NPR Mobile – Review

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On December 24, 2008

App Type: Uncategorized

NPR Mobile – Review

Our rating:

By: Bradley Flubacher

Version #: 1.0

Date Released: 2008-12-11

Developer:

Price: 0.00

User Rating:
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This isn’t another app for streaming radio. No this is an app for streaming NPR radio.

As a streaming application it works well enough. When you tap the "listen" icon for a specific article it launches the iPhone or iPod touches QuickTime mobile application. What makes this application different is three things.

First it provides multiple ways in which to find the content you want. When you first launch the application it offers you six different selections — topics, columns, programs, series, bios, and musical genres. Tapping any one of those leads to a secondary menu that allows you to see a variety of articles that fall under that specific area. In other words, information is sorted in multiple ways making it easy for you to find the information you’re looking for in multiple ways.

For example, having columns yields a number of subcategories, each of which has further division beneath it. If you tend to not search by specific keywords or articles, however, you’d also select the programs area and select specific program you’re looking for. You’re then offered a list of stories that have been aired during that program in recent weeks and months. Love "All Things Considered"? You to jump right to its archive of episodes. Can’t get enough of "Wait With…  Don’t Tell Me?" You can listen to Peter Sagal all you want.

But what if you’re not a fan of hierarchical menus? What if you just want to find programs on a specific topic or involving a specific personality? In such a case you simply jump to the "search" tab and enter your keywords.

And after you’ve used the application for a while there’s a third and even more effective way to find the content you want — simply select the "bookmarks" tab and all of your favorite programs and episodes will be listed.

Finally, what I especially like about the application is the fact that there are many times when offers not just access to the audio recording of a program that offers a transcription as well. It’s not unlike quite as much as options.

If you notice there’s nothing thus far about the actual media player other than a reference to the fact that selecting an article opens to the QuickTime mobile application. There’s a reason for that. You see, this is a fabulous application for people who love NPR. And they know what is reflected in this application — National Public Radio is about the content first and foremost. And this application gives you a super way to access it.

Quick Take

Value: 
very high
Would I Buy Again:  absolutely — this application has a permanent  place on my iPhone
Learning Curve:  very low
Who is it for:  national public radio addicts
What I like:  works well, gives a tremendous amount of excess to NPR content, allows you to access the content through a variety of search mechanisms
What I Don’t:  nothing

Final Statement:  NPR Mobile is short on flash… long on content. Just the way Ilike my Public Radio. This is a great application and a welcome release. This is a "must have" for anyone who listens to NPR and has an iPhone.

 

Read the Developer's Notes:
Browse NPR content by Program, Series, On-Air Personality, and more.



NPR Mobile provides you with an easy-to navigate application interface for finding the program segment you'd like to hear. Stream the radio program, read the available story text and view any available image.
O U R   T A K E . . .

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