Those who turn to the Gray Lady for all things political should be interested in its supplementary app NYTimes Election 2012 for iPhone and iPod Touch.
But let’s be clear — if you aren’t a subscriber to the New York Times’ digital offerings, you won’t be able to access most of the app’s content. Because of this, non-subscribers will only be able to read six of the top news links. You’d do better to snag political news from a source with no restrictions. If you do subscribe to the national newspaper of record, you’ll have access to all of the apps features including blogs from NYT Politics, FiveThirtyEight and The Caucus Blog.
The most comprehensive section of the app is the “election guide,” which features a primary and debate calendar, candidate profiles and updates, updated polls and a state-by-state look at polls and statistics. There’s also a multimedia section that offers videos and photos related to the election and candidates.
Considering this app is mainly for subscribers, I’m frustrated that it includes ads (for NYTimes products, but banners nonetheless). Additionally, I’m not sure subscribers will be interested in heading to a separate app to get this content. If this data is readily available from the regular NYTimes app then there’s even less of a point for NYTimes Election 2012 to exist as a standalone item.
Current subscribers have nothing to lose by downloading this app since access is already included, however, nothing in this app is unique enough to make non-subscribers open their wallets.
