The AP launched an update to its AP Mobile app for the iPhone and iPod Touch today, which is now available in the Apple App Store. This is an update based on user feedback from a soft launch of version 2.0 last week.
“In the next release we will ensure that the update process is seamless, story scrolling is much more smooth, the edit button on the More screen is reinstated and that you do not lose any personally stored information,” Benjamin Mosse said on the AP Mobile Blog after that launch.
With the new app, users are able to customize their own “Front Page,” so that they can control what news they see. They can pick from over 50 different news categories. Users also have control over the number of stories displayed for each category.
Some other features in the update include:
– Global Regional Selection to get news from specific countries/regions
– Language localization
– Weather selection (radar/satellite view, temperature, conditions, highs/lows, hourly forecast, etc.)
– Health and Science channels
– Twitter-enabled sharing
– “Social networking-friendly” video and photo sharing
– Update to the “send to AP” feature, where users can report breaking news
– Press release channel
“With this newest Apple App Store release, we look forward to continuing to be a leader in the mobile news space,” said Jeff Litvack, Geneal Manager of the AP’s mobile and emerging products. “When the decision was made for AP to enter the mobile market, our team decided that the revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch were the natural choices for the development of our innovative news application, and that move has paid off in spades. For the month of April, we found that iPhone users visit AP Mobile five times more often than other smartphone users.”
AP offers the mobile app free of charge at the Apple App Store. If you’ve used it, let us know what you think about it.
