Apps, apps, apps. This seems to be the theme for a number of websites that are admitting to us that they have absolutely zero confidence in their mobile site design and we should download yet another application to our already overcrowded device menus. But why would they want to do this?
To be completely honest, I'm surprised that mobile news sites are not more forward thinking than everyone else. News organizations, if we are to believe all of the articles that lament the death of the publishing industry, are clamoring for our attention and money. Would it not make sense to try and keep us on their mobile sites as long as humanly possible rather than inside an application?
Mobile versions of newspapers can be so much more dynamic than they currently are. This doesn't mean they should be loaded down with RAM-hungry JavaScript or big images in some seemingly randomly generated collage. What I'd like to see is some different layouts, better-placed advertising1, and some better "More Information" links. Reading about Mars on Guardian is fine, but wouldn't it be nice to have a link to the official NASA page as well that contains more information on current missions?
Alas, we'll likely continue to see stuff like this from sites for the next few years. The newspaper industry hasn't been ahead of the curve in over a century.
