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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS
TheAtlantic Thinks Big In Small iPhone App  Insiders.” Now he might want to add his own publication to the list…perhaps on top.The Atlantic Wire iPhone App takes its feed of content from the newly launched TheAtlanticWire.com site that seems laser-focused on the political scene and the top opinion makers in the country. Interestingly, the portal approach to social and political commentary maps nicely with the mobile platform. The app is divided into a scroll of all the latest posts from the host Web site as well as sections for “Breaking” news and "Features." The Top 50 is TheAtlanticWire’s running list of most influential columnists. This is the quick way to find out what Paul Krugman, Rush Limbaugh and George Will (ranked #1, #2, #3 respectively) have uttered most recently. In a rare outbreak of smart mobile-friendly design, the listing for each columnist doesn’t just link the user to the original columns but actually provides helpful quotes from their most recent writings. It is truly a digest format that gives you essential fly-overs of the most important ideas being bandied about at the moment among the punditocracy. Many of the feature articles are synopses of press coverage and columnist opinion on breaking news as well. CNN used a similar approach in its recent news app. Bullet points sit atop most CNN Mobile stories so the mobile user can get the “sound bytes” version of things on the go. As mobile content development moves beyond mere repurposing of Web material it has to take mobile use cases more seriously in re-architecting content. Atlantic publisher Jay Lauf tells minonline that TheAtlanticWire program is different from the typical news app because "of "the editorial mission itself, which is to scour the world of opinion – in print, online, radio, TV, wherever – and distill it contextually for time-starved people who want or need to know the arguments on the various sides of the important issues. We want to be the one stop for understanding what the arguments are so smart people can decide for themselves and/or delve deeper where they want to know more." Arguably, the mobile version of TheAtlanticWire is even better than the Web site. If you like information concentrated and concise, as well as the format, then the iPhone matches the editorial mission of the site itself. It does what a smart mobile architecture should do: letting the user scrape information quickly as the default mode and then offering the opportunity to drill if they like. The app sports a branded TheAtlantic bar on the bottom of most screens which will bring up the full version of TheAtlantic.com for those who want the broader and deeper Web experience of the main site. Could this smart little app be better? Sure. Some customization wouldn’t hurt. Why shouldn’t a reader be able to assemble a tab of their favorite columnists from the Top 50 so they can cherry pick favorite blowhards for even quicker access? And a real picture here and there wouldn’t be so bad either, we think. We know the app is supposed to be serious, but all text all the time is just a bit tedious. Lauf says that TheAtlanticWire also anticipates a TheAtlantic.com iPhone app set to launch next month. Apparently the brand's mobile presence will evolve. The upcoming app, Lauf says, "will tease our site’s content for fans or new readers with an eye toward a richer, more comprehensive app that we will charge for in the near future." If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com COMMENTS
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