USA Today For iPad App Is Greatly Improved, But Not Quite Perfect

One of the first apps to debut along with the iPad was one for USA Today. At the time, it served a useful purpose in offering iPad readers just enough news using the new device. However, it wasn’t long before better news apps appeared, making the USA Today app look tired and dated. The 2.0 version was just released. It offers some nice new features, which were greatly needed. Plus, it remains free. The paper version of USA Today includes six main sections. In addition to the News category, these include: Money, Sports, Life, Tech and Travel. Strangely, until this release, the app did not include a Tech section. In addition to duplicating articles from its print edition, the app’s new Tech section includes the App Insider and TechWatch. The first is a daily app review, which includes pictures and ratings. The second includes a set of tech related videos. Each one looks great on the iPad and loads pretty quickly.

The app’s Travel section has also been enhanced. It now includes airport delay information and a photo gallery. Finally, the app now offers multitasking support for iOS 4.2 and above. Articles also seem to load faster than before. My issues with the USA Today app are twofold. First, it relies almost exclusively on rehashing what is covered in the print version. Articles are updated occasionally as events change, but this is rare. On weekends, changes are even less likely. USA Today isn't published on Saturdays and Sunday.

Also, not everything from the print edition is available. As a freebie, this is understandable. However, the app would be greatly enhanced if a "premium" package was available. This would include access to all of the articles included in the print edition. Overall, the latest version of the USA Today for iPad app is a significant improvement. Still, it isn’t perfect.

Mentioned apps

Related articles