[LINK] The Melbourne Age on the iPad

[Frank O'Connor]

Just checked it out ... My impressions:

The Good bits

a) Way better than the first try (which, in the final analysis, was 
just a badged PDF reader - I junked that puppy after two days)
b) Handles the supplements well ... and they are the things that make 
the Age a twice weekly buy for me rather than relying purely on the 
online edition.
c) Good for offline reading (which the web site isn't)
d) Like the web site, updates fairly regularly (which the paper 
edition doesn't)
e) Nice layout relying on drop down menus, segmented index pages and 
a 'flip' action to navigate between stories and segments.
f) Large default fonts size, compared to other news apps.
g) Nice range of options which are useful dependent on your reading 
and viewing habits.
h) Video coverage is WAY less intrusive than on the web site. 
Basically it's a segment by itself which you can use or not use 
dependent on your preferences.
i) Quick, responsive and convenient.

The Bad bits

a) Not a lot of scope for reader/user feedback (and Letters to the 
Editor etc). Maybe in future iterations.
b) Advertising a bit intrusive (periodic full screen pop-ups). Maybe 
embedding graphics in stories would be a bit less confronting.

All up ... this is more like it. The first Age App just irritated, 
was slow and kludgy and wasn't really tailored to the purpose of 
delivering news, editorial and information. This app looks much more 
like something designed to do that. It's got its faults, but not as 
many as the previous application ... and as a newspaper I prefer the 
Age over its rivals. It may have lost its edge over the years, but it 
still delivers news and clearly recognises the difference between 
news and editorial, advertising and demagoguery, and firmly 
delineates between same.

It's free for the first few months (currently being sponsored by 
Telstra, ING and the like) and will then be offered at around $8.99 
per month. At that price I'll probably subscribe.

Anybody else checked out the Sydney offering? It would be similar I'd guess.

				Regards,