Branson's iPad mag – Project – goes free. What's the point of that then?

After securing funding from American Express, issue four of Richard Branson’s iPad magazine is now going for free on the iTunes store.Previously, it cost $2.99 an issue.

That’s nice for everyone of course, especially if they like reading about Eric Bana (cover star above) HOWEVER – wasn’t the point of these iPad mags that they were pieces of digital content that people would actually pay for? If you don’t charge for them…. Why not just do a blog or something?

Anyway, reviews of Project suggest that the content is decent though the user interface confused and that the whole thing would probably work better on paper than on an iPad [paidcontent] For example there are odd features like a blog embedded in the magazine and it’s not clear where the pages end.

Issue Four includes a Berlin city guide – which you can add to yourself, an interview with Eric Bana and something about a $100m ice cube. Sounds fun and well, now it’s free, might as well right?

Project Magazine is free (for this issue) on iTunes

Related: Apple’s no-nipples policy means fashion mags are censoring their iPad editions and Wired iPad magazine review – we have (sort of) seen the future