Historically, I haven’t been a huge fan of iPhone apps produced by the developer Zumobi. However, while the new Meet the Press with David Gregory iPhone app (free) doesn’t offer any content you can’t see on the show’s Web site, Zumobi seems to have stepped up its game in terms of design and user friendliness.
“Meet the Press,” one of television’s longest running programs, is known as America’s No. 1 Sunday morning public affairs broadcast. Now through its iPhone app, viewers don’t have to worry about missing an episode—the best clips will be available through the iPhone app, along with expanded Web extras called Take Two. I had no issues streaming video over 3G and they played flawlessly over Wi-Fi. Meet the Press also has good Facebook and Twitter integration and features audio and video podcasts.
Meet the Press is beautifully designed, using a horizontal scroll bar to separate its sections. Currently, Boeing is the iPhone app’s exclusive sponsor, but, surprisingly, the company’s banner ads don’t detract from the iPhone app’s content. However, the videos that appear in the Take Two section have ad trailers, likely because they are Web exclusives pulled from the normal site.
Meet the Press has room to expand, though. Although David Gregory’s Twitter feed is integrated, his blog is not. I’d also like to see Zumobi include a search function, transcripts and a schedule of upcoming guests. And, as always, I’d like to see Meet the Press roll out some content exclusive to its mobile platforms to ensure users keep the iPhone app around.
