February 2nd, 2011
News Corp’s The Daily: Too Much UI?
To be fair, I haven’t downloaded the app yet. But this video shows the dangers about too much UI in an iPad app. This is what I was warning against when I introduced the idea of using Lazy UI in regards to a comfortable, magazine-like experience of one-handed interaction on the iPad. The Daily seems almost too interactive, frankly.
What media companies can’t seem to wrap their heads around is the single-serve nature of apps. Instapaper makes reading articles great — and that’s it. Marco would never add sudoku puzzles!
It pains me that I have yet to see a news app that really deep dives into the news — the stories behind the stories, the facts and figures, the personalities, the history. Granted, this is a challenge that requires linking up a lot of structured data, but if there isn’t a great app in that, then maybe it’s time to get out of the news business.
IMO, the NYTimes will build this app first and potentially own the space. To everyone else, good luck with those sudoku puzzles.