I have been a long subscriber / user of Zinio. I am using WIndows 8.1 pro on both a laptop and a Surface Pro. App will not work on either device since I cannot enter my password. App accepts userid but will not even enable an entry into the password field. Permits a "focus" on password field but does not allow entry.
26 January 2013
Installed windows app but it will not allow input of password with an existing account or create a new account
4 April 2013
Please update the App, I want to use Zinio
Current a terrible app, basic functionality just doesn't work, only a subset of my magazines are displaying as available to be download, Magazines such as PC Magazine just wont display and other magazine that do display wont download
Rendering the magazines is slow, page turns can also be very slow as the application doesn't seem to pre-load enough pages for the experience to be quick and seamless.
3 February 2013
Still cannot sign in to even get my magazines. I have been a customer for years so I deal with it but people I try to show zinio to are turned off to it because I can't even sign to show them. It has been three months now and you guys can't even make a functioning Windows 8 app!! If I could give zero stars I would. Fix it or lose a loyal customer.
Update: Gonna have to look into Next Issue now.
28 June 2014
Please bring the toolbar to Windows 8.1. Zooming is an important option which we do not have with the app. The desktop version works great. I love the Zinio app on Windows 8 but I also use the desktop version because sometimes I like to view a single page at a time and the desktop allows this but the app does not. Nonetheless still a great app!
28 February 2013
Another update released on 01/30. Still the same issue when opening New Scientist subscription. "unexpected error".
Update released on 11/10. Still un usable with my new scientist subscription.
Another update on 12/20. Still the same issue.
Giving less rating because of this.
Reducing the rating because of terrible customer service. Purchased hundreds of dollars of magazine. Contacted customer service. Its been three days now. No response.
Update: Now I can see NewScientist.
18 April 2014
it renders in a very low resolution and zooming in doesn't redraw but only "stretch" the low resolution bitmap. As a result it is now impossible to read the text on my computer!
17 October 2014
I have been a loyal Zinio supporter since the first iPad. I still use it on my iPad mini retina ands it great. The version for windows 8 on my beautiful surface pro 3 is unusable! Hideous, low rest, jaggy text and the zooming just blows up the already terrible image. Every gives it horrible reviews but they don't seem to be concerned with fixing it at all. Very disappointed.
22 September 2013
cannot type password, reboots
21 April 2014
I couldn't login or use my library subscriptions for the longest time, but the latest update that came out around 4/19/14 finally fixed zinio and now I can't live without it! Austin library allows me to checkout magazines and it works great finally!
24 February 2013
I originally rated this app 1 star, because it couldn't download my mags. After the Dec. 2012 update, I upgraded the rating to 3 stars, as I was finally able to download and read the mags. Now, in late Feb. 2013, I take the rating back to 1 star, because I've run into the dumbest bug in software world: when I open a magazine, this app wouldn't let me go beyond the pages 2-3 spread. No matter what I do, for every magazine, it gets stuck on that spread. Also, the text rendering is low-quality.
11 July 2013
Another update and still does not work. Same as before.
UPDATE: 2 months later and app still does not work on any of my three PCs. Opened a support ticket with Zinio and never got a response
I have the same problem as the other reviewer. It lets me enter my email address but when I go to the password field it does not let me enter anything and the app crashes.
27 July 2014
All pages are blurred with low resolution on my Surface Pro 3. Hope to have a high-res upgrade version soon.
24 October 2014
Basically, how could Zinio (or their vendor) release a product that lacks the basic functionality of getting new issues? It is like a new car that you can't put gas in. I will hold off all purchases until this is fixed. This includes single issues and subscriptions. I've spent easily over $200 so far.
Update: they've fixed new issue bug. However, the Win8-Metro version can't read offline. Hello? Use case?
Update 2: I had to use the old Windows/Adobe Air version to store the magazines while traveling more than 12 hours on a planes. Till date, no intention to give the offline mode?
6 May 2014
I tried installing and uninstalling the app to try to get it to accept my password for an existing account. The keyboard does not register in the password field making the app unusable. I've finally uninstalled it completely and will wait a month or so to see if there is anyone smart enough at Zinio to fix the problem.
26 July 2013
The zinio app is just far to slow. Super slow download speed, extreemly looooooong time till allready downloaded mags to display allready and why on earth do i have to set my language to englisch US to be able to Download the app in the First Place???
At least the User Interface Looks promising...
19 December 2012
There's a bug that it doesn't download future issues, and the zooming is clunky unlike the ipad app. It work, so you can read, download and zoom but its more a beta version and needs to be fixed.
23 February 2015
Ok, update...
Uninstall the version from the Microsoft store.
Go to: http://imgs.zinio.com/faq/zr4.htm#manualinstall
Click the links and install:
1. Download and install Adobe AIR by clicking here.
2. Save the Zinio Reader 4 installation file by clicking here.
3. Run the installation file.
Doing this will work on your Surface.
