The Guardian Releases New iPhone App
January 20, 2011
The U.K.’s The Guardian newspaper is a popular read not just across the pond, but the world over. Now, its publishers have released a new app that is quite impressive. However, depending on where you live, it may cost you.
The new Guardian app for the iPhone/iPod touch is supported by ads in the United States, meaning all the news is free. The app uses Apple's iAd program.
Unfortunately, for our friends everywhere else, the app will cost you money. The Guardian has instituted a subscription model for its non-U.S. readers. While the actual app is free, the news is provided using a two tiered subscription model. These subscriptions cost £2.99 for six months and £3.99 for a year.
Those who purchased the original app can continue using it for a few months. However, this "version 1" will eventually be switched off. It is no longer available in the App Store.
The Guardian app is pretty nice, giving readers a number of customized features. For example, you can assign which categories show up on the app’s home page, plus how many articles are included by section. These include: Top Stories, Multimedia, Sport, Culture, Features and Most Viewed.
The multimedia section is the most impressive. This is where videos, audio and photo galleries featuring the top news of the day reside.
A trending page shows which stories are most read according to story and subject.
You can also tag which articles you found most important and add them to your favorites pages. The app also offers an offline mode, allowing users to read content even when they don't have connectivity.
So why the new app? According to the developers:
The App Store has come a long way over the last 12 months and now forms a major part of the way we deliver content to our mobile audience, whose expectations are, rightly, rising. We can't stand still. With the new app we'll be launching more frequent updates, offering a broader range of content and bringing you a better experience. This means ensuring we can meet the associated development costs. The best way to provide this in the longer term, we believe, is to move to a subscription model.So what do you think? Are you willing to pay for news? Upset that U.S. customers are getting a freebie? Leave your comments below. The Guardian app is available in the App Store.