UI/UX — MONEY Magazine takes a big step backwards in user-experience on the iPad, and so I’ve unsubscribed.

Previously, MONEY Magazine attempted to deliver a version of their magazine for the iPad that reflected an understanding of how text is best read on such devices, and attempted to take advantage of user interactivity.

For example, It was possible to navigate an edition’s content via pull-up menus on the leader screen of each of the magazine’s four main departments:

And article text was presented in a single, scrollable column:

This all made for an effective and efficient reading experience, in the context of the iPad.

Unfortunately, in the latest issue, MONEY has gone back five years in time, and moved to the unusable approach of presenting the magazine on the iPad as a direct replication of the physical magazine. Articles are presented in magazine-style tiny columns that can hardly be read without pinch-zooming, and—incredibly—there’s not even a way to directly navigate the content.

I can only imagine that this was done in the interest of saving on production costs, but at least in my case, MONEY has shot themselves in the foot — as I just canceled my subscription.

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