I hate to be so blunt, but absolutely no thanks to Zinio or to MS on this one....
Go to sign in, every time you click the pw field the app locks up, restarts, and nothing.... uninstalling..., 3 weeks later, still no working app, uninstall and reinstall, had no choice but to leave it at uninstall...
Months later, uninstall, reinstall, disable firewall, disable smart screen, turn off uac, etch... and still nothing. Talked to Zinio, the only thing less helpful would have been to not even respond. Can't say I'll ever recommend this app to anyone...
2 April 2014
Recent updates of Zinio for Windows 8 have finally removed pretty much all of the problems. You can use the touch functions pretty seamlessly now, including pinch zoom and swipe to turn pages.
I would still like to see full support for multimedia content - the magazines seem to lack some functions that I have seen in other apps, but at least all of the magazines I want are available on the Windows 8 app now.
27 February 2014
It just plain doesn't work. I emailed them and they wanted me to send my username and password and they would look into it. Absurd request! They finally said they would email me when they had a fix. So far I haven't heard from them. Checkout magazine online and it never shows up in the app. Until we get a STACKED library, like the Android version, this app will never make it past 1 star. Why does my "Library" fill up with magazines I never ordered? Every time I open the app I have to delete a bunch of junk that isn't mine and I would never read. If you would let us "stack" all magazines with the same name the library would be MUCH easier to use. Zoom still sucks but at least now it re-focuses the page. No zoom with mouse. App doesn't remember what you were reading or what page you were on. DO NOT order any magazine because there is a good chance you will never be able to read it.
20 March 2013
Zinio has ignored the Windows platform for a long time. The Windows 7 version finally became usable just before Windows 8 was released, almost like providing service to Windows users was an afterthought. The Windows 8 version is very incomplete, won't download new issues without uninstalling and reinstalling, crashes often, and is terribly slow in all respects. I have over a dozen subscriptions, but I am switching to Nook reader for my magazine subs. Nook is a million times better. Forget Zinio!
1 February 2013
need to reinstall app for new issues to show
Crashes, hangs, the constant switching between zoom view and full view in order to move between pages is a major design flaw. It is extremely sluggish to response to gestures on Surface RT. It needs a complete overhaul for RT. I haven't tried on Win8 Pro. I won't buy any of their magazines until some of the major issues on RT is solved.
The potential for this app on Surface RT is huge, but requires major improvements, which I hope are in the works.
31 January 2013
Update 2013-01-31:
Looks like this is finally fixed. Looks and works nice on touch as it should have all along. However lost some confidence in Zinio. Let's see where things go... Navigation could be better.
----
Update 2012-12-21:
Still no solution (this is W8Pro), Still no access to my content and random crash out of the app. "Issues with your download queue". Reinstall does not help. How about reinstalling the development team?
-----
Cannot access my library. Crashes into start screen.
26 January 2013
Once I gave it a little time to get used to it, I find that it's a nice magazine reader app. The free magazines arrived with the new issues, so for me, it took a couple weeks, but at least it's the February issues that arrived.
20 September 2014
This Zinio reader for Win 8.1 is so terrible I uninstalled it from my laptop.
It is very unintuitive. There are no menus whatsoever nor a guide to tell you how to configure the UI.
I am so sick and tired of the terrible apps coming from Zinio that I am not buying any more magazines and will stop using it completely when my subscriptions run out.
Right now, I only read it online via a web browser.
That is the only useable app.
22 August 2014
This app seemingly has zero support from the staff. It is very slow, it hangs/freezes all the time, and crashes often as well. We have complained about these issues for quite some time, but no improvements have seemed to surface. Skip out on this app, buy a REAL magazine instead... in the end, you can actually read it!!!
20 May 2014
I've been using zinio on other platforms for years and was always very satisfied with it's speed and offline capabilities. Unfortunately that hasn't come to windows 8.1 yet. Every time you open a magazine it has to rebuild thumbnails for a few minutes before you can view pages (even if you've already opened that issue before). Then once its finally open, it still takes a few seconds to draw each page you switch to. And if you want to zoom, you can't just pinch like on other platforms, you have to click to open a new zoomable page, and then click again to close it again to go to other pages. The autodownload is flaky too.
Get your act together Zinio. I pay a lot for your magazines and want a decent app.
5 March 2014
Reinstalled a month later and still cannot sign in. See August 2 review. Deleting the app. Hope they let existing users know when the Win8 app works. 6 months later I still cannot login. The app won't let me enter anything in the password field.
10 January 2014
Now I can find purchases. Pinch to zoom better implemented. Text still doesn't justify to screen. Not great. Feature poor. Average at best but with updates this quick could be 5 stars by 2020
30 July 2013
Which makes this app pretty much useless compared to the desktop application.
