[Macworld]

Post your comments for Review: USA Today for iPhone here

[kirkmc]

"And, alas, there is no way to adjust the display type size."
That's a minor quibble? That, too me, is a dealbreaker. You expect everybody to be able to read the same size font?

[ibeetle]

kirkmc said:

"And, alas, there is no way to adjust the display type size."

That's a minor quibble? That, too me, is a dealbreaker. You expect everybody to be able to read the same size font?

I use the New York Times and Mobile News apps for the iPhone and there is no way, that I know of, to adjust font or display type size. Not sure, but I do not think any News apps allow one to make adjustment to font and such.

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Thanks for the review. I have seen the app on the App Store but I figured with NYTimes, Mobile News, and Sticher I did not really need another way and/or form of News on my iPhone.
Downloaded it based on your review. Nice app.

[leicaman]

So, McPaper has made it to iPhone. I guess that means peach pie recipes on the front page now?
(Obscure reference, not flattering to Gannett's dumbed-down mcnews.)
I won't be wasting space on that.

[bonesb]

The Review hit a few pretty good points. USA Today's got one thing they need to work on regarding their content, not their portals - the app's got the latest (but not much archived) data and their mobile web portal gets updates about once a week except for a few "latest stories" (their mobile web portal has stuff that hasn't moved in weeks...).
These guys need a subscription version that cuts out the ads, gets them some revenue, and pays the programmer to make something that works well.

[BenBoychuk]

kirkmc said:

"And, alas, there is no way to adjust the display type size."

That's a minor quibble? That, too me, is a dealbreaker. You expect everybody to be able to read the same size font?

In this case, it's a minor quibble because the type is readable for most.

Type size is my constant lament in these reviews. I have found only one app that does type size well, and that's Instapaper Pro. If I adhered to your dealbreaker standard, I wouldn't be reading much on my iPhone. For the most part, developers seem to settle on a typeface that is just barely on the readable side of smallish. I keep hitting this theme in hopes that more developers will follow Instapaper's lead.

[kirkmc]

Ben, when you ray "readable for most", how do you define "most"? Those young enough to not need glasses?
Most of what I've seen on the iPhone is too small for anyone over the age of, say, thirty (ie, people who need glasses). Maybe you fit into that category, but I think a lot of iPhone users don't.

[BenBoychuk]

I'm 37 and horribly nearsighted. And I get your point. I complain about this all the time whenever I review news apps, RSS readers and the like. But in this particular case, the text is readable enough. I do hope the developers adopt a feature to let users adjust the typeface in future updates, because it would make for a better all-around experience for the user.

[catheril]

I have to say that I love this app. I find myself checking it every night before I go to bed. I'm not really a news watcher or reader and it gives me just enough information in a great package. I especially love the weather info without having to go to the Weather Channel app. The photos are great and often striking and I've found myself wasting a bit too much time with the snapshot section. It's nice to have some concise, quick-loading news in a pretty/clean package. Download it.

[MacliferSteve]

The USA Today app is pretty well done - loads rather quickly so after a minute or less i've got everything loaded when I have a wifi connection... but it only seems to load sections as I OPEN THEM and not just load everything (like NYT does). Is this an error?

NYT does load pretty slowly since it's loading everything on board, but it provides a much meatier experience (as in real life) and can keep one busy for quite some time. It downloads all sections when opened (in just one section) and can take several minutes to load everything, depending on how many days are selected (in settings) to save.

I've never noticed any intrusive ads on the NY Times app... a small ad on the bottom of the screen, but it's never intrusive or troublesome.

It's great to see these apps for the iPhone/Touch and with each version they are rapidly improving. NYT has improved significantly from the rather poor first effort that froze or quit repeatedly... that issue is pretty much gone by this point.