iOS 5 to include 'Newsstand' for magazines and newspaper

Scott Forstall just announced on stage at WWDC a new iOS 5 feature called Newsstand, which integrates newspapers and digital magazines onto the iOS homescreen.

The app resides on the springboard but behaves much like iOS folders. Tap the app and you're presented with a thumbnail view of each magazine or newspaper you're subscribed to directly from the homescreen. All downloaded subscriptions are stored on the device for offline viewing. Newspapers look just like paper newspapers, and magazines look and behave like a real magazine.

Newspapers include New York Times, SF Chronicle, Daily Telegraph and many more. Magazine publishers are jumping on board too, with National Geographic, SPIN, Conde Nast, Nylon, The Telegraph, GQ Esquire etc. You can purchase subscriptions through the App Store in a special section, and when downloaded the newspaper or magazine is placed directly into your Newsstand folder.

It's looking pretty sweet -- will you be using Newsstand to replace magazine and newspaper subscriptions?

Andrew Wray is a Salt Lake City, Utah based writer who focuses on news, how-tos, and jailbreak. Andrew also enjoys running, spending time with his daughter, and jamming out on his guitar. He works in a management position for Unisys Technical Services, a subsidiary of Unisys Corporation.