Reason #167 why most news venue apps suck
Now that I’m living in Boulder again, I installed the app for the local paper, the Daily Camera, on my Android phone. It’s just a shovelware app, but what the hell.
Today I got an email news alert that included a link to a Camera story. I clicked it. And then I got this screen, asking me if I wanted to download the Daily Camera app — yep, the same one that is already installed on my phone.
App developers: Obviously it is possible to recognize when someone clicks a link with a domain that corresponds to anΒ app installed on the device, and then prompt the user whether to launch the link in the app or browser. For instance, YouTube does this.
Why then do most apps — especially from news sites and other content publishers — routinely overlook this feature? And worse, they’ll keep trying to push at you an app you already have.
I’m not just picking on the Camera here. They’re owned by Media News Group, a huge national chain. This appears to be SOP for mobile strategy for MNG: hand off app development a third party that creates braindead shovelware.
Kinda makes you wonder why they bother offering apps at all. Really, they shouldn’t. Unless they plan to do more than shovelware, they’d save money and serve mobile users better by focusing solely on the mobile web, IMHO.