It’s been hyped as “magic”, “revolutionary” and the potential salvation of the publishing industry. A little thing called the iPad. Yes, it’s beautifully designed by Jonathan Ive. Yes, it’s simple to use. But why do people seem more willing to pay for news, magazines, and content when it’s delivered as an iPad app, when the same basic content has been on the boring, old Internet for years?

Audiences’ lack of willingness to pay for Web content is one of the main stakes through the heart of the newspaper and magazine industries. So, the question is, what’s the secret of the iPad? Is the power of the Apple brand so great that it can save dying content-creators, by turning once-worthless content into gold? Is this little device so amazingly groundbreaking that it will transform content buying habits? It’s tough to say this early in the device life cycle, but our crack investigative team has cooked up some answers to those very questions.

So, for your consideration, here are seven reasons why iPad-delivered content seems more valuable than its Web counterpart:

Reason #1: iCool Is Contagious
Anything related to Apple becomes more desirable by association. Apple has evolved from a computing platform into a purveyor of coolness. It has been so successful in coupling content curation (iTunes songs, movies, AppleTV) and hardware (iPhone, iPod, iPad) that Apple’s brand cache is soaring. Thus, any content sold and distributed by the “Big Apple” automatically becomes more valuable and desired.

Reason #2: We Want Safety More Than Openness
For all the talk about Web Standards, the Open Source movement, and the rise of DIY culture, it seems like many users still prefer consistency over freedom. Could it be that people are more interested in having a consistent, predictable presentation – something the multiplatform, cross-browser world couldn’t offer? If users are willing to give up an ample measure of freedom, Apple seems to be a decent argument that a tightly controlled, closed platform helps ensure better user experiences.

Reason #3: Buying Is The American Way
Another significant factor involved is the purchasing emotions involved. Buying an app seems to feel more concrete and permanent than subscribing to website content. Websites evolve, change, and even disappear, but an app stays on your tablet. And buying an app is a much simpler, more straightforward process, with a single seller, a single account to keep track of. Apple has made the purchase experience so easy, consistent and trustworthy (through years of iTunes and iPhone experience) that users now trust it implicitly. Apple customers are rewarding that trust by tapping the “Buy” button often.

Reason #4: On The Road Again
Portability (different than what you’d get with netbooks or smaller laptops) is such a huge deal that people are wiling to pay for the convenience of doing things while lounging on the couch. It’s the ideal piece of hardware for reading on a plane, in the backseat of your car, or sitting in bed. Steve Jobs won’t ever come out and mention it, but being able to surf the web discreetly in the bathroom is a significant feature.

Reason #5: Pay A Little Bit Forward
Micropayments might have been a little bit ahead of their time, because people are more open to paying small amounts for apps and subsequent publications. With a “recession-be-damned” attitude, app sales are gigantic. Apparently this category of impulse purchases feel better than committing to ongoing website content subscriptions.

Reason #6: New Is Good
Repackaging the same content was all that the content industries needed. Put a beautiful, new aluminum-and-OS wrapper around your same stories, photos, and images–and voila! New look, and same great taste, while reaching a previously-distant audience.

Reason #7: Content Wants To Be Paid
Content doesn’t actually want to be free. Instead, people are realizing that great stories/photos/content are worth paying for, worth subsidizing and supporting. For some reason, Apple has helped us see the innate value in the terabytes of professional content available out there, and has convinced people that high-quality paid content beats crowdsourcing any day. We can only hope.

Image mashup courtesy of Flickr Creative Common licenses from Rego and mandiberg.