Written Android App Review
Finally, the global news powerhouse BBC News makes their Android news app available in North America. I have half a dozen news apps on my Android device and like to consider myself familiar with the standards for mobile apps that come from the world’s biggest news orgs. Now let’s see how BBC News app stacks up against the competition in my Android app review.
Features
As expected, the BBC News Android app provides some of the best global coverage of any news organization out there. Their mobile app includes traditional print news stories, access to video of BBC’s World News Summary and audio of the World News Bulletin and Live BBC World Service radio coverage.
BBC News
Users may customize their news categories that display in the app and refresh the news feed manually or allow the app to update automatically via settings. And that’s pretty much it.
Maybe I’ve become a bit spoiled with Android news apps from the likes of Al Jazeera and CNN, but I expected a bit more. There are no options to save stories to peruse later or tag topics as favorites. There is no comment interface and no place to submit information or concerns via the app. There is a so-called share feature, but app issues render it useless.
Color me disappointed, but I expected more from the mother land’s baddest news organization.
User Interface
BBC News Android App’s user interface is clear and easy to understand, full of color images and bold subheadings. It’s all about scrolling if you want to access stories.
On the home page, scroll right to see some of the headlines under a specific topic. Scroll down to view the app’s news topics. Once you open a story, scroll right and left to view the next story in line in any specific grouping.
Though the app seems a bit scroll happy, there are a few stationary items throughout the app. Dedicated buttons include a play button linked to video and radio content, and a refresh button. Tap on the BBC News icon in the upper left-hand corner at any time to navigate back to the Android app’s home screen.
Stability
BBC News
I have no complaints about the general stability and functionality of the BBC News Android app. Stories opened correctly, the links to video and audio content functioned perfectly and I did not experience any devices issues due to the download. However, as I mentioned earlier, each page, I believe, is supposed to allow article sharing and I was only able to get the proper menu to appear twice, with some difficulty.
Value
If better global coverage is what you are after, BBC News Android app is a smart download. If you’re a news junkie like me, you’ll probably want bring this app on board as well. It’s an easy choice when the app is free. I do wish for more bells and whistles, but maybe that’s just the typical American in me talking.
BBC News
Android Apps Review Details: The BBC News app is free. This app requires Android 1.6 - 2.3.3. You may download Starbucks from the Android Market.
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