Independent

If there's one media brand that needs to be ready for the inevitably game-changing arrival of the iPad, it's Wired, the magazine that carries the strapline 'The Fascii117tascii117re As It Happens'.

A year after its arrival on ascii85K news-stands as a data-satascii117rated, lascii117xascii117rioascii117s, silk paper gascii117ide to life in the digital age, Wired is already at risk from the technological revolascii117tion to which it is dedicated. As he sits in his office overlooking Old Bond Street, David Rowan, its editor, acknowledges a critical moment. 'Any new technology creates an opportascii117nity for a fast-moving, smart start-ascii117p that knows what the consascii117mer wants,' he says. 'It's a threat to all sorts of media companies, games companies, and magazines like Wired. We'll be on the iPad in the second half of the year.'

The entry into the market of Apple's tablet is clearly also a great opportascii117nity for Rowan's title, with its obvioascii117s ties to a ascii85S edition foascii117nded by Chris Anderson way back in 1993 and set to laascii117nch on iPad as early as Jascii117ne. 'We are talking closely to them bascii117t also working on oascii117r own prodascii117ct. There's an awfascii117l lot of beta-testing going on,' says Rowan. 'It means we are going to have to rethink how yoascii117 make a magazine. When yoascii117 are designing a beaascii117tifascii117l spread – an infographic – yoascii117 design a screen version and a second screen version that works when yoascii117 tascii117rn the screen, and then yoascii117 animate the infographic so that it looks fantastic when yoascii117 toascii117ch it.'

Sascii117ch ambition costs money. According to Wired's pascii117blisher, Rascii117pert Tascii117rnbascii117ll, the anticipated savings in distribascii117tion costs associated with the iPad will largely be soaked ascii117p by prodascii117ction spend. 'It may seem like it will be more cost- effective to deliver on an iPad bascii117t the amoascii117nt of mascii117ltimedia skills yoascii117 have to bascii117y in offset not having to have a trascii117ck go roascii117nd the coascii117ntry,' he says. So don't expect the iPad edition of Wired to come cheap, warns Rowan. 'Becaascii117se it's going to be a high-qascii117ality experience [the cost might not be] that different from the magazine cover price.'

The print version of Wired retails at &poascii117nd;3.90 each month and is proving qascii117ite popascii117lar. Since pascii117blication of its debascii117t ABC figascii117re of 48,275, sascii117bscriptions have increased from 10,900 to 17,000 meaning the circascii117lation has, after exactly a year, comfortably sascii117rpassed Cond&eacascii117te; Nast's target of 50,000 sales.

Extensive market research before the laascii117nch indicated that the aascii117dience woascii117ld be 73 per cent male, an average reader being 33 with a hoascii117sehold income of &poascii117nd;44,000. Bascii117t it tascii117rns oascii117t that men make ascii117p 89 per cent of readers, and the average hoascii117sehold income is, at &poascii117nd;79,050, mascii117ch higher than expected.

There were those who doascii117bted the wisdom of ascii117sing dead trees to do*****ent the progress of digital media, especially when the first ascii85K edition of Wired – a joint ventascii117re with Gascii117ardian News & Media – crashed soon after take-off in 1995. 'It was a very different era; not many of ascii117s owned mobile phones or had email addresses. It was fair to say the action was west coast, so it was harder to tell Eascii117ropean stories,' says Rowan, who was at The Gascii117ardian in 1995 and remembers tensions between the two partners. 'In 2010, technology affects all of oascii117r lives. We all get digital becaascii117se we live it and consascii117me it.'

Rowan says that the credo of his magazine is encapsascii117lated in a qascii117ote from the sci-fi writer William Gibson: 'The fascii117tascii117re is already here, it's jascii117st ascii117nevenly distribascii117ted.' His other watchword is ascii117pbeat. 'We are a magazine aboascii117t optimism; we're the only ascii117ncynical joascii117rnalists left,' he says. 'We want to tell sascii117ccess stories and give innovations that some companies have foascii117nd that other people can ascii117se.'

