If you are looking for a sharp, interactive iPhone news app, be sure to add the MSNBC app to your list.
An initial cursory glance at the app isn’t very promising. Open it and you are greeted by the ubiquitous list of headlines, everything from “Husband, wife, cat found fatally shot” to “Ted Kennedy remembered in Boston.”
Just before you write the app off as dull and generic, however, look to the banner header at the top of the screen. There you will see the MSNBC logo and the word “menu.” Click on it, and it will take you to a cleverly designed and colorfully appealing interactive graphic.
The graphic is a 360-degree version of the MSNBC peacock feather logo, and each feather is a different color and a different news category. They include “Top Stories,” “World News,” “Business,” “Health,” etc.
Some of the categories include dozens of well-written stories, while others have just a handful of items. All are of appropriate length for reading within an iPhone app.
You’re not done. Across the top you will see tabs for other journalistic media, including “Shows,” “Blogs,” and “Twitter.” Click on the “Shows” tab, for example, and you get another feather graphic with links to all the MSNBC shows such as “Hardball” and “Dateline.”
MSNBC is an enormous news engine with a lot of personalities, but all in all the app does a great job of organizing and presenting its best content and programming.
