesn’t really churn out text-heavy articles as a main offering, but even articles become free territory by users adding additional commentary and suggestions that all add to the value of content.

8/10

2) Useability/Interface

The Knot easily makes use of the iPad interface, such as page-turning features that go hand in hand with the galleries of dress catalogues and items. Users can chat with each other and even take polls. Video features also exist, kind of reminiscent of Youtube clips featuring make-up and hairstyle tutorials, which is another great example of how well The Knot manages to mould the iPad into a resourceful tool that many users already, in some way, are already familiar with.

9/10

3) Price

Interestingly, the app isn’t endorsed by any adverts, yet. The app can be bought from the Apple’s App Store for $4.99. At half the newsstand price, this is something users will be very happy about.

8/10

A convenient functionality is offline access available after download. There are direct links to The Knot Shop to buy additional items like last-minute gifts and table setting items etc. Probably one of the best features of The Knot app is the Enhanced Digital Scrapbook, Search, which is the culmination of any article clippings, pages, images within the issues that can be easily saved, (they go straight into the Scrapbook). Categories can be easily made, along with the ability to include your own notes to any clip. Added sharing functions include Facebook and Twitter options, as well as email. With so much being done, it can seem a little confusing at first, but certainly would pose no challenge for any bride-to-be!

9/10

Summary

An incredible app, the people at The Knot really stepped up and over the plate for their magazine’s iPad version. It is a near-perfect example of how magazines can truly milk the new platform for all it can do and then some. Unlike other magazine app conversions, The Knot has managed an incredible feat; instead of merely adjusting to the iPad features and stopping there, they’ve remained true to the real feel of the magazine experience and value of community, and made the iPad adjust to that.

This is part of the Top Magazine iPad series.