Michal Ždanský In the Czech App Store, we can notice an interesting phenomenon that came from the USA. Every major media outlet, be it a newspaper or a news server, has its own app. The Aktuálně.cz server also came up with its initiative
Aktuálně.cz belongs to a respected news source, and its own application in the App Store was a relatively logical step. Although it offers its own RSS channels, so news can also be read using a regular RSS reader for iOS, the Aktuálně.cz application brings several additional functions.
The application environment is not dissimilar to competing efforts, and in this respect there is not much to invent. The main page is represented by a timeline of individual messages, which can either be updated by dragging or by clicking on the corresponding icon. Individual topics are then divided into tabs, and you can arrange their order in your field. Of course, there are more topics, so you can find more of them in the tab Next.
After clicking on the message, you will then see the entire article. Here comes my first gripe with the app. It displays both the upper and lower bar unnecessarily and there is not much space left for the text itself. The starting point would be full-screen mode, but you won't find it in Aktualně.cz, which is a shame. The second complaint is aimed at not using the potential of multimedia content. Although I can do without videos in the articles, at least the images in the article could be enlarged after clicking.
However, I appreciate the ability to adjust the font size, after all, not all of us have eyes like pike. Another nice thing is the possibility to save the article offline for later reading without the need for mobile data. Sharing the article on social networks + e-mail is already standard.
I will go back to offline mode. The application not only allows you to save articles for later reading individually, but also allows complete offline access. After activating it, all current pages will be downloaded to your cache, and then you can read news from home and abroad, for example in the Prague metro.
A small bonus is the photo tab, where you can view snapshots from various events with a comment for each of them. Here, working with photos is as you would expect from an iOS application.
From a graphical point of view, the application was very successful, it corresponds nicely with the parent website and is not particularly distracting. The control is also successful, which is as intuitive as possible, and there is help in the application for all cases. The application responds quickly, only the loading of images can sometimes slightly slow down the smooth operation.
Although the Aktuálně.cz application does not bring anything revolutionary to its competition, thanks to good processing, offline viewing options and, of course, quality content, it will surely win its fans. You can find it completely free in the App Store.
Aktuálně.cz - Free
Technically, Novinky.cz has the best revised app, I would put it here as a separate media reference application for the iPhone.
– very fast
– sophisticated and user-friendly interface
But at novinek.cz, I am terribly annoyed by their tabloid content and headlines, which do not describe the content of the article at all.
I don't understand why these apps are not automatically included in the iPad version as well...