AP to ‘push’ breaking news alerts to iPhone 3.0 users
The AP Mobile team is excited to use Apple’s “push notification” to send breaking news alerts to iPhone users.
During testing, Ing. Francisco Xavier González Alvarez, an AP Mobile beta user, witnessed a strong earthquake in Mexico City and got an AP alert a ”couple of minutes after the earthquake ended.” Alvarez told us the functionality is “a new level of real-time information.” And that’s
just what we hope to provide.
The AP reports a huge volume of news each day, but we don’t plan to “push” every headline. We realize that would be overwhelming and not terribly useful. Our editors will be selective. And when important news breaks that our users need to know, we’ll send an alert as soon as possible.
Please let us know what you think! We welcome your feedback.
Responding to your comments about AP Mobile 2.0.1 for iPhone
Thanks for all your feedback to 2.0.1. We would like to let you know that we are working on addressing all your great comments. In the next release we will ensure that the update process is seamless, story scrolling is much more smooth, the edit button on the More screen is reinstated and that you do not lose any personally stored information.
Some people have let us know that they liked having Top News as the first screen as opposed to the new fully customizable Front Page. If you like the earlier version better you can either navigate to Categories > Top News and leave the application on this page. Alternatively you can switch off all categories other than Top News Headlines and switch the number of stories to download in Settings to 5.
iPhone 2.0 Fix released to Apple App Store
A new version of AP Mobile has been loaded to the Apple App Store. Version 2.0.1 addresses the bug that some users were seeing when upgrading from 1.5.1. The new version also allows users to view weather in Celsius or Fahrenheit. We will update this post when the application goes live on App Store.
AP Mobile 2.0 for iPhone released
AP Mobile 2.0 has launched today on iTunes. You can download the application directly from iTunes App Store.
Please note: This is considerable update to AP News. Some users who already have 1.5.1 are experiencing problems upgrading to 2.1. We are working on a urgent fix to this but, in the meantime, please delete AP News from your phone before downloading and installing.
AP Mobile v2.0 Features include:
- Front Page, a simple way for you to choose your news.
- Choose Your News. Customize the application by switching on and off categories that interest you.
- Customize the number of stories that are shown on the Front Page.
- Select your region for region-specific news.
- Added localization for French and Spanish.
- Added current weather and five-day forecast.
- You can now choose which local papers show up in your weather tab.
- Changed application icon.
- Increased content (Health, Science, Press Releases).
- Control the size of the font you use to read stories.
- Read stories vertically or horizontally.
- Send to AP allows you to send breaking stories directly to AP from your phone.
- Send stories directly to Twitter and Facebook.
- Fixed photo viewer. Photos can now be stretched fullscreen.
- Fixed Story Rating.
- Read more than 10 stories in feeds.
- Major increases to stability.
- Bug fixes.
AP Mobile for Nokia launched on Ovi Store
AP Mobile for Nokia has launched on Nokia’s Ovi Store and was nominated by TechCrunch as one of the 10 must-download applications that every Nokia user should have. You can download AP Mobile for your S60 or Series 40 Nokia phone from Ovi or learn more about the application on the Nokia Ovi portal.
Vote for AP Mobile News to win the prestigious Webby Award!
Hi AP Mobile News Network Friends,
Thank you for all your feedback and support. You have helped make the Mobile News Network one of the most popular news applications in the industry.
We are honored to have been nominated for Best Mobile News Application in the annual Webby Awards. This is considered the internet’s highest honor, and with your votes we can win!
Please take the time to cast your vote at http://pv.webbyawards.com by April 30th. Tell your friends, tell your coworkers, tell the world that AP Mobile News Network is in a class of its own.
We are excited to continue improving and innovating the way you get the news. AP Mobile News Network keeps you in the Know on the Go.
Thank you for your support.
Vote for us!
Now get AP News in Spanish on your mobile phone!
Noticias de AP
UPDATE (5/1/09): RIM has temporarily removed foreign language applications from App World due to technical issues. It will be added again shortly.
Making its debut on April 1, Noticias de AP (Beta site at http://es.apnews.com) is targeted to Spanish speakers in America. The award-winning AP mobile platform delivers news in Spanish with the same features and functionalities as the English-language application.
You can also download the native client Spanish version of AP News, Noticias de AP, by going to BlackBerry App World on your BlackBerry device. The application will also feature advertisements from premium brands targeted to the audience.
Now get Canadian news content on your mobile device in English and French!
Les nouvelles sans fil de La Presse Canadienne
Developed by The Associated Press on its award-winning mobile platform, this all-in-one news application from The Canadian Press gives you the convenience of viewing, searching, saving, sharing and rating stories, photos and soon video – all displayed in a slick format and personalized based on your choice of postal codes and topics.
You can select news from your hometown or favorite cities from categories such as business, sports, hockey, entertainment, technology, science, travel and wacky news. Launching the app updates and caches your content to keep you in the know when you’re on the go, on a plane or underground.
The Canadian Press Mobile is your single access point to news from a growing list of reliable sources:
- The Canadian Press – Canada’s national news agency with more than 250 journalists reporting round the clock in English and French.
- The Globe and Mail – Canada’s No.1 national newspaper
- The Toronto Star – Canada’s largest daily newspaper
- CTV – Canada’s No.1 television network with coverage from British Columbia, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
- Transcontinental – Eastern Canada’s leading publisher with coverage from Nova Scotia, P.E.I, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.
- AP – The essential global news network
For a limited time, The Canadian Press is offering its mobile news application for an introductory price of $3.69 CDN ($2.99 USD) for a one-year license – Only a penny a day for credible news from multiple sources! The app will also feature relevant ads.
BlackBerry App World – You may need an update
When the BlackBerry App World launched on April 1st, some people who attempted to purchase and download the AP News or Canadian Press application received incorrect versions for their device and OS.
While our apps support older OS versions, it was determined that App World does not. This caused all devices – including phones with newer operating systems – to pull down the version for OS v4.0 and as a result, some applications are not working as well as they should.
The problem was quickly addressed by RIM but since it has taken some time to propagate through the network, we encourage you to check your device.
Signs you have an incorrect version:
1) Cannot navigate or move between categories using your trackball
2) Show a blue frame around the app on your Storm
3) Cannot use your touch navigation on the Storm
4) Show a persistent keyboard on the Storm
If you suspect that you have an incorrect version then you should do the following:
1) Go to your device settings and click “About” to check which version of the OS your device is running (e.g., 4.2, 4.21, 4.3, 4.6, 4.7, etc)
2) Then go into the AP or CP application that you purchased and check “settings/about.” Scroll down until you see the platform version. It should say something like “Blackberry 421 en.” For example, your device OS may be v4.6.0.167 but the platform version of the app might be BlackBerry 400 en. In this case the 400 version of the app is not compatible. You should contact support for instructions on how to get the correct version (which we will post here as soon as it is available), or respond to this posting.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Thank you for your continued support.
Show your support for AP Mobile!
AP Mobile Blackberry
Choose “AP Mobile News for BlackBerry” as Best in Show at CTIA Wireless 2009.
For the first time, you can see all the entries on a dedicated microsite. Visit the CTIA Emerging Technology Awards site and select “Mobile Applications & Widgets – Mobile Entertainment/Social Networking” from the dropdown. Mark it as a Favorite to vote.
The winner of the “Best In Show” award which will be announced at the E-Tech Awards Ceremony on April 2, 2009.
CTIA-The Wireless Association is an international nonprofit membership organization founded in 1984 representing all sectors of wireless communications.
