free rommy New York → Kansas City → San Francisco → Stockholm → Berlin

My love affair with the NPR News iPhone app

I am on an unlimited iPhone data plan in Sweden now.

The implications of this are immeasurable. The ability to check email, browse the web and check-in as often as I want, to tweet, to upload pictures and video have all just made it immensely easier on the wallet. It's the future of mobile, the future of internet, the future of epic awesomeness.

There are two iPhone apps which will now see a huge uptick in usage from me. Spotify which, previously mentioned, streams music thus eliminating the need for downloading it, is now my primary source of music-listening pleasure. The second is the NPR News app.

I appreciate the BBC and the awesome news options available to me in Europe. But the one thing I was missing were the fantastic cultural, political, economic, and social commentaries and shows that NPR was airing. This American Life, Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me were among the shows that allowed me to focus and relax when I was living in San Francisco. Don't get me wrong, I could listen to them through my PC at work, but too much multi-tasking wouldn't allow me to enjoy them as much. The NPR iPhone app allows me to walk through the streets of Stockholm while I hear the self-deprecating Click and Clack give advice to hopeless yuppie intellectuals about their outdated modes of transportation. This is the stuff I miss.

The NPR app is flawlessly executed. Traditional media outlets are complaining about their demise while the one without any money to begin with goes out on a limb to take risks and become part of the technological revolution. Within the app, you can read news articles and listen to news stories. You can create playlists of broadcasts and stream them all in a row. You can save favorites. The ads are non-invasive and quick. And the app is so easy-to-use (and easy on the eye) that you're almost having fun while you're using it.

Kudos to NPR for pioneering the way we consume news in the future. You've set an example for others to follow.