Newsflash

Developer: Kevin Karsch (University of Missouri)
Category: News
Version: 1.0
Release Date: April 26, 2009
Size: 0.6 MB
Price: Free
Rating 10/10

Newsflash was developed by students at U. of Missouri for the Donald W. Reynolds Institute's 2008/9 iPhone Competition, an event sponsored by both AT+T and Apple. With those credentials it should be obvious that this is not your run of the mill slapped together test project indie app. Newsflash is a high caliber news application that hides behind a home-made indie looking interface.

I am a serious user of multi media news sources, my day starts with the NYT and coffee, and I may hit a dozen or more other sources during my regular daily work routine. When my routine gets broken up by travel or other commitments is when I go to the iPhone for news. Traveling in particular, on public transportation when I can't bike, or on longer trips with waits and  layovers, mobile news access has become a core necessity. I added the Newsflash app a few months ago, and it has held it's own, occupying a place next to the WSJ, NYT, AP Mobile and the BBC reader apps. Some serious company.

The Newsflash interface is slickly retro. There are nine icons on it's first screen, representing different news genres; Politics, Headlines, Technology, Business, World, Entertainment, Sports and Health. Newsflash searches for the most recent articles in each genre, and you can select a "More Articles" option in each one until you find exactly that you like. The news comes from any and all news sources available. There is also a "Most Recent" option which will pull only the newest articles.

The very first icon is the real deal-maker for me, it is customizable to get local news depending on where you are by using GPS. Getting local news no matter where I am, without going to the laptop, is where I feel like the power of Newsflash lies. Getting news from my hometown newspaper and surrounding communities is fantastic. The local news option can also be tweaked by entering the name of any town or any zip code and receiving that local news instead of the GPS configured sources closest to you.

Newsflash is a totally obvious choice for any iPhone user who in any way relies on their phone for news and information. Because it draws from numerous sources it gives a very well rounded view of what is happening in your town, your county, your region, your state, the country, the continent, the world. The cool retro icon looks proud sandwiched between the timeless fonts of the NYT and WSJ icons, and it should be, because for me it's become as necessary as they are.