The iPhone&#39;s First Upselling Magazine App

Apple says it's a first: Men's Health magazine released an iPhone app that sells additional content for more money. Maybe this is the silver bullet that will finally save print journalism! But probably not.

Here's the problem: As Apple's sales figures show, people tend to pay for indulgent content involving games, music and simulated alcohol. What does Men's Health ask people to pay for? Gym workouts!

Not only that, the magazine's application includes 125 free exercises, and charges for additional content. So it only appeals to true hardcore exercise buffs who aren't already getting workout advice from their gym, personal trainer or free off the internet.

Nevertheless, self-promoting media hero Dave Zinczenko tells Ad Age the software basically outshines the 15,000 iPhone apps before it:

"A lot of previous apps were one-and-done purchases, where you buy Tetris for $1.99, play it for a while, then forget about it," said David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men's Health.

There's a man who can tell you how to stretch!

[Ad Age]