Wired Magazine releasing iPad version...and it looks cool

Wired magazine officially released its iPad version. The June issue is available for download for $4.99.

Wired editor in chief Chris Anderson writes that the digital version of the magazine will be available soon on nearly all other tablets.

"We have always made our stories accessible online at Wired.com," he writes, "but as successful as the site is, it is not a magazine. The tablet is our opportunity to make the Wired we always dreamed of. It has all the visual impact of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated infographics. We can offer you a history of Mars landings that lets you explore the red planet yourself. We can take you inside Trent Reznor’s recording studio and let you listen to snippets of his work in progress. And we can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3."

Wired developers will use new digital publishing technology from Adobe to create the print and enhanced digi-vesions simultaneously using the same design tools.

At first glance, the magazine looks terrific in the video shown on the website. There are more pictures, videos, objects to enhance and explore. I would hope an annual subscription would appear at a cheaper price point, but it looks like Wired has nailed a first-gen product. I hope more magazines and newspapers follow. It would be neat to not have to walk out in the morning to get the newspaper, but to be able to see it in this type of version on a tablet device, and best of all, when your newspaper or magazine is done publishing, it could immediately be available on your iPad.

Imagine, guys, not having to look out the window waiting for the mailman to bring your Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (and now the magazine would come with videos, too). And can you imagine how many new App store customers there would be when Oprah's "O" goes iPad digital?