When Web sites you know and love create their own iPhone apps, becoming a fan is a no-brainer. You already know what you’re getting into, you have your favorite writers and your go-to sections. But still, there is something extra special about applying all the things you treasure on a large screen to a much, much smaller screen, and still getting to enjoy the usual benefits.
On Slate‘s iPhone app ($1.99), you can look up the “latest” (core articles), the “slatest” (a stream of constant updates), their writers’ Twitter feeds, blogs, and more; such as podcasts, politics and art, just to name a few categories. Slate, the self styled magazine of news, politics, and culture, big or little, is a goldmine of information. I could be stuck on a deserted island for days, even weeks, and granted that island had a Wi-Fi connection and a power source where I could charge my iPhone, I would never get bored.
I had been considering going to see Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” but after checking out Dana Stevens’ article, “Don’t follow Tim Burton down this rabbit hole” I’m thinking maybe “The Yellow Hankerchief” would be a better bet? And reading Jonah Weiner’s “Giving Chinese Food the Poptimist-Revisionist Treatment” reinforced my incessant wonder as to whether I had ever really had “authentic” Chinese food or not, and now, would I ever truly know? It seems likely the mystery will prevail. One mystery that will not linger on, however, is whether the Slate iPhone app measures up to its online counterpart or not. With countless informative and interesting articles, plus access to videos, podcasts, and more, it does.
