If you look through the comments many low rating are due to the fact that people expect the magazines to be free because the app is free. This is a misunderstanding of how the products work. It would be nice if Adobe or Apple enabled a way to only see rating from people who are subscribed to the magazine but sadly that isn't the case. For now, we have to deal with the fact that a lot of people who feel entitled to free content are going to take to the ratings to complain.

Remember, as a general rule, that when someone is satisfied with a product they will tell on average two people. When dissatisfied, they'll tell ten people. The rating are the same way.

I will also say that some of the larger publishers are making mistakes with their apps. Promising things without testing them and not taking advantage of the possibilities of the DPS. Some complains are well founded but those are not due to the DPS, but the publishers.

Speaking as someone who tried to find a job with the major publishers to do digital publishing, I believe that it is because they aren't bringing new people in. The publishers are convinced the can convert print designers into digital designers.

Wired is probably the best example. When they changed art directors last year, the tablet edition was suddenly almost unusable. It has improved as the new AD has learned about the format, but it has taken time.

As users of the DPS, we all know that designing for the tablet is not the same as designing for print. And until the publishers realize that and begin hiring digital art directors to compliment their print ADs there are going to continue to be disappointed and angry users. What we can do is continue to produce great digital content that will challenge the general perception of digital in the magazine industry.