NPR

NPR Review

by Chris Smith on June 27, 2010

National Public Radio is an institution in the United States, and here it sets the benchmark for what a radio application should be for Apple’s fledgling format.

The interface allows listeners to select bulletins from news, arts & life and music channels. News offers the latest national bulletins, while the latter sections offer features, reviews and interviews in the tradmark dry NPR delivery.

Listeners can also tune into the hourly news, while listening to live streams or adding programmes to playlists. The sliding “tapes” interface within the three categories makes it easy to navigate around the app, while clicking on a photo brings your chosen photo front and centre.

Double tapping that photo enlarges it to full-screen, with multi-touch capabilities. As well as on-demand radio news reports, you’re also able to read a story in text format, while the audio media player sits below the story. It’s also easy to find a local station by searching for the nearest station or tuning into a live stream from a chosen regional locale.

Granted, this application is more suitable for United States residents, but it’s an excellent glimpse at how functional and convenient how a radio-themed application be.

It’s clean, easy to use and instantly digestible. Naturally, it’s also very easy to share your favourite content via Facebook and Twitter. It’s a shame it’s not more relevant to a UK audience, but if the BBC needs a template….

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