People Start Noticing That The Web Competes With iPad Apps
from the well,-there-you-go... dept
Back in February, when many in the media were insisting that iPad apps were going to save the media business, we wondered why all the stuff they were talking about sticking in their apps couldn't work on the web as well. It appears that others are noticing that as well. Jason Fry at the Nieman Journalism Lab is noting that publications' own websites may be the biggest competition to their iPad apps -- and he was apparently a big believer in the concept of iPad apps originally. But after using the iPad for a while, he's realizing that the web is pretty good again:After about a week of using the iPad, I started deleting apps, because the websites themselves were perfectly adequate. This is the reverse experience of the iPhone. On the iPhone, the browser was used only in emergencies, and apps ruled. On the iPad, at least for now, the opposite is true -- the browser is superb, and renders many apps superfluous.Of course, I can see some in the media getting the wrong idea out of this, and using it as an excuse to put "exclusive" content only in the app... but, that will just leave them open to competition from publications who add more value to their website.
That complicates things for news organizations. Many have already put too much faith in the idea that being able to charge for apps will reinvigorate their financial prospects. Now, they have to confront the reality that their apps may compete with their own websites -- and right now the apps don't win that competition.
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Filed Under: apps, html, ipad, iphone, journalism, news, web
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Android ?
Freedom
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Re: Android ?
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TD renders fine on the native browser on my G1. And load times are acceptable even on EDGE. Alternatively, you can always add a TD feed to your iGoogle and read articles from there. Can't read or add comments though.
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Since about 2004 we've had a mobile version:
http://techdirt.com/index_lite.php
It's set to autorecognize most smartphones and take you directly there, so pretty much all of your statements above are false.
Please make sure you know the facts before posting. Thanks.
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Re: Re: Re: Android ?
Just FYI, it doesn't auto-detect on mine (HTC Hero) and redirect. Interesting, Digg does detect and gives you the option to download an App which is nice.
I'll give the index_lite.php URL a try and see what happens.
Thanks!
Freedom
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Yeah, it purposely doesn't do it on the iPhone, because people told us that it worked fine in full version on the iPhone...
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It eventually does on mine as well, but the full page takes a relatively long time to download.
I typically have a few minutes free here and there and having to wait a minute to just get the page, and then re-tweak it to fit so I can read it well and so on is just a hassle.
In my perfect world, the phone just syncs the articles and I can pull up within 5 seconds the text of the articles that is also already properly formatted for the size, etc. (i.e. an app).
Freedom
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Will be replacing with EVO next month :)
Freedom
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Despite the rant about Apps being worthless here :), an App that would just perioidically download the articles and have the ability to comment would be nice.
I think maybe I'm looking for a RSS feed reader??? I'm just new to really using a phone for more than a phone and e-mail reader so I was curious as to what everyone else is doing.
Thanks!
Freedom
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Re: Android ?
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Re: Android ?
Interesting. We do have a mobile "lite" version, that many phones auto-recognize, but perhaps it's not set to do that on android. I'll have someone look into it.
Otherwise, you can do directly there: http://techdirt.com/index_lite.php
Separately, though, I have looked at the full site on Android phones, and it worked fine for me, so if you could let us know what doesn't look right, that might help us see if we can fix it.
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Re: Re: Android ?
I'm not a web programmer, but here are the some interesting parts of http headers that are sent to a test server from my HTC Hero/Android Phone when I connect to a website using the integrated browser. Might help to figure out why the automatic redirect to the lite code isn't working???
x-wap-profile: http://device.sprintpcs.com/HTC/*
user-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update2 (freshhh); en-us; A6277 Build/ERE27) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17 Sprint APA6277KT)
I'm totally confused about the Android phone using 'Mobile Safari' and 'AppleWebKit', but either way, that is what is being sent from the phone to the web server.
As you can see, I'm running a root'd firmware so I may just be a special case, but the full/non-lite version is pretty useless for me for whatever reason. I did try the lite version and that is working great - THANK YOU!
I'll also try the iGoogle/Google readers as well. Appreciate all the help from everyone...
Thanks!
Freedom
P.S. Maybe a FAQ section??? I think we all forget that even those in tech sometimes need help!
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And, Mike was still correct, you should have checked your facts before posting--which could have been accomplished by a simple polite question.
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But I think you know this already.
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Like pointing out he had a mobile site in 2004?
or that he had an RSS feed for a long time?
Those aren't excuses. Those are proof that your original accusation was wrong about the facts.
But I think you may be partly right, in spirit. And from the comments, it seems Mike is aware (partly through your initiative) "perhaps it's not set to do that on android. I'll have someone look into it."
But, of course, he didn't respond that way to you, because you come of like...well, a total dick.
