Review of new Mashable iPhone app
Yesterday Mashable.com announced an app for iPhone users wanting to browse the site.
My rating for this app, read on for details, is two out of five mobile-app monsters. The basic app is good, but the features need tweaking for this to be a great app.
Here are the free app’s features, per Mashable’s post:
- Fast-loading Mashable headlines: Click through to Mashable to read the full story
- Mashable Tweets on Your iPhone: Find social media stories from all around the web in the Mashable Twitter feed, included in the app
- Mashable Posts and Tweets Open within the app: A built-in browser opens the pages without leaving the app, saving the time usually wasted on opening Safari
- Social Media Events Calendar: Get upcoming social media events on your iPhone
- Slick Design: By our design partner, Jess3
I’ll agree that the app has a slick design, but that’s where the features wear off for me.
Headlines: Those fast-loading headlines are great, but when you click it takes you to the full Mashable site. No mobile-version. Not a terrible experience, but really misleading to put a glossy iPhone app front over a non-mobile site.
Mashable tweets: What a well-designed page! But I find it, for the most part, pointless. And that’s because the recent tweets by Mashable are often just links back to the Mashable blog. I could see including the tweets if they at least half of the time provide information not included in the blog.
Built-in browser: I’ll admit it’s nice to have an in-app browser. Very cool.
Events calendar: Another cool feature.
Slick design: Yes, but there are two problems I have with the design. One: no settings are available for the app. A little customization would be nice. And, two: the little badge (numbers that display over the app icon, see in screenshot at top-left below). Plan to open the app, read a few headlines and close it? Mashable will nag you with a persistant number of how many more articles you need to read. I like a badge for my tasks app or for application updates, but not for Mashable.
The unlisted feature, paid ads: Yep, there’s a tab in the app for “featured applications.” Can Mashable be a little more clear and just call those paid ad spots?
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