Five days after launching its Popular Mechanics iPad app, US publisher Hearst has reported that it has sold 10,000 copies at US$1.99 apiece. Make that 10,001. This is a nice app and nicely priced. For magazine titles to sell on the iPad, they need to be priced lower than the print edition. While I have only had half an hour so far with the Popular Mechanics issue, I like it. The interactivity is terrific. The 3D is excellent.
There is a 3D model embedded within a DIY Home story. You can interact with this in a way which shows off the iPad. There is a live update of an earthquake map that will continue to feed live data long after the next issue is released. Popular Mechanics is closer to showing the difference between a paper and iPad reading experience.
I especially like that I could buy the app and latest issue from Australia. Some publishers are managing content as they did across physical borders.
Paid Content has more details along with news that Hearst plans to release another dozen iPad apps by the end of the year.