It's iPad time for Metro Mag

MANILA, Philippines - You’re waiting in line outside the doctor’s office with a couple of other patients. The others are bored stiff. You’re not. That’s because you’re engrossed in reading a story — not straight from the pages of your favorite magazine, but from an iPad whose images stare back at you in all its high-resolution glory.

This is the scenario Metro Magazine thinks is just around the corner. And because this new medium is the future of publishing, magazine bosses have decided to join what it perceives is the bandwagon of tomorrow.

ABS-CBN’s premier fashion magazine has launched its iPad edition — the first in the country to take that big leap. Tap the photo of Star Magic talent John Lloyd Cruz on the iPad screen and voila! You read all about what he thinks of Star Magic head Johnny `Mr. M’ Manahan. Tap a toothpaste ad, and you’ll see its video version unfold right before your amazed eyes.

“The interactive experience is totally different,” says Metro Magazine business manager Cathy Bustos-Guevarra. It broadens our reach, gives it global dimensions..”

Her San Francisco-based relative, for instance, can devour the magazine’s contents in no time at all. He doesn’t have to wait for his shipment of the latest issue to update himself with the latest fashion trends through Metro.

All he – and anybody – can do is get a copy of Metro on the iPad, log on to iTunes, go to the App Store and search for Metro Magazine. Look ma, no charges, no fees!

And it’s gaining acceptance. “If you look at the display of free downloadable items, Metro Mag is right there on the top of the list,” she adds.

The secret, she explains, is the multi-sensory experience the iPad gives. In Metro Mag’s case, this means videos from the shoots, celebrity interviews and testimonials not seen in the magazine version.

So when you see Kim Chiu, Kristine Hermosa, Angelica Panganiban, Bea Alonzo, not just on the cover of Metro Magazine’s August issue but on the iPad as well, don’t be surprised. They’re not only the crown jewels of Metro’s latest cover story, they’re also the first stars to make it on the iPad, thanks to technology that lets us see the world in a new, amazing light.