Richard Branson this week launched Project, an iPad-only 'glossy' lifestyle magazine. This followed what may have been the world's shortest ever brainstorm, beginning with the words "What shall we call this project?" and ending just a few short seconds later.
But since the launch, a number of users have flagged problems with the way the paid-for app works – from "crap" to "clunky" according to feedback online - and though some have given it a slightly warmer reception opinions are certainly divided.
paidContent:UK said "the future of publishing, if Virgin's new iPad-only magazine is anything to go by, is messy", before describing the two-and-a-half-hour long process to even get the app up and running as "archaic".
"[This] is not a good advert for Apple or developers who choose to come to market with a big launch depending on bleeding-edge software," it added.
Branson may also want to have a word with his SEO team, because currently Google tells us:
"The Virgin Project is a collection of true-life stories of first-time sexual encounters, collected and illustrated in comic book form..."
Still, every cloud has a silver lining and in the battle of the tycoons Branson did at least beat Rupert Murdoch to the punch. Murdoch has an editorial team holed up in New York readying an iPad-only publication of his own called The Daily.
Murdoch's team are based on 6th Avenue, Branson's launch took place on 5th Avenue, but the Virgin boss was quick to dismiss talk of this being about one-upmanship or an attempt to upstage Murdoch on his own doorstep. Speaking at the launch, Branson said:
"It's not a battle. It's all about choice, and a fair bit of competition doesn't hurt."
Murdoch may yet have the last laugh however, should he decide, upon reading the headlines Project has generated, to take a few extra days to test The Daily before it hits the virtual news stand.
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