Blancspot iPhone App. Reading endless lines of black on white text? Bo-ring.
Scrolling through dozens and dozens of RSS feeds? So overwhelming.
Viewing gorgeous photos with the day’s headlines attached? Now we’re talking.
We don’t watch the evening news in black and white. Why should we read the day’s headlines in such a one-dimensional way? Well, the developers at Blancspot Media say we shouldn’t. Instead, they offer us Blancspot iPhone App, a quirky new iPhone app that offers a hip, image-centric way of viewing the news.
Open up the Blancspot app and it plays a cinematic sequence of stunning high-res photos that depict the headlines from around the world, as well as the top stories in Sports, Business, Politics, Culture, “War Room,” and the Planet. All these slideshows are set with smooth transitions and appropriate music, i.e. the Sports section plays an upbeat tune while the War Room has ominous tones in the background. (Truthfully, the music can be distracting at times.) At the bottom of the screen rests the headline for that image. Tap once to pause the slideshow and bring up the dashboard controls. Tap again to continue your viewing experience. If you’re impatient like me, you can swipe through all the pretty photos until you get to a story you want to check out.
Intrigued by an image of a man donning a red and white Viking helmet? (Well, I was…) Click on the headline below—“World’s Most Competitive Country?”—and you’re taken to an editorial summary of said article, in this case, one that claims Switzerland is the big winner. Scroll down and you’ll see the “Read More” section with links to external sources like CNN and Forbes where you can (duh) read more about the issue. Tap on one of these links and out pops the news article within the app—no need to switch out to Safari here. Finally, there’s the “Engage” section, which has additional information and links to help you learn more about the given issue. Every story you select is automatically paced in the your “My Channel” section for quick reference.
Want to let Sven, your buddy in Zurich, know that he resides in the “World’s Most Competitive Country”? Click the little people icon on the dashboard and up comes a screen allowing you to share this article with him via email, Twitter, or Facebook. Or if Sven’s got Blancspot on his iPhone, you can “Suggest” it to him and your fellow Blancspot buddies. Blancspot is adept in not only beautifying the news but also adding a social media component to it. If you select the blocks icon on the dashboard, you’re taken to a screen with four rows of images: Editorial (i.e. all the featured stories), Suggested (what articles your friends on Blancspot have suggested to you), Friend’s Activity (what your pals have been reading), and My Channel (what you’ve read). Of course, when you suggest stories to your Blancspot friends, that article will show up in their “Suggested” channel.
Slick and stylish as it is, Blancspot app for iphone is not without its faults. My biggest gripe is the lack of actual news content; users pretty much get whatever Blancspot’s editors decide to post. So where are my Tech and Travel sections? Moreover, the slideshows are a bit slow in loading and display each image a bit too long for my taste. I’d love it if the app could toggle between portrait and landscape mode (currently, it’s a landscape-only app). And there should be an option to turn off the background music, so that I can listen to my own music while using the app.
Overall, Blancspot’s polished design and unique premise far outweigh its few faults. It offers a new and unique way of taking in the news from your iPhone without straining your eyes and giving yourself a migraine in the process.
So for naysayers who argue that the daily news can’t be stylish and entertaining, Blancspot’s out there now proving them all wrong. Get this Blancspot iPhone News app in iTunes apps store here for only $0.99.
