I haven’t always been sure about the benefits of the iPad as a computing platform, but I soon realized why the iPad is the future of learning and social interaction.  Rupert Murdoch’s — The Daily — appeared for the first time yesterday as the new “news standard” for entertainment on my iPad for a price of 99 cents a week or $40.00USD per year after an introductory two week free trial.  I am underwhelmed by The Daily and I don’t expect it to last very long, even though Murdoch says he spent $30 million on the effort.

The biggest problem with The Daily is that it already feels outdated.  The title of “The Daily” is a clue to the point-of-view of this effort; “The Moment” — with rabid updates throughout the day — would have been a much better, winning, title.  The only thing fresh about The Daily is its subscription model.  The Guardian’s Eyewitness iPad App is much more visually and emotionally stunning, and for the fast delivery of insightful news analysis, you just can’t beat the free price of USA Today for the iPad.

The Daily is also really slow.  You touch on things to get action and there is a delay in registering those interactive proddings.  The articles are short and pale and wan.  Yawn.

Navigation is also confusing.  Do I touch a dotted timeline?  Do I touch the text menus?  Where is $30 million worth of intuitiveness?

The localization of Sports teams is great, but the same sort of customization should be done across The Daily.  Give me new and breaking news from my hometown.

USA Today, on the other hand, is fast and dynamic.  The App feels like a newspaper in your hand, but it doesn’t behave like one.  Content is updated throughout the day.

USA Today responds to your fingers.  You understand how to use USA Today on the iPad because you know how to use an iPad.  That’s a simple design aesthetic that makes interacting with the App natural and predictable.

When you find an article you want to read, the text is clear, and sizable, and nothing beats black text on a white page for ease of readability.  Swiping to the next page is fast.

I am not a fan of Rupert Murdoch and his damaging political proclivities posing as “unbiased news” — but I did have human hopes for the success of The Daily — but I don’t think it has the intellectual guts to survive very long behind a paywall when there are other, far better, freer Apps that already surpass what The Daily tries to do for money.

After my two week free trial, I won’t be signing up to pay for The Daily — and even if it were to go 100% free in the future — I don’t think I’d waste any more time on trying to figure out how to use it as a news source.

9 Comments

  1. David,

    Great reviews. I can’t believe they have the nerve to have advertisements (Pepsi Max) on something for which you are already paying. Glad to know I can skip this app when the time finally comes for me to get an iPad!

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Yes, the ads are just annoying. Some of the ads are full page monstrosities! Are you going to get an iPad 2?

  2. Pingback: Apple AirPrint on the iPad: The HP LaserJet CM1415fnw Review | Boles University Blog
  3. Bob Stepno – Radford, Va. – mild-mannered reporter who found computers & the Web in grad school in the 1980s (Wesleyan) and '90s (UNC); taught journalism, media studies, Web production; retired to write, make music, photograph sunsets & walks in the woods.
    bob stepno says:

    Thanks for the critical look at The Daily. I’ll add a link to it at http://aejmc.net/news in case any newspaper journalism educators are watching.

    By the way, I’ll count “rabid updates throughout the day” as a Foxy subconscious comment on Murdoch publications. 🙂

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Hi Bob!

      Thanks for the keen link! I appreciate it.

      Oooo! I love the “rabid fox” association you made — it must’ve been cooked in my subconscious mind!

  4. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    anne says:

    Hmmm. Not sure the point of it. And to pay, too? Don’t think so. I like more in depth reading.

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      I’m not getting the point of it, either, Anne. In fact, I find myself trying to navigate the mess and thinking, “$30 million for THIS?!”

  5. It’s not just “The Daily”. It’s the whole ipad. Even the ipad 2 has no usb, no memory card slot, it’s locked to one operating system, it has to be linked to another computer to download computer programs, no removable battery, and the initial price, while high, is just the beginning of all the costs associated with the device.

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      I don’t find the limitations of the iPad punishing, because I accept them as is, but I agree without the App Store and iTunes behind it, the iPad would be a dead starter. I was really hoping the iPad 2 would have a better screen and cloud sync — but I’ll probably buy a new one anyway.

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