The Guardian's updated iPhone app reviewed
The Guardian released an updated version of its iPhone app yesterday, with the most obvious change being a new subscription model.
The newspaper is replacing the one off charge of £2.39 with two new subscription options: £2.99 for six months or £3.99 for 12. I've been checking out the new app...
Great news: websites are completely free to run
A massive WTF moment interrupted my reading of The Observer's review of the paywall going up around the Times and Sunday Times.
Review: The Guardian's iPhone app
Having introduced a new mobile website earlier this year, The Guardian's iPhone app was released today.
The app, developed by 2ergo, is £2.39 to download, offers some useful features, such as offline browsing, and a customisable homepage. I've been trying it out this morning...
Q&A: Pluck's Stephanie Himoff on social media for publishers
Pluck provides social media platforms for brands and publishers, including News International, The Guardian, and Trinity Mirror.
I've been talking to Stephanie Himoff, who directs Pluck's European sales, about the company's social media tools, and how publishers can use UGC to drive traffic and increase engagement...
The Guardian makes its comments search engine friendly
The Guardian has introduced some welcome updates to its comments system, with comments now handled server-side instead of client side.
This means that the newspaper is not using javascript to display comments anymore, which brings with it a number of benefits, as pointed out by Malcolm Coles:
The New Statesman vs The Guardian - spot the difference
Redesigning websites is always a challenge. On the one hand you want to improve things and innovate. But on the other it’s a case of ‘why reinvent the wheel?’.
Why indeed? But even wheels should have their own identity. In some cases the idea of doing what works best isn’t executed with distinction.
Mirroring usability and functionality is one thing, but copying the look and feel from another website is not particularly big or clever. Especially when that website is one of the world’s larger media sites.
You be the judge...
Subscriptions preferred over micropayments in the UK: report
What the future of news online looks like has a lot to do with payment models. As publishers push ahead with their plans to go from 'free' to 'paid', how consumers are asked to pay for news content will play a significant role in determining which publishers succeed and which fail.
Despite lots of talk about micropayments, a newly-released paidContent:UK/Harris Interactive poll found that over half (53%) of British consumers would prefer to purchase a subscription to their favorite news site.
What does the Telegraph do better than the Guardian or the Times?
Many of the big newspapers have launched sites specifically for mobile users, Graham Charlton has recently reviewed several of them here. But are duplicate sites really the way to go? How do you work out what to include? Above all, what happens if after all your efforts a mobile user decides to access your standard site and gets a poor user experience there?
System Concepts has just tested the mobile and standard sites of three quality newspapers:The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian when accessed using a mobile phone. Our results clearly highlighted some of the issues brand owners face in deciding their mobile strategy.
Which UK newspapers have mobile sites?
I've reviewed the mobile sites of The Guardian and FT.com recently, and both are excellent examples of how newspapers can make their content accessible for mobile users, as well as creating more advertising opportunities.
With this in mind, I thought I'd see what all of the UK's national newspapers are doing with their mobile sites, how easy they are to find and access, and if they even have one...
Q&A: Guardian Mobile Product Manager Marcus Austin
The Guardian recently revamped and relaunched its mobile site, with the end result being a big improvement on the old version, making it now one of the better mobile news sites.
I've been asking The Guardian's mobile product manager Marcus Austin about the new mobile site, the thinking behind the design and features, and how it works across different mobile devices.
