• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 12, 2010

There was something to all the talk about iPad being being a publishing savior. Zinio, which creates digital versions of magazines for print publishers, revealed that its Magazine Newsstand and Reader is the No. 1 free news app downloaded by new iPad owners -- besting competing apps from USA Today, The New York Times, BBC News, NPR and The Wall Street Journal.

Perhaps even more noteworthy, as of Monday morning, the same Zinio app held fifth place overall in free iPad apps, behind No. 4 Netflix and ahead of No. 6 The Weather Channel.

Like other digital publishers, Zinio has rushed to capitalize on the wave of interest in Apple's new tablet-style computer, touted by the manufacturer as a superior device for media consumption, thanks to its large color display and easy interface.

Magazine publishers have been especially keen to distribute digital editions via the iPad. Conde Nast, Hearst, Time Inc. and Meredith Corp. have teamed up to create a common digital storefront for magazines in anticipation of more reading over digital devices like the iPad.

By the end of last week, an estimated 500,000-600,000 iPads had been sold, making it one of the biggest consumer electronics product debuts in history. It went on sale April 1.