iPads, Print-on-Demand Slowly Transform Magazines in 2010

It’s been a year of high expectations but little fulfillment for those who thought 2010 might forever change the way we read magazines. We’ve seen that disappointing uses of new tools, limited audience interest, and small initial financial returns are going to result in a gradual shift, not a sudden transformation.

The number of print magazines stayed steady in 2010, with 193 launches and 176 closures—a great improvement over 2009’s remarkable 596 casualties, as reported by Folio. In the meantime, readers began experimenting with digital magazines on the iPad following the device’s April release