Not that Flipboard is perfect, in fact presently it’s pretty far from that, but it’s the first genuine insight into the future of publishing that we’ve seen – the reality that you can view your social media content in a traditional magazine format is, for us, a feeling of at last beginning to live in the future you dreamed of as a child. The overwhelming feeling of potential that washes over you as you flick through a magazine that has been compiled from your chosen social media outlets, and that updates instantly, is truly staggering.

Shared items on Facebook and Twitter are instantly transformed into elegantly designed magazine articles, images are automatically – and gracefully – pulled in and there’s a number of options to bookmark and interact. Annoying, cutesy ‘web app’ copywriters have for years been telling us about the “super web magicary” being performed by any given application, but – without wanting to offer superfluous praise – it really feels, when spending time with Flipboard, that this fabled “web magicary” does in fact exist, and that the Silicon Valley entrepreneur’s have unearthed said ‘magicary’ and set it to work at the companies Californian headquarters.

Our recent Virgin Heathrow Clubhouse post as seen through Flipboard

Along with the ability to add in your own Twitter and Facebook accounts, there’s a number of preset or recommended feeds and some particularly well curated collections, such as FlipPhotos, FlipCool, FlipMusic and FlipDesign. So, even if you and your friends aren’t interesting enough, at least there will always be inspiring content on hand – and well designed that content will be.

Typographically and layout wise, Flipboard is streets ahead of anything we’ve seen – whereas, to date, the big names in publishing have offered little more than glorified PDFs of their print versions, Flipboard presents your personalised content in a unique, and seemingly ever-changing way, offering alternate displays for landscape and portrait and brilliant variation through each of the pages – which are changed by a sophisticated ‘flip’ as opposed to the customary, and rather clumsy, turn. There’s even a brilliant, constantly changing front cover.

Of course, it’s not all rosy, high demand upon launch saw some difficulties in adding Facebook and Twitter accounts – although all seems fine now – there’s no option for multiple Twitter accounts, and through lack of being able to tweet directly, it’s unlikely to replace your current Twitter client in a hurry, but, then should it? This is a ‘social media magazine’ after all.

Our most notable gripe is that of the current restriction to 9 sections, but really, for a first release – add in the factor that this is a free app, yes, FREE – Flipboard is a revelation, and the first real opportunity for iPad owners to thrust it under the nose of naysayers and shout “look, this is what it’s all about, it’s the fucking future” – and for that Flipboard, we salute you…..