Inspirations Magazine

Be warned: This app only works in article view (not magazine view) on smartphones. This means you cannot pinch and zoom on most photos or the text and therefore you cannot read adverts, many of the stitching diagrams or alter the size of the text to a comfortable size. While stunningly beautiful the magazine is not fully readable and not good value if read on a smartphone – especially as it is pretty expensive! Additionally, it took many emails to the publisher and developer to get the magazine downloaded onto my phone in the first place and where it intermittently stopped working once there. If you need to get in touch don’t use the feedback/help function in the app it takes you to the publisher not the developer. Use the email listed here in Google Play. Incidentally developer (Zinio) Tier 1 support does not seem to be familiar with their own app, sends you advice email after email like “just pinch and zoom” while ignoring you when you repeatedly say that does not work (as confirmed by tier 2 support as this is not supported on the smartphone) and seem generally unaware that they can do things like refund you your money. Zinio Tier 2 support is fantastic. Would have saved weeks of frustrating emails (and calls to Google Play) if I had known to ask for them straight away. A few emails and they set me up viewing on Zinio Newstand – which means I can read this fantastic magazine comfortably and use the stitching diagrams for which I have paid.

The magazine is beautiful, It's just a shame the app is so full of bugs and glitches it makes reading the beautiful magazine impossible. Firstly I had an issue with the app not recognising my Google play subscription and Zinio had to make me an account. Now whenever I try to read the magazine I just get a loading page with the article title. I haven't been able to read this for months and have had no response to my support e-mail. Very disappointed- went from being a bargain subscription to a complete waste of money and phone memory.