Customer Reviews

Fortune

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I give paper fortune a 3-4 out of five stars. The Kindle edition is horrible, a complete waste of time. You get a few of the main articles, but most of the rest of what shows up turns out to be tiny little bits of junk: Text boxes and pullout-garbage (I used to work in the magazine world) that is essentially page filler in the printed editions. I thought this was so cheap it would have to be worthwhile, but unless they include more meat, this is a total waste of money. Better to get the WSJ or Financial Times.

Reading the Fortune magazine on my Kindle 2.0 has made me realize both the pros and cons of reading a printed magazine. If you want the most efficient Fortune magazine reading experience, then get the Kindle version. If you want the best overall magazine reading experience, the printed version may still have the edge as of today.

The Kindle version has no pictures (as of 5/7/09) and no advertisements. There are only articles and opinions. I was shocked how skimpy Fortune magazine was in content as I was able to read EVERY article in less than 15 minutes, which is less than it takes me to read the daily Wall Street Journal (Kindle version). I usually take good 30 minutes to read the printed Fortune magazine.

Reading Fortune from Kindle 2.0 is a different experience than reading from a printed version. The printed Fortune has glossy advertisements and pictures. The tactfile feeling of turning each page somehow makes reading the printed Fortune magazine a slightly more rewarding experience. The analogy is similar to getting news from television versus the radio. You may get the same exact news but the television news has visuals which speak a 1000 words that the radio can never duplicate.

The speed of which I was able to finish the entire Fortune magazine in Kindle has made me realize exactly how much time I spend viewing a magazine's advertisements and pictures. Also, the ability to quickly peruse an entire magazine using your thumb still can't be duplicated by Kindle.

But the Kindle has some inherent advantages over the printed version. Kindle version has a search feature based on keywords. Kindle will allow you to read just about everything much faster, including the Fortune magainze. Using the Table of Contents is far more efficient. A magazine subscription is delivered to you wirelessly usually 2-4 days before the magazine hits the print market. Finally, I can't imagine anything beating the Kindle's content delivery system using 3G wireless. The magazine downloads in less than a minute.

Overall, I recommend the Kindle version of Fortune magazine. For better or worse, just don't expect it to be the same experience as reading the printed version.

The Oct 12 Kindle edition shows an actual picture of the print Fortune cover, which shows a feature article about Charlie Rose. Yet this article is nowhere in the Kindle edition. I read it in the print edition and it was excellent. I contacted Amazon and received a lame answer that its controlled by the publisher. So beware that any Kindle magazine can be missing key content of the print edition totally at the publisher's discretion. All Kindle magazines are suspect as being inferior and you cannot assume you're getting the same content as the print edition.

Fortune is a magazine I have found enjoyable in print. The KINDLE version is up to par as far as the articles and I'm happy to have it in a nice clutter free locale ready to read whenever I want!

As a kindle owner, I was disappointed to learn you cannot purchase back-issues of Fortune magazine (or other magazines). Even as I write this review, it is frustrating that the one issue I want "100 Best Companies to Work For" is still visually advertised on Amazon / Kindle website, but not available for downloading on Kindle.

There is no better way to read Fortune magazine. With no advertisements and minimal pictures, you just get the articles in a very concise and easy to read format. With wireless delivery, you get the magazine delivered to your Kindle, no matter where you are, as soon as it comes out.

I can't say enough how much I enjoy this version of Fortune. I am able to read it in half the time that a magazine usually takes me, and with it being in my Kindle am able to have it with me, whenever I'm looking for something to read.

Magazines and newspapers are the best thing about Kindle.

I bought the June 13th edition "Retire Rich" that said on the cover that there were "25 Stocks" recommended - none of them were listed in the Kindle version of the article. I called for a refund and won't be buying any more Fortune online.

I love Fortune. I don't want to pay $5 or $8 a copy for a late-version newsstand. I don't have a "home" I am at regularly enough for a standard subscription. When I am in the Philippines, neither of those options is available anyway.
The Kindle subscription was cheap (originally $1.49 a month!), and accessible everywhere, so I jumped on it.

While I am glad I can receive at least -some- of the content early, regularly and conveniently, the layout is lacking, articles are missing, and images are scarce.
Additionally, Fortune -CANNOT- be read on phone versions of the kindle reader, which I find quite inconvenient. :/

The price has gone up last year, I'm not sure I've felt an equivalent increase in quality. It is still convenient and inexpensive enough to be worthwhile for me, but in an age where there is so much free content available online, I hope the editors of fortune start giving more love to the digital edition.

I do not know if an ipad version is available, however I already have a smartphone, a kindle and a laptop, and am not looking at a tablet that seems too cumbersome as an e-reader and not functional enough as a computer.

In summary, it works for me at the moment, but I do expect serious improvements in the near future.

As of January 3, 2012, Fortune's website says this: "Send me a full year of FORTUNE (20 issues) for the low subscriber rate of $19.99... As a subscriber, you will also receive access to the FORTUNE U.S. Tablet Edition for the term above absolutely FREE!" Once I have the tablet edition (which is now available for the Kindle Fire), I don't think I will even look at the print edition, but they come together for the price of only $19.99 per year. So Amazon's current offering of "Fortune [Kindle Edition]" for $2.49 per month ($29.88 per year) doesn't make sense if you have a Kindle Fire (which is the only Kindle currently supported for the offer at Fortune's website). Here's the complete list of supported devices, from their website:

"Your subscription to the U.S. [print] edition of FORTUNE includes access on the following tablets:
*iPad® (iOS 4 or higher)
*iPad®2 (iOS 4 or higher)
*Kindle Fire
*NOOK Color(tm) (OS version 1.3.0 or higher)
*NOOK Tablet(tm)
*Samsung Galaxy Tab(tm) 10.1 (Android 2.2 or higher)
*Samsung Galaxy Tab(tm) 7.0 (Android 3.0 or higher)"

1/18/12 update: I've been reading Fortune for decades. I've now switched to reading it on the Kindle Fire and will never go back to the print edition. As noted above, Fortune's website offers both the electronic and paper versions together for a great price. I asked their customer service if I could receive only the electronic version and here's their response:

"We do not offer digital only at this time. You will need to have a current print subscription in order to get access to the digital."

It's a sign of the changing technology that, until they offer digital only, I'll simply be discarding my paper copy.

Why is the Kindle version $30 a year? It costs more to get the stripped down Kindle version of the magazine than for a 1 year subscription ($19.99 for the year)for the full printed version. I don't get it, put ads in the Kindle version I don't care. But it shouldn't cost more to get an email than it does to print and distribute a magazine.