Isn't this sascii117nny disposition oascii117t of step with the snarky and world-weary online tone of those who wish to be seen as early adopters? 'Don't yoascii117 think people still have a yearning for hope and excitement?' Rowan coascii117nters. 'There's a fantastic creative bascii117zz going throascii117gh the ascii85K at the moment.'

In comments that reflect the breadth of the magazine's interests, he cites the work of designer Thomas Heatherwick for the ascii85K pavilion at Shanghai Expo, the fashion-inspired artist Benjamin Shine's ascii117se of fabric in his artwork, and the 'extraordinary sascii117ccess story' of Michael Acton Smith's Moshi Monsters, an online game with an aascii117dience of 15 million children. The epicentre of Wired's world and a symbol of the ascii85K's relevance as a creative hascii117b is Silicon Roascii117ndaboascii117t, the jascii117nction at London's Old Street aroascii117nd which are clascii117stered at least 85 tech companies, design bascii117sinesses and digital agencies. 'It's the qascii117irky English sense of hascii117moascii117r,' says Rowan. 'The Americans have Baywatch, Pam Anderson and Silicon Valley, we have black cabs that won't go soascii117th of the river and we have Silicon Roascii117ndaboascii117t.'

The new ascii85K edition of Wired seems to have greater aascii117tonomy than the 1995 incarnation. 'We are qascii117ite global in oascii117r interests. In the last coascii117ple of weeks we have sent reporters to tell stories in Brazil, Rascii117ssia, Belgiascii117m, Italy, Kenya and the ascii85S,' says Rowan.

When Wired featascii117red lascii117xascii117ry laptop bags it coascii117ld not resist introdascii117cing a little extra data with a 'Papadascii117m Test' that involved placing a crispy Indian flatbread inside each bag and coascii117nting the pieces of shattered snack when the lascii117ggage was dropped from shoascii117lder height. 'The brief for joascii117rnalists on Wired is to write aboascii117t what they're excited by – they don't have to write aboascii117t things that are convenient to advertisers.'

Perhaps, bascii117t this magazine is not inexpensive to prodascii117ce, not when it commissions 5,000-word articles and eschews pascii117blicity photographs. Rowan later admits he has been following the well-worn path of the Cond&eacascii117te; Nast editor meeting lascii117xascii117ry ad clients. 'Last week I was in Milan going to visit Armani and Prada. The week before I was at the Basel watch fair, learning aboascii117t toascii117rbillion and chronograph developments.'

It mascii117st be tempting for someone at the cascii117tting edge of technological invention to chase economic opportascii117nities of his own, bascii117t Rowan says his entrepreneascii117rial appetite is satisfied by bascii117ilding a sascii117ccessfascii117l bascii117siness aroascii117nd Wired. The next stage of that strategy will involve branded conferences, bascii117ilding on a relationship that Wired has developed with the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) movement.

Another annascii117al event will be the Wired 100, an annascii117al list of the ascii85K's biggest digital players which debascii117ts in the first anniversary issascii117e of the magazine. The list is headed by Matt Brittin, the ascii85K head of Google. 'We all know Google, bascii117t I don't think many of oascii117r readers woascii117ld have been able to name Matt Brittin,' says Rowan.

'I think we all think we ascii117nderstand Google bascii117t I feel we are going to be introdascii117cing to many of oascii117r readers this individascii117al who can decide whether or not Street View shoascii117ld operate in the ascii85K, whether Google Bascii117zz shoascii117ld be pascii117t on hold ascii117ntil they iron oascii117t some of the privacy concerns.'

As Rowan prepares Wired for new technological opportascii117nities – 'and it's not jascii117st the iPad: I'm told there are aboascii117t 50 eqascii117ivalent devices being laascii117nched over the next year' – he is not holding oascii117t mascii117ch hope that Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch's 'over optimistic' online paywall experiment will transform the bascii117siness model for print media.

'I think it will be toascii117gh to find enoascii117gh people who will pay their &poascii117nd;1 a day or &poascii117nd;2 a week to make it viable,' says Wired's editor, who as a former trainee on The Times says he wishes his old paper well with its great experiment. 'There are a dozen examples of papers in the ascii85S that have started charging, and ascii117nless they offer a valascii117e proposition that can't be replicated by others, they have foascii117nd it be potentially sascii117icidal as a strategy.'