Singapore's Channel NewsAsia Gets New App, Good for iPhone and iPad

Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia TV station now has a new app that works on both iPhone and iPad. Launched today, the free pan-Asian news app will let people upload ‘citizen journalist’ style user-generated content, view full-screen photo galleries, take part in polls, see the channel’s programme schedules, check local weather, and share the news you’re reading with lots of social media.

The new app replaces the stale-looking old one as well as adding support for the popular iPad. It brings the TV station more in line with the good-looking apps from the likes of CNN and the BBC. Unfortunately, the Android version is still stuck in the digital Dark Ages, and also needs this kind of refresh at some point.

Articles can be downloaded within the new app for offline reading - which is a good feature that not many news apps bother with. But then Channel NewsAsia goes and spoils it all by only allowing these to be viewable for three days. So you’d still be better off using Instagram or Pocket (formerly ReadItLater) for saving items to read at your leisure.

The app was made for Channel NewsAsia by Singapore developers Cyclone Digital. In a press release, its MD, Sarah Doery, said:

We worked closely with Channel NewsAsia to develop an intuitive, dynamic approach for the app, and we’re confident that users will enjoy the richer and more in-depth news experience it offers.

The new, universal Channel NewsAsia app is in the iTunes Store now.