Does the NYT iPhone App live upto its promise?

Published on March 15, 2010 3:04 AM | | Comments () |
NYT iPhone ApplicationI really like The New York Times. Visiting its website for the latest news and commentary is a part of my daily morning ritual. It has been for a while and will probably be for a long time. However, when it comes to the NYT iPhone application, I'm left a little disappointed with the revenue model and functionality. Here's why.

  1. Being able to access the news on my iPhone anywhere is powerful. In fact, it is so valuable that I'd be willing to pay for it (especially if I don't have to see those pesky advertisements that take up precious real estate). I cannot understand why the NYT never considered charging for access to its content via the iPhone. I'd have more than happily paid a small subscription fee. Or at the very least they could have charged a few dollars for the application. The content is totally worth it and I'm confident a lot of people would happily pay for the application. Charge $2 for the application and the NYT would make at least $2 million.

  2. Our digital lives are becoming hyper personalized. Any digital product experience has to compete with the hyper-personalization of Facebook's newsfeed. With that in mind, I cannot understand why the NYT iPhone application does not include location aware capability. Maybe it is coming in a future release? Please let me automatically scan local news by recognizing where I am. With the local news market getting more competitive by the day (especially in New York), this feature is of paramount importance. 

  3. Sharing does not equal to social media. The NYT iPhone application lets me email, text, tweet and publish articles to Facebook. That's great but it isn't enough for me. Why can't I read the comments published at the end of the story? Why can't I respond to the stories via comments of my own. The New York Times is valuable not just for its stellar editorial but also for the vibrant conversations that surround the stories. The iPhone application is sorely lacking by not letting me view the comments published at the end of the stories and by prohibiting me from commenting myself.

  4. Social filters. This one is a gripe with both the iPhone application and the website. Increasingly, I use my friends (as do many others) as filters for what I should read. The stories that interest them typically are of interest to me as well. Why can't I see what stories are popular with my own social graph? On the road, with even less time to read than while at a desktop computer, having social filters are all the more important. The Huffington Post Social News website does this well.
That's it - four reasons why I'm not a fan of the NYT iPhone application. I'm a loyal reader of The New York Times but wish the application would offer more and have a revenue model so that I don't have to see those ads. Unlike most other applications, the NYT does not have a content problem and it is free to focus on making the experience rich and dynamic. Please do so. I'm even willing to pay for that experience. Special thanks to Ana Andjelic as conversations with her inspired this post.

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