By Frank Petrie
One of the biggest questions that the iPad app brought about when unleashed upon the populace was whether or not it would bring about the doom of the publishing industry or cause it to propel itself into a rebirth. With the free NYTimes, version 2.0, I believe that they have provided us with a definitive answer to the question.
The Juice
“Experience the enhanced NYTimes app for iPad [iPhone/iPod], now with all of the sections, articles, videos and photos you expect from “The New York Times.”
° Access over 25 Times sections plus a selection of blogs;
° Includes beautifully designed new sections for photos and video;
° Breaking News Alerts to help you stay informed even when the app is closed;
° Share articles, photos and video through Facebook, Twitter and e-mail;
° Enjoy improved design and navigation that allows you to go back and forth between sections and articles seamlessly.”
The Pulp
The amount of content has increased multifold and I don’t mean by only three to four times. We’re talking instead of a severely abridged addition, with this version you can catch news that happened literally seconds ago, to events from several days before.
The greatest addition, IMHO, is the pop up menu that now let’s you pick from (what appears to me) to be every section of this venerable publication. As an example, the video section allowed me to pick from nearly a dozen videos.
And as for the aforementioned timeliness, the wrap-up of one of the league championship games, was posted within two minutes of the end of the game itself!
The Rind
So far, in a day of use, I can honestly say I have found nothing at all negative to say. If there’s any money charged for extra content in articles (such as in the “WSJournal”) I’ve yet to come across it.
Summary
It looks to me that the “NYTimes” has created a model that all newspapers could adopt and possibly GROW their viewership. If you’re a fan of the “NYTimes,” I think that you’ll find that this is the equivalent of buying the Sunday Edition, but having it update itself as you carry it about all week.
Rating: 10 out of 10