Over the last ten years, I have been an active consumer of online news media. This has cost me nothing, simply because the online news outlets I read are financed by ads. According to Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, this trend must change if news media are to survive. While I think that his approach – simply shutting people who don’t pay out – isn’t the way to endear himself to the consumers, I do think that he has a point.
Until recently, I had a subscription for the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. About four months ago, I cancelled it, because I never read it anyway, mostly because I already knew most of what it said already, having read several online newspapers at home, at work and in transit. Will I ever take up a subscription to Aftenposten again? Maybe. But not for the paper version. Instead, I will gladly take up a subscription to their tablet app.
I say tablet app, instead of iPad, because I am in no way certain that I’ll still be using an iPad ten years down the line, but I most certainly will still be using a tablet of some kind. The first attempt at creating a good app for news consumption from a single source on the iPad comes from Wired magazine. Their app is free – as it should be. Instead, users pay per issue they download.
Let me just say this at once; reading Wired Magazine on the iPad just works. It’s quick, it’s comfortable, and gives me more value than the magazine itself ever did. Another example of an excellent solution is MacLife tablet edition, which also shows off the strengths of the iPad format for magazine consumption.
What makes me think that this would work for newspapers? I can only speak for myself. However, I know that I only really read a very small number of newspapers, most of which more or less conform to my political views. I want editorials on subjects that interest me, and I want to have it on the go. Having an app that, every morning, downloads the most recent edition, is just what I need and want. I can bring my pad, and the app, with me on public transport, reading the articles that interest me.
Why do I think that’s how they will save themselves? By offering a two-tiered system, the newspapers reach two markets. The model I’m envisioning is something like this: The first tier only offers headlines and a little detail, with no analysis. This should be free, or ad-funded. The second tier should have detailed articles with editorials and additional content, such as guest writers. I would willingly pay for a subscription to the second tier, which would give me more news, of higher quality.
What would I want from a newspaper app? At the very least, these three criteria should be fulfilled: (more…)
Tag: apps
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Survival – how news media should adapt to a challenging present
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BGG apps for Android – a review
Note: I’ve been a BoardGameGeek user for a few years now, but only after I got my first Android phone did I really start using the features the site has to offer, as I got an app that uses its API. These tests have been performed on an HTC Desire, running Android 2.2 (Froyo).
Crossposted to Boardgamegeek.
At the moment, there are two apps for BoardGameGeek available for Android phones. One is called BoardGameGeek, and is developed by Dennis Bond, the other is called BGG Mobile, developed by Skulupus.
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The iPad and videos – an app review
One of the things I immediately thought of when I got my iPad was how it would do when it comes to video playback. Now, according to the technical specifications, Videos, the built-in video player is able to handle both .mov and .avi. On trying to transfer .avi-files, however, I was told that the format was unsupported.
The problem, of course, is the fact that avi is simply a container format, able to contain a myriad of differently encoded movies. However, I was annoyed that I couldn’t even transfeer the files to the device. As a result, I went out and tried to find a good alternative, and found not one, but two, that both have strengths and weaknesses. Here, then, are my thoughts on the three movie playback apps I’ve got on my iPad; Videos, CineXPlayer and VLC:
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There’s an app for that, or, my must-have apps for the iPad
I simply adore my most recent toy. A slim and slender device the iPad is a perfect example of what product design can be when you put your mind to it. However, the iPad is just the platform, without apps, it has very little value in and of itself.
There is a plethora of apps, but there is a lot of chaff, and not all that much wheat, and finding the good ones can be a real challenge. Still, it all depends on what you want from your iPad, and in the end, you’ll find a lot of good apps.
What apps, then, are my favourites? Here goes:
The iWorks suite with Pages, Keynote and Numbers was the first apps I installed, and they are excellently suited for the device. The apps themselves take up very little screen real estate, allowing you, the use to concentrate on the task at hand. They are simple and intuitive to use, and well worth the money you pay for them.
I’ve been using Dropbox for a while now, and must admit that the Dropbox app is very neat indeed. I’d like to see better integration with the OS, and a sync capability for folders, but what there is is a lot better than nothing.
As a pen and paper role-player, I’ve found a couple of apps that are indispensable for the GM. The first is BattleMap, an app that let’s you design your dungeons and reveal them bit by bit to your players. A bit expensive, it’s a great resource. Another good one is an app called Tabletop Initiative Tracker, which is excellent for combat situations, and free to boot.
For keeping track of my todo-lists and action items, I use Sorted, that has a simple and intuitive layout. I also like to keep tabs on my investments, and since I have a bit of stock in Norwegian conglomerate Orkla, I have installed Bloomberg, Reuters and mTrader, all of which are good apps.
As a news junkie, I also use FlipBoard (which also serves to keep me up to date on Facebook and Twitter) and MobileRSS to keep track of my subscribed RSS feeds. To allow me to watch .avi-movies, I use a lovely little app called CineXPlayer. The last app for this post is the post I use to keep track of my WordPress blogs. The WordPress app is nifty and does the job excellently. -
Android – Choosing apps
Like the iPhone and its app store, Android offers a market for download and purchase of apps for the Android phones. They’ve cleverly called this market the Android Market. It is directly accessible from the phones, and you can find it on the main menu.
The only problem with the Android Market, as I see it, is that navigating it tends to get tedious. Luckily, there is a website from which you can browse apps and see what rating they’ve got. The first is called Cyrket, and you can find it here. Unfortunately, Cyrket has a spotty record as far as uptime goes. An alternative to Cyrket is Androlib, which can be found here
There are basically speaking two ways of installing apps. The obvious one is using the Android Market to download and install them automagically. You can also get the installable package (Android uses .apk-files for installable packages) and install it directly from the file manager.
To do this, you first need to Allow installation of non-Market apps. In the main view, click the “Menu” button, then click “Settings”. In settings, choose “Applications”, then activate “Unknown sources”. -
A new phone – useful apps
Note: For the next few posts, I will cover my choice of a new mobile phone, what considerations I have made and what applications I am running through it.
As mentioned in my previous post, the Android Market has a plethora of more or less useful apps for Android. Here are the ones I currently use:
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A new phone – Choosing apps
Note: For the next few posts, I will cover my choice of a new mobile phone, what considerations I have made and what applications I am running through it.
Like the iPhone and its app store, Android offers a market for download and purchase of apps for the Android phones. They’ve cleverly called this market the Android Market. It is directly accessible from the phones, and you can find it on the main menu.
The only problem with the Android Market, as I see it, is that navigating it tends to get tedious. Luckily, there is a website from which you can browse apps and see what rating they’ve got. The website is called Cyrket, and you can find it here.
There are basically speaking two ways of installing apps. The obvious one is using the Android Market to download and install them automagically. You can also get the installable package (Android uses .apk-files for installable packages) and install it directly from the file manager.
To do this, you first need to Allow installation of non-Market apps. In the main view, click the “Menu” button, then click “Settings”. In settings, choose “Applications”, then activate “Unknown sources”.