CNN Charging For Its iPhone App

HardOCP News

[H] News
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Raise your hand if you think this is going to work.

There's been a lot of talk this year about finally charging readers for news, especially on mobile devices, where media executives see a chance to condition consumers to handing over a few dollars for a constant stream of updates to their pocket. CNN is among the first big news outlets to give it a shot. Its app costs $1.99 to download.
 
1. Open iPhone browser.
2. Go to http://m.cnn.com
3. Hit the + button and select "Add to Home Screen"

You have a CNN link - for free.
 
So why does CNN think readers will pay for its iPhone app instead of choosing one of its myriad free competitors?

Simply put, CNN thinks its app is better.

I'm afraid they're going to be sorely disappointed.

+1 to Azhars' post. WTF is the logic behind using the app?! Just use the site! lol
 
The type of people that actually got this app to begin with will probably pay the $1.99.
 
Why don't we all just send 1.99 to CNN...........????:eek::eek:

What a dopey idea..........for now.

Soon we are going to have to pay for everything.

Who would have thought people would pay for a bottle of water????
 
Wow you jump to conclusions faster than fox or CNN combined don't you? I don't watch that crap either.

That reminds me of the movie Live Free and Die Hard.

McClane: You got something against the news too?
Farrel: Are you kidding me? The news is made for just one purpose - fear.
 
I think they are trying to get all the people who "want to buy Apple apps" and quickly would just click on buy... because they like CNN and don't understand this is just a substitute for what you can get for free.
 
You get the CNN exclusives as they happen!!!! All For 1.99/mo!!!

(i made that up) :D
 
greed,greed,and more greed,its insane how much $ these clowns think they are entitled too.
blows my mind why anyone would pay for this,if u want news updates on your notebook,do they charge for that? NO! so wtf gives them the right to charge for it on any other medium?
 
[Retaliation];1034685673 said:
greed,greed,and more greed,its insane how much $ these clowns think they are entitled too.
blows my mind why anyone would pay for this,if u want news updates on your notebook,do they charge for that? NO! so wtf gives them the right to charge for it on any other medium?

Errr, wait.

So it's greed when a news agency wants to be paid for its work?
 
Why are people genuinely upset that CNN is charging for a developed application to bring in some more revenue?
 
It's not that we're upset. It's just we're confused as to why CNN is doing this when you can easily perform the 3 steps I made in my first post.

CNN is obviously preying on the ignorant.
 
From what I understand, the application allows for a much more integrated, smoother and generally easier experience to browse the news and watch video.
 
From what I understand, the application allows for a much more integrated, smoother and generally easier experience to browse the news and watch video.

When you go to http://m.cnn.com on the iPhone there's a tab on top that says "Latest News" and "Audio/Video" and under that there's a drop menu "Select a Section" which pops up a rotary dial that lets you select your news category - World, Politics, US, and so on.

It doesn't get any easier than that.
 
It's not that we're upset. It's just we're confused as to why CNN is doing this when you can easily perform the 3 steps I made in my first post.

CNN is obviously preying on the ignorant.

I think this is more of a case of the ignorant preying on CNN...
God forbid they offer a superior service for those who want to pay for it! :rolleyes:




Headlines: It’s the core of any news app – being able to read breaking news. You can sift through news by recency and by category (crime, politics, health, etc). And since it’s CNN, you can also share stories via Facebook Connect, Twitter (Twitter), SMS, and email.

Oh, one more cool thing about headlines: if you turn your iPhone on the side, you can view stories like you can your iPod album covers. Flick through images to find the story that interests you. It’s a uniquely visual way to consume news.

My CNN: The app is chock-full of personalization options. Our favorite is the ability to “save” stories you want to read later. You don’t even need a connection to read saved stories, so you pick out the news you want and read it on the plane without a problem.

Another nifty feature: you can “follow” topics or stories that interest you and get alerts when there are updates to that story.


