Recent changes in the digital edition of Gramophone

I noticed a few changes in this month's iPad edition of the magazine. I congratulate the staff for tighter integration with online features, such as links to articles online, and for providing quick links to music samples (where available). These additions are most welcomed.

However, I am not too sure about the implementation of the latter. While I appreciate being able to tap a cover and being transported to the iTunes store for samples, I thought the cover-sized "play" symbol was a bit jarring. The covers themselves seem to become just a background for the "play" button. For example, the Gramophone choice in the first pages. You can't even see the cover anymore, basically.

Perhaps it would be better making the "play" symbol appear only after tapping the screen once, just like that green highlighting of the internet links. Or, if it is intended for the user to recognize at a glance which records have samples available, perhaps make the symbol smaller and relegate it to a corner or even outside the cover image, as a border.

These are just quick thoughts, of course, I'm sure the staff gave it plenty of thought and have better solutions. It's just that it would be a shame to not being able to enjoy the cover art of the reviewed records. Even in the review section, when they're all quite small.

Does anybody else feel the same way?