Rating: 4/5
Check Out These Too:
- Free Movie Apps for iPhone Best Free Movie Apps for iPhone - AppleRepo.com, If you're looking for a way to watch free movies and TV shows on your iPhone, there are plenty of options available.…
- Are You Looking For The Best IPhone Deals? Are You Looking For The Best IPhone Deals?. With the iPhone the excellence is in the details. Similarly, the best iphone deal is found when you can go through the…
- iPhone 3G Apps The iPhone 3G, which is the new model of the classic iPhone, offers state of the art performance and functionality that has brought about a new class of all purpose…
- New York Post Blocks iPad Users WASHINGTON - The New York Post (NYPost.com) started blocking iPad users from accessing its website in a bid to drive iPad owners to subscribe for its paid application. An iPad…
- When Does the New iPhone Come Out When Does the New iPhone Come Out - www.applerepo.com, One rumor suggest that in the month of September 2015 will be the iPhone 6S release. Some reports also say that…
- CNN Launches International News App for the iPhone Until now, the CNN news app for the iPhone has only been available to lucky residents in the United States. But now, CNN has launched their international app, making it…
- Free iPod Touch Apps for Travel; Tripadvisor One of the leading websites when looking for reviews of both hotels, restaurants and many other things is Tripadvisor. This website was set up many years ago and has now…
- How to Change iPod Language One of the barriers of having a unified technology is the language. Thus, changing iPod language could be the last thing you would do. Of course, you have to leave…
- Apple App Store Significantly More Profitable than Android The Apple App Store has been the centerpiece of iOS's application distribution system. Millions of iPhone users worldwide download apps and other fun things from the app store every single…
- Apple White iPhone Will Be Available By The End of April It has already been 10 months since rumored white iPhone came into being that immediately thrilled iPhone users and other technology geeks. This rumor has also been reported in Bloomberg…
- Friendly for Facebook The Friendly for Facebook app seems to be somewhat confusing. It looks like Facebook, and it feels like Facebook, so why isn't it just called the Facebook app? And, doesn't…
- Apple Explains iPhone 4 White Delay The Apple iPhone 4 is one of the most well known and most sought after phones in the world at the moment but for around 9 months now since it…
- Free Telegraph World Cup App for the iPhone With the Fifa World Cup starting today, it only makes sense that you'd want an app that you can download onto your iPhone and keep track of all your favorite…
- App Matrix for the iPod Touch Imagine an app that's like Tetris, the App Store, and well - the matrix, all in one. The App Matrix app for the iPod Touch is exactly that. This app…
- Viewing iPad Apps in Full Screen Mode The iPad is a great little device, there's no doubt about it. But you've gotta know that when you take features, such as apps for the iPhone and iPod, and…
- White iPhone 4 Device to be Released within Days The iPhone 4 was released by Apple quite a while ago now and still, we are yet to see the white version of the phone hit the market. The reason…
- Facebook's iPad App Arrives Facebook's iPad App Arrives Be it updating some status for likes and comments, engaging into fun-filled games on the go, talking to friends via chat, or reading their Wall posts,…
- TOP 10 FREE APPS FOR iPOD TOUCH Top 10 iPod Touch Apps Free. The iPod Touch is every music lover’s dream gadget. This unique gadget from Apple packs all the features a MP3 player ever requires. However,…
- Tony Hawk's Trick Tips Skateboarding iPhone App Stop playing with that thing and go play outside. Sound familiar? If you've heard this from your parents, or if you've said this to your kids, you're going to like…
- Android Gaining Points Over Apple? Apple is working double time. News about Apple is very unstable this week. If you haven't been reading to our other posts, some posts have been positive, while some just…
- iPhone 4 Available from China Unicom Today For current users of the iPhone 4 in China, or those who live in the country and were thinking about getting one of the new devices, this could be great…
- Now You Can Enjoy Matches and Live Games on iPod or iPhone Do you always miss on your favorite basketball league or other live matches while you are traveling or not at home? If your answer is yes and you are quite…
- Apple Discounting the iPad on Black Friday The iPad 2 has been the biggest seller from Apple for quite some time and despite the fact that the iPad 3 is just on the horizon the iPad 2…
- 5-0 Radio Police Scanner App for the iPod Touch Do you love to know what's going on at the police station, or within the firehouse? Do you often slow down when you see emergency crews gathered somewhere? Then you…
- How To Use Cloth and Organize Your Wardrobe In iPhone? Do you want to arrange the outfits you wear in different categories and keep those organized in your wardrobe? You don’t need an assistant or wardrobe adviser, but the popular…
- How to Get Free iPhone 4? How to Get Free iPhone 4?. Everyone wants the most recent and best gizmos, and this contains the really cool Free Apple iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the cost of the iPhone…
- How to Invert Colors on iPhone How to Invert Colors on iPhone - AppleRepo.com, When iPhone comes with a new feature, it is a good thing. In this case it is a good thing to be…
- What Does it Mean When Your iPhone Screen Turns White What Does it Mean When Your iPhone Screen Turns White. It is undeniable that iPhone can definitely give you good quality time especially when you are alone and have no…
- Solution for iBooks Crash Problem Solution for iBooks Crash Problem. It is said that a lot of iPad users are readers - that's why they bought the iPad in the first place. Well, if you…
- Apple 32GB iPod Touch I have had this Apple 32GB iPod Touch for about 1 week so far and I am happy about the purchase. I checked out the best buys in apple store…