Video (video): Yeah, this app gets even better. It is CNN we’re talking about, so you’d hope there would be some video. You can watch on-demand clips related to breaking news. However, we’re huge fans of the live streaming video integration. Anytime there’s a breaking event (Obama gives a speech, a major natural disaster, election night, etc.), live coverage from CNN Live becomes available. Hell, this is a feature that I’d purchase as a standalone app itself.

iReport: Out of all of the CNN iPhone App’s features, this one may be the most game-changing. iReport is CNN’s user-generated citizen journalism initiative, where everyday citizens can upload photos, videos, and stories about events happening near them. Some of it is even used on CNN’s news coverage.

cnn-mid.jpg
 
I think this is more of a case of the ignorant preying on CNN...
God forbid they offer a superior service for those who want to pay for it! :rolleyes:






cnn-mid.jpg

So they dressed it up and called it an app. I'm happy for them.

I go to CNN to read the news, not look at purty interfaces. BTW I'm fully aware of the way the app looks.
 
So they dressed it up and called it an app. I'm happy for them.

I go to CNN to read the news, not look at purty interfaces. BTW I'm fully aware of the way the app looks.
That's good for you.

it's TWO DOLLARS.

Some people are willing to pay $2 for some small features. Just because YOU don't have use for a feature doesn't mean that the product is useless.
 
That's good for you.

it's TWO DOLLARS.

Some people are willing to pay $2 for some small features. Just because YOU don't have use for a feature doesn't mean that the product is useless.

Wrong!
It's ONE NINETY NINE!, not two dollars. Get it right. :-P
 
cuz i can watch the news on umteen other mediums for nothing,cuz its an iphone now all of a sudden 1.99 doesnt seem so bad? we as consumers pay enough,we work hard enough,and pay enough, I dunno bout you,but im a middle class worker,and im sick of it.
 
Listen if people are stupid enough to buy it, more power to CNN. But CNN is still being sneaky for doing it.
 
[Retaliation];1034686297 said:
cuz i can watch the news on umteen other mediums for nothing,cuz its an iphone now all of a sudden 1.99 doesnt seem so bad? we as consumers pay enough,we work hard enough,and pay enough, I dunno bout you,but im a middle class worker,and im sick of it.

Pay enough for what? What else are you going to do with money except pay for things? If you don't want it, don't buy it. Why should ANY organization work to provide you for something for free, comrade?
 
I heard the app had advertising in it too which is pretty lame for a paid app.

I dont mind ads in most places but they get annoying in iPhone apps sometimes.
 
Pay enough for what? What else are you going to do with money except pay for things? If you don't want it, don't buy it. Why should ANY organization work to provide you for something for free, comrade?

Because they have advertising revenue to do that.

Choice: CNN for 1.99
Fox for free,ABC for free,NBC for free,CBS for free...............gee I don't know???:eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
Because they have advertising revenue to do that.

Choice: CNN for 1.99
Fox for free,ABC for free,NBC for free,CBS for free...............gee I don't know???:eek::eek::eek::eek:

No they don't.

Web news has never produced a revenue stream that could actually support the business. It had always been a medium to grab new customers for their more profitable business models. With people mass-migrating to their websites the entire news industry is trying to figure out how to squeeze enough revenue out of their websites to support the business.
 
Because they have advertising revenue to do that.

Choice: CNN for 1.99
Fox for free,ABC for free,NBC for free,CBS for free...............gee I don't know???:eek::eek::eek::eek:

News is charging 2 dollars a week for WSJ, I wouldn't doubt that Fox would eventually charge as News's goal for next year is to monetize all of their publications on the web. I wouldn't doubt that the others would try something similar if this works, or attempt to make money with more intrusive ads. Could CNN had done more? Yes, but they aren't going to erode or anger their content providers. Fox is in the same boat. The networks have to worry about angering their affiliates. There's only so much everyone can do without rocking the boat too much.
 
I'm not clear why so many are upset. I'm not sure what makes it worth 2 bucks + a sub, but for some it may be worth it. It's like a week or 2 ago when people bitched about the Wall Street Journal charging for mobile access and practically screaming that it will never work (even though the Journal has been charging for full access to their website from day one).

Journalists don't work for free. Cameramen don't work for free. Oh sure there's ads, but I bet more than have of the people here block most, if not all, banner ads.

If [H] had to provide all of it's content, instead of one every few days, they'd have to charge.

It's not like they're asking for a ton of money. 2 bucks for the app is not a big deal. It may not be worth getting, but if it's well written app with a solid UI/Experience, then it might be worth it.

Surely it's a better value than a cup of coffee (which often costs more).
 
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