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news:yc (iPhone HN client) finally accepted into the App Store

newsyc.me

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Re: news:yc (iPhone HN client) finally accepted into the App Store

#4

Post by news-yc »

veyron wrote: post #2

5 bucks ??? What's the value-add? Also why is there no iPad version? (replying from an iPad btw)

The value is in an interface for HN that actually makes sense for an iPhone: no tiny voting arrows that don't work with fingers, no comment box that you need to scroll back and forth to see what you're typing, comments that fit the screen's width at a hopefully-readable font size.

Maybe it isn't worth five bucks, that's just where I decided to try out pricing to start. But I did try and make it as easy as possible to use if you don't want to pay: it's free if you build it yourself. (I even submitted it to the pirate sites so those without a dev certificate can install it too.)

Edit, iPad version: I am planning on making one, but Hacker News is usable as it is on the iPad in the browser, there's much less of an advantage for a native client.

Re: news:yc (iPhone HN client) finally accepted into the App Store

#5

Post by news-yc »

zoowar wrote: post #3

I can read HN on all mobile devices with a web browser. What value does a platform specific app provide?

The HN website works on a phone... but it's hardly where you would want to read it. If you are trying to read the comments, once you're zoomed out enough to see the whole width, the font is usually too tiny to read. And then, to vote on one, you have little tiny buttons that even at the max zoom levels are hard to tap (I've seen quite a few comments apologizing for tapping the wrong arrow on the iPhone).

Now, a platform-neutral website can do what news:yc does too: http://ihackernews.com/ is a good one. But, for the same reason that Twitter clients are popular, some people just like to have one that's built native for their platform.

Re: news:yc (iPhone HN client) finally accepted into the App Store

#6

Post by Greenisus »

news-yc wrote: post #4
veyron wrote: post #2

5 bucks ??? What's the value-add? Also why is there no iPad version? (replying from an iPad btw)

The value is in an interface for HN that actually makes sense for an iPhone: no tiny voting arrows that don't work with fingers, no comment box that you need to scroll back and forth to see what you're typing, comments that fit the screen's width at a hopefully-readable font size. Maybe it isn't worth five bucks, that's just where I decided to try out pricing to start. But I did try and make it as easy as possible to…

I'm an iOS developer, and I think $5 is a bit steep to simply try it out. I'm going to build from source and then buy it if I like it, but you may want to consider making some sort of free version that people could use to evaluate it.
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