Channel NewsAsia revamps iPhone and iPad app

Channel NewsAsia has revamped its iPhone and iPad app. It now offers customisable features, live news updates and improved navigation. Channel NewsAsia's E-News vice-president Yeo Hock Lin said: "We see escalating numbers of users accessing content using mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. "When it comes to news, consumers with devices in their hands expect to make full use of them to watch and read their choice of content wherever they are." The first version of Channel NewsAsia's iPhone app was launched in March 2009 and has racked up more than 500,000 downloads. With the addition of support for the iPad's tablet format, the new app hopes to build on that popularity with a wealth of new content and features. "The iPad has come up as the dominant device that our consumers are using to access information or to work," Yeo said. "So for any app, it is almost a must-have device to include." The app has undergone a facelift to make it more intuitive and easier to use. The modular interface features multiple personalisation options, so that users can choose to see all the news that is most important to them first. The redesigned app also enhances the news experience, with a real-time news ticker that displays breaking news as well as a fullscreen photo gallery that takes advantage of the iPad's higher-resolution screen. Weather forecasts are now location-based. Users can also  take part in Channel NewsAsia's polls without leaving the app. Integration with online social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allows easy sharing of news stories with friends and family. Users can participate by sharing user-generated content from within the app. Articles can be downloaded for offline reading, and users can build a favourites list, saving articles for up to three days. In addition, viewers of Channel NewsAsia's TV programmes can set reminders for their favourite shows, so they will not miss them. Catherine Dickie, assistant vice-president of digital product development and marketing for Channel NewsAsia, said: "This iPad/iPhone app gives consumers a choice to effectively take Channel NewsAsia with you wherever you go. "Never before has access to Channel NewsAsia content been made easier than now."