You are right that more could be done, and more testing is in order. I don't think Techdirt is perfect, and I'm pretty sure no one else does either. With unlimited time, and unrestricted resources, everything everywhere could be improved. Why would this site be an exception?
So Techdirt could be improved. More than one feature may be lacking. But staff at Techdirt are busy on other useful things. And unlike the RIAA, DRM, the USPTO, etc, at least this blog isn't constantly doing work that @#$@s its community, lies for money, blocks competitors, reduces the richness of the world, or works against its own long-term interests.
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Dear publishers,
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JooJoo
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Even though I swore at first my G1 was an expensive boat anchor, I'm really starting to appreciate the potential, led by user-created and submitted apps (the G1 programming language is open-source), something you can't do with the IPAD or the IPHONE. I don't need or want a closed-in wall.
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This is the promise and untapped potential of the open-source Android programming language. Anyone can stake a claim, come up with a good programming idea and upload the finished product to the G1 marketplace.
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Oy.
Guess where you were expected to develop?
I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with 'Deb.'
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Re: Oy.
Needing more hints here... ;-)
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Long as we're looking for irrational solutions...
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Also, not completely off-topic but...
C.R.E.A.M.
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Okay, here's the thing...
I find myself primarily using it for the thing I suspected I would: reading the news on my couch. There is only one newsstand application that I found worth the time (Zinio), but the titles are generally priced higher (hardcopy price) than I'm willing to pay for a magazine that I can only read on an electronic device, when my wife isn't using it, and that I can't give away when I'm done with it. The individual magazines (sold as applications) aren't very compelling either. Yeah, I know there are some "gee-whiz" animations and value-adds built into them, but by and large, it's the same story.
So what do I do? I read Google News. I don't even like to go on forums or blogs with it, because the typing sucks. My wife plays solitaire on it, and my son likes the Toy Story app, so it's not a bad thing.
The iPad can't save magazine publishers from themselves. And that goes for almost all apps: I won't pay more than $1.99, in general. Yes, I realize that a lot of work went into making them; but when you price over half of your prospective customers out of interest, you're putting all that hard work to waste.
I've heard the argument made that, "You can't just expect big magazines to slash their digital copy prices; they've got a lot of overhead!" And my response is that I don't. But you can't just expect me to buy it, either.
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There's an app for that...
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go back to your ipad seriously
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Design/convenience
The reason I think that way is better than inverting it (full version with a link to light) is that the light version loads faster. If readers are having to wait for the full page to load before following the link to the light version it's a bit inefficient and frustrating. But if they load the light and then decide to chance the full, that will allow them to take more control of the experience and to do so more quickly.
Also, I think Mike's handled this pretty graciously, considering this isn't a support article, the technical subject has taken over the topic, and there's a genuine interest in solving the problem rather than dismissing it.
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Android TechDirt App???
Sadly, I was thinking about this issue this morning, and I came to the conclusion that an Android App for TechDirt would rock!
Here are my reasons why:
1. An Android TechDirt (TD) App can download the articles on a set interval. Many benefits - reading offline on a plane, quickly viewing when in spotty coverage areas, etc. that just aren't available via a web interface model.
2. An Android TD App can allow for comments, logons, etc. Maybe even a little social networking - here is everyone within a 1/4 miles that is reading TD or reads it?
3. An Android TD App can be setup for push notifications - for instance I get notified at the start of my local baseball team's game and every 3 innings. Not sure how that directly relates to TechDirt, but it is a neat tool/opportunity...
3. An Android TD App can be another revenue source - either via Ads or paying for it. Money is goooooood.
4. You love to experiment with different business models, and an Android TD App is a different business model.
5. In general, phones (Android, iPhone, or otherwise) just aren't great platforms for standard webpages. As most folks have seen, the iPad does well with webpages and the need for apps isn't as great as initially thought, but a phone's screen size, and interface constraints, and potential spotty data coverage mean that an App can be tailored to mask the shortcomings of phone/smaller devices.
6. By making an Android TD App excluse to the Android platform, you can in a small way help to grow a platform that most closely matches you'll core ideals.
I know that you tend to highlight how old-media thinks that Apps are their savor, but that doesn't mean that Apps don't have a place for new-media (and old-media) though.
Respectfully,
Freedom
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Re: Android TechDirt App???
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We'll look into it... We're working on a bunch of other stuff right now, but I'll see if we can add this to the list. Don't expect it right away though.
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Re: Android TechDirt App???
Haha, as long as it's configurable! I would probably need something like "everyone within a 350 mile radius who has heard of TechDirt". ;-)
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Apps are worth it ..
I happen to disagree and think the iPad is the future of content delivery and information aggregation.
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