17 May 2014
I have been a long subscriber / user of Zinio. I am using WIndows 8.1 pro on both a laptop and a Surface Pro. App will not work on either device since I cannot enter my password. App accepts userid but will not even enable an entry into the password field. Permits a "focus" on password field but does not allow entry.
26 January 2013
Installed windows app but it will not allow input of password with an existing account or create a new account
4 April 2013
Please update the App, I want to use Zinio Current a terrible app, basic functionality just doesn't work, only a subset of my magazines are displaying as available to be download, Magazines such as PC Magazine just wont display and other magazine that do display wont download Rendering the magazines is slow, page turns can also be very slow as the application doesn't seem to pre-load enough pages for the experience to be quick and seamless.
3 February 2013
Still cannot sign in to even get my magazines. I have been a customer for years so I deal with it but people I try to show zinio to are turned off to it because I can't even sign to show them. It has been three months now and you guys can't even make a functioning Windows 8 app!! If I could give zero stars I would. Fix it or lose a loyal customer. Update: Gonna have to look into Next Issue now.
28 June 2014
Please bring the toolbar to Windows 8.1. Zooming is an important option which we do not have with the app. The desktop version works great. I love the Zinio app on Windows 8 but I also use the desktop version because sometimes I like to view a single page at a time and the desktop allows this but the app does not. Nonetheless still a great app!
28 February 2013
Another update released on 01/30. Still the same issue when opening New Scientist subscription. "unexpected error". Update released on 11/10. Still un usable with my new scientist subscription. Another update on 12/20. Still the same issue. Giving less rating because of this. Reducing the rating because of terrible customer service. Purchased hundreds of dollars of magazine. Contacted customer service. Its been three days now. No response. Update: Now I can see NewScientist.
18 April 2014
it renders in a very low resolution and zooming in doesn't redraw but only "stretch" the low resolution bitmap. As a result it is now impossible to read the text on my computer!
17 October 2014
I have been a loyal Zinio supporter since the first iPad. I still use it on my iPad mini retina ands it great. The version for windows 8 on my beautiful surface pro 3 is unusable! Hideous, low rest, jaggy text and the zooming just blows up the already terrible image. Every gives it horrible reviews but they don't seem to be concerned with fixing it at all. Very disappointed.
22 September 2013
cannot type password, reboots
21 April 2014
I couldn't login or use my library subscriptions for the longest time, but the latest update that came out around 4/19/14 finally fixed zinio and now I can't live without it! Austin library allows me to checkout magazines and it works great finally!
24 February 2013
I originally rated this app 1 star, because it couldn't download my mags. After the Dec. 2012 update, I upgraded the rating to 3 stars, as I was finally able to download and read the mags. Now, in late Feb. 2013, I take the rating back to 1 star, because I've run into the dumbest bug in software world: when I open a magazine, this app wouldn't let me go beyond the pages 2-3 spread. No matter what I do, for every magazine, it gets stuck on that spread. Also, the text rendering is low-quality.
11 July 2013
Another update and still does not work. Same as before. UPDATE: 2 months later and app still does not work on any of my three PCs. Opened a support ticket with Zinio and never got a response I have the same problem as the other reviewer. It lets me enter my email address but when I go to the password field it does not let me enter anything and the app crashes.
27 July 2014
All pages are blurred with low resolution on my Surface Pro 3. Hope to have a high-res upgrade version soon.
24 October 2014
Basically, how could Zinio (or their vendor) release a product that lacks the basic functionality of getting new issues? It is like a new car that you can't put gas in. I will hold off all purchases until this is fixed. This includes single issues and subscriptions. I've spent easily over $200 so far. Update: they've fixed new issue bug. However, the Win8-Metro version can't read offline. Hello? Use case? Update 2: I had to use the old Windows/Adobe Air version to store the magazines while traveling more than 12 hours on a planes. Till date, no intention to give the offline mode?
6 May 2014
I tried installing and uninstalling the app to try to get it to accept my password for an existing account. The keyboard does not register in the password field making the app unusable. I've finally uninstalled it completely and will wait a month or so to see if there is anyone smart enough at Zinio to fix the problem.
26 July 2013
The zinio app is just far to slow. Super slow download speed, extreemly looooooong time till allready downloaded mags to display allready and why on earth do i have to set my language to englisch US to be able to Download the app in the First Place??? At least the User Interface Looks promising...
19 December 2012
There's a bug that it doesn't download future issues, and the zooming is clunky unlike the ipad app. It work, so you can read, download and zoom but its more a beta version and needs to be fixed.
