The latest news is available in seconds with an iPhone news app from the iTunes app store. Since most Apple iPhone apps work on the Apple iPod Touch, these news apps can be enjoyed on several different devices. Several world news apps are available, but the best iPhone apps for news come from the established news and media sources.
Review of the NPR News iPod Touch App
National Public Radio goes beyond their online news offerings with the NPR app. Accessing the NPR radio stations and radio member networks is easy because the app's navigational layout is simple and intuitive. It is broken up into top stories, topics, and newscast, and it is easy to create playlists and stream an npr radio station.
The list of available programs on the app shows which programs are playing, and two clicks takes listeners to a live stream for 25 NPR programs, including the following popular programs and podcasts:
- All Things Considered
- Car Talk
- Foreign Dispatch
- Fresh Air (WHYY)
- Morning Edition
- NPR Playback
- Planet Money
- Science Friday
- Talk of the Nation
- Thistle & Shamrock
- Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
- Weekend Edition (Saturday and Sunday editions)
- World Cafe (WXPN)
Users can read and listen to NPR stories, and the stories frequently update to reflect the latest programs. Donating to NPR seems obligatory after comparing the free NPR app to other paid news apps.
Review of The New York Times iPod Touch App
Using The New York Times app is not like reading The New York Times newspaper. The famous crossword isn't there, nor is the NYT best seller list or the Times archives. The app is a compact version of The New York Times Online. There are more stories than most news apps have, and the world news is comprehensive and thorough. The New York Times front page story changes frequently on the app because it is usually breaking news. Some nice features include:
- reading the most popular stories,
- saving stories to create a personal news archive, and
- being able to set the font size and story archive dating in the iTouch settings.
It is not like reading The New York Times, but it is an outstanding news app,
Review of The USA Today iPod Touch App
The compact, colorful feel of the printed USA Today newspaper flows through the USA Today news app. The app has the familiar sections:
- USA Today News
- USA Today Sports
- USA Today Money
- USA Today Life
There are also enhancements of familiar features. The Gallup USA Today infographic snapshots are shown, and then app users can vote in the USA Today polls. The weather feature comes from The Weather Channel and it can be set to show local weather on the USA Today app's opening.
Review of The Time Mobile iPod Touch App
Getting Time Mobile from the iPhone App Store is nothing like getting the magazine from a news stand, because the app is clearly for people on the move. Time's iPhone app is dominated by pictures, which makes sense because it is Time's journalistic use of images that makes Time magazine covers so famous.
Searching the app is easy, and it is also possible to switch from the large images to a more familiar news article lists. The app has Time magazine articles, "Quotes of the Day", and it include a seemingly endless river of top ten lists, which will eventually feed into Time's annual "Year in Review," and there are features from Time's online magazine, such as video clips.
With the exception of NPR news, none of the news app versions replace the original version, because reading a newspaper or magazine is different than using a restrictive app. An iTouch app review is also an iPhone app review, because they work the same way. The only distinction is that an iTouch updates through wi-fi, but an iPhone can stay connected through AT&T so the news could update even more easily.
News App Publication Information
All of these apps are available for free from Apple's iTunes app store.
- NPR News App is developed by Bottle Rocket, and is produced and owned by National Public Radio, Inc.
- The New York Times App is owned by The New York Times Company, and the publisher is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.
- Like USA Today, the The USA Today app is owned by Gannet Company. The publisher is David Hunke.
- Time Mobile is owned and published by Time, Inc. which is part of Time Warner.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
