Just one big catch: The app is loaded with reminders that, come next year, the free ride is over. You already have to set up an account to read most sections. Soon, you'll need a paid subscription. As a premium package, I don't think the New York Times app passes muster.
The content's all there, and that's wonderful, but the layout lacks imagination. Essentially, it's NYTimes.com without scrolling. Stories appear in a familiar thumbnail format, sometimes with images, and long articles are spread across several pages, navigated with finger swipes. Embedded video is a nice touch when available, and I like the photo and video galleries. Still, if you're hoping for a new kind of tablet reading experience, it's not here.
As the Times' own Nick Bilton wrote in his latest book, people don't really pay for words. "Imagine if I said I would sell you this book on Post-it notes," he wrote in I Live in the Future & Here's How it Works. "Would you still want to read it? Probably not. The experience would be terrible to consume." As it stands, the Times' iPad app is too much like a series of sticky notes, and not enough of a new take on delivering the news.
(Disclosure: I've written for the Times on a few occasions.)
This story, "New York Times Updates iPad App: Little Innovation" was originally published by Technologizer.