23 February 2015
Ok, update... Uninstall the version from the Microsoft store. Go to: http://imgs.zinio.com/faq/zr4.htm#manualinstall Click the links and install: 1. Download and install Adobe AIR by clicking here. 2. Save the Zinio Reader 4 installation file by clicking here. 3. Run the installation file. Doing this will work on your Surface. I hate to be so blunt, but absolutely no thanks to Zinio or to MS on this one.... Go to sign in, every time you click the pw field the app locks up, restarts, and nothing.... uninstalling..., 3 weeks later, still no working app, uninstall and reinstall, had no choice but to leave it at uninstall... Months later, uninstall, reinstall, disable firewall, disable smart screen, turn off uac, etch... and still nothing. Talked to Zinio, the only thing less helpful would have been to not even respond. Can't say I'll ever recommend this app to anyone...
2 April 2014
Recent updates of Zinio for Windows 8 have finally removed pretty much all of the problems. You can use the touch functions pretty seamlessly now, including pinch zoom and swipe to turn pages. I would still like to see full support for multimedia content - the magazines seem to lack some functions that I have seen in other apps, but at least all of the magazines I want are available on the Windows 8 app now.
27 February 2014
It just plain doesn't work. I emailed them and they wanted me to send my username and password and they would look into it. Absurd request! They finally said they would email me when they had a fix. So far I haven't heard from them. Checkout magazine online and it never shows up in the app. Until we get a STACKED library, like the Android version, this app will never make it past 1 star. Why does my "Library" fill up with magazines I never ordered? Every time I open the app I have to delete a bunch of junk that isn't mine and I would never read. If you would let us "stack" all magazines with the same name the library would be MUCH easier to use. Zoom still sucks but at least now it re-focuses the page. No zoom with mouse. App doesn't remember what you were reading or what page you were on. DO NOT order any magazine because there is a good chance you will never be able to read it.
20 March 2013
Zinio has ignored the Windows platform for a long time. The Windows 7 version finally became usable just before Windows 8 was released, almost like providing service to Windows users was an afterthought. The Windows 8 version is very incomplete, won't download new issues without uninstalling and reinstalling, crashes often, and is terribly slow in all respects. I have over a dozen subscriptions, but I am switching to Nook reader for my magazine subs. Nook is a million times better. Forget Zinio!
1 February 2013
need to reinstall app for new issues to show Crashes, hangs, the constant switching between zoom view and full view in order to move between pages is a major design flaw. It is extremely sluggish to response to gestures on Surface RT. It needs a complete overhaul for RT. I haven't tried on Win8 Pro. I won't buy any of their magazines until some of the major issues on RT is solved. The potential for this app on Surface RT is huge, but requires major improvements, which I hope are in the works.
31 January 2013
Update 2013-01-31: Looks like this is finally fixed. Looks and works nice on touch as it should have all along. However lost some confidence in Zinio. Let's see where things go... Navigation could be better. ---- Update 2012-12-21: Still no solution (this is W8Pro), Still no access to my content and random crash out of the app. "Issues with your download queue". Reinstall does not help. How about reinstalling the development team? ----- Cannot access my library. Crashes into start screen.
26 January 2013
Once I gave it a little time to get used to it, I find that it's a nice magazine reader app. The free magazines arrived with the new issues, so for me, it took a couple weeks, but at least it's the February issues that arrived.
20 September 2014
This Zinio reader for Win 8.1 is so terrible I uninstalled it from my laptop. It is very unintuitive. There are no menus whatsoever nor a guide to tell you how to configure the UI. I am so sick and tired of the terrible apps coming from Zinio that I am not buying any more magazines and will stop using it completely when my subscriptions run out. Right now, I only read it online via a web browser. That is the only useable app.
22 August 2014
This app seemingly has zero support from the staff. It is very slow, it hangs/freezes all the time, and crashes often as well. We have complained about these issues for quite some time, but no improvements have seemed to surface. Skip out on this app, buy a REAL magazine instead... in the end, you can actually read it!!!
20 May 2014
I've been using zinio on other platforms for years and was always very satisfied with it's speed and offline capabilities. Unfortunately that hasn't come to windows 8.1 yet. Every time you open a magazine it has to rebuild thumbnails for a few minutes before you can view pages (even if you've already opened that issue before). Then once its finally open, it still takes a few seconds to draw each page you switch to. And if you want to zoom, you can't just pinch like on other platforms, you have to click to open a new zoomable page, and then click again to close it again to go to other pages. The autodownload is flaky too. Get your act together Zinio. I pay a lot for your magazines and want a decent app.
5 March 2014
Reinstalled a month later and still cannot sign in. See August 2 review. Deleting the app. Hope they let existing users know when the Win8 app works. 6 months later I still cannot login. The app won't let me enter anything in the password field.
10 January 2014
Now I can find purchases. Pinch to zoom better implemented. Text still doesn't justify to screen. Not great. Feature poor. Average at best but with updates this quick could be 5 stars by 2020
30 July 2013
Which makes this app pretty much useless compared to the desktop application.