Conde Nast has a new approach to magazine sales. The publisher will be offering single issues of GQ, starting with the December issue, as separate apps for $2.99 a pop in the Apple App Store. Just like its print counterpart, these digital mags will offer layouts of every page, with content designed for small screens, in addition to videos, audio and links to advertisers’ sites — all without leaving the app.

While the iPhone may be the first stop, it won’t be the last — word is, Conde Nast is looking to develop across various OSes, and if this model takes off, you can bet that other publishers will jump on board.

First off, I like this, if for no other reason than just the amount of paper it could potentially save. And it does seem convenient, especially for traveling. Nothing’s worse than lugging a bunch of heavy reading material for long distance flights, so this makes for a handy travel companion.

And yet — there are already more than 80,000 apps in the App Store, which is difficult enough to parse through on its own. If this business model takes off, with individual magazine issues flooding it, the clutter could drive app shoppers insane. We’ll have to wait and see.

[via Ad Age]