Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine Stops The Presses
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I received some sad news today from Hal Goldstein, the Publisher of Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine. It seems that this fall will mark the end of the run for the only magazine which was completely dedicated to the Windows Mobile platform. According to Goldstein, they decided to suspend publication after 11 years, because:
It has become harder and harder to grow our circulation over the past three years since Windows Mobile changed from being PDAs to being phones. Pocket PC manufacturers like HP used to work with us to offer their customers a free issue of our magazine in their packaging. The phone companies have not shown similar interest in working with us.
The other business challenge has been the lack of advertising sponsorship from Microsoft, phone companies, and OEMs, despite our coverage of their products. In order for us to sell subscriptions at current low consumer magazine-type prices, we must have a stronger and growing circulation, and we much attract the large advertisers who benefit the most from our existence.
I have personally been involved with the magazine through their Best of the Year Software Awards, in which I was a judge. I found the staff at the magazine to be some of the most knowledgeable and dedicated Windows Mobile users around, and the loss of the magazine will certainly leave a void in the Windows Mobile community. While I will still anticipate the next issue of Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, I will read it with the sadness of knowing it will be my last.
For more information, check out Hal’s post explaining his reasons for suspending publication over at Smartphonemag.com. There, you can also learn about the new iPhone Life publication, and the Knowledge Bundle he is now offering.
After you read all of that, chime in here and let us know your thoughts. I am sure many of you were subscribers. What will you miss? Do you see this as an indication of the direction the industry in general is moving? Let us know.
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I really enjoyed the magazine in the past, but in the last several issues, I realized that the magazine was WAY behind the current Smartphones that were available. There feature articles usually covered Smartphones that had already been in the market or available for a long time (i.e. BlackJack II, Tilt, etc.). When publishing bi-monthly, it is very hard to keep up, since devices are coming out all the time. Also - the whole section dedicated to ‘enterprise’ was a whole section that I always skipped. To me, that is not why I read the magazine, it was to learn about new devices, Smartphones, Pocket PC’s and PDA’s. I didn’t need a whole section of the magazine dedicated to showing hope people used the devices in there work lives. In addition, I couldn’t stand the many, many advertisements asking to send in the HP Palmtops “in any condition”. Who cares?!?! Just place one half page advertisement for that and leave it be. Killing us with that stuff. Finally, the software review section - too many reviews of games. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I play a game on my Smartphone about once a month - if that, and that is usually the built in solitaire or bubble breaker. Who has the time and space to download and use all these games?? Not me.
Anyway, thanks for the memories, and good luck in the future!