Electropages, whose iPhone app downloads are in the hundreds of thousands, has launched an iPad app, Electronics News HD. With consumer apps such as Flipboard setting the bar very high for “news”, it might feel impossible for a publisher in our industry to compete, but I think Electropages have done a fabulous job.
They’ve understood that the key to success on Apple platforms is a stunning design: Electronics News HD looks fantastic. The menu navigation is intuitive, there is ample product news to browse, and navigation from one story to the next is quick and easy. The app integrates video as well as the Electropages Twitter feed, and lead generation is built in, with a very simple “two touch” way to request more information.
There is a significant amount of sponsored content, with a “featured news” as well as sponsor news “channels”. As you can just view the main stream, this sponsored content doesn’t become annoying.
The app is really well thought out, right down to recommending other electronics industry apps that you might want to download (promoting the advertisers/sponsors).
Electropages has a real challenge on its hands, as the content it provides is not original editorial, but effectively the same press releases that every other site can publish. They’ve clearly recognised this, and decided the way to succeed is to offer the best experience to the user, and so far they definitely have achieved this goal on the iPad. I hope other publishers will learn from this app, which has had thousands of downloads in the short time since it appeared in the iTunes store.
