One of the more prominent selling points of Google Play is its large magazine library. Google even includes free issues of popular magazines on new Nexus devices. Unfortunately, our friends in the UK weren’t graced with magazines or music at the launch of Google Play in the UK. Google already fixed the latter issue, and now it’s fixing the former.
Google announced that magazines are now available on Google Play in the UK. The magazines on offer at launch come from a variety of publishers including Condé Nast UK, Dennis Publishing, Future, Haymarket, Hearst UK, Immediate Media and IPC Media. Current issues will be available in digital format starting today, but there’s no mention of making back issues available.
As for the specific selection, some of the launch brands include Men’s Fitness, Slimming World, Total Film, New Statesman, The Spectator, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Wired and more. Subscribers will have each new issue added to their collection for easy access on the cloud.
Google is also introducing its U.S. Google Play promotion in the UK. All new Nexus devices sold will include free issues of Men’s Fitness, .net and Vogue. Not exactly the cream of the crop, but it’s a good way to see if you like reading digital magazines. Some folks still prefer traditional magazines, but they’re proving to be more and more of a financial liability as evidenced by how many were shut down this year.
You can check out the magazine selection on Google Play here.