[LINK] The Melbourne Age on the iPad

[Dr Bob Jansen]

I downloaded the app and had a look. It's similar to the NYT app. However, my big bugbear is the advertising. When the first ad appeared it was not obvious how to get rid of the thing.I suggest that people would get very frustrated, why not have a simple close box or at least some insructions on the ad page itself advising to swipe right.

Bobj

Dr Bob Jansen
Turtle Lane Studios
PO Box 26 Erskineville NSW 2043 Australia
Ph: +61 414 297 448
Skype: bobjtls
http://www.turtlelane.com.au


On 31/05/2011, at 16:33, "Frank O'Connor" <francisoconnor3 at bigpond.com> wrote:

> 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,
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