Before jumping into the details, it is important to note that these apps are pioneering a new platform for our industry. Both Michael Targett (FlightGlobal) and Chad Trautveter (AINOnline), the respective Online Editors, insist that this is just version 1 and that they have many improvements in the work for future versions. So it is important to judge the application in their current state rather than in regards to the could be state.
The FlightGlobal iPhone app (Search for “FlightGobal” in AppStore) strives to be very complete and uses many different features. At a high level, it offers 5 sections: news, blogs, twitter feed, videos, and jobs. The interface is configurable toarrange and display your favorite sections at the bottom of the screen. The app is designed mainly as a jump point to other apps. The News section only contains the headlines, and links to the main website in the Safari app for the whole article. The Video section links to the YouTube app. The Jobs section has more information, but still requires jumping to the Safari browser for proper formatting and interaction. The Twitter section lists the tweets from the entire FlightGlobal team, however, it requires that you jump and login to the Twitter website on the Safari app for interaction such as retweeting or opening the embedded links. The Twitter section also seems to lag behind the current timeline by as much as several days. The Blog section has the most content (with full blog posts and pictures) although some of them simply embed the main website page. The Search section only returns hits from the photo gallery, so it is not very useful to parse the news and blog items available. This is a big setback to find the news you want as the app does not allow the categorization of news between Airline, Business, MRO, Defense, etc Most pages have the ability to email someone a link to the story, using the iPhone email app. The app does not work offline and it reloads all data every time it opens. It also has no resiliency so every time you come back from another app, it takes you back to the home page rather than the page and/or item you were reading.
The AINOnline iPhone app (Search for “AINOnline” in AppStore) takes the very pragmatic approach to delivering basic content to mobile users. The app is organized in three main sections: Headlines, Categorized News, and Calendar. The Categorized section provides grouping of news items in no less than 15 different topics ranging from Airlines, to Avionics, to Defense, and Rotorcraft. The main menu at the bottom of the screen is configurable to allow your favorite categories to be accessible quickly. The rest are reached through the More button. Each section contains at least a couple of weeks worth of news articles. The display provides a chronological list of headlines and synopsis. Each item can be read in its entirety by clicking on it. When reading a specific item, you can send a link via email or post it on Twitter. There are also links to the full web version in Safari to access the pictures and other features. The calendar provides links to each events website as well as a useable phone number (click to call). All th eexternal apps are imbedded in the viewer so you do not have to leave the application when jumping off. There is also an omnipresent search feature that scans the entire content, however it cannot be restricted to a single category. The most attractive part of this application is that it can be used off-line. Because the app only contains text, updates when connected are extremely fast. You can do a quick refresh over WiFi or 3G before boarding the flight and have hours of reading available while off-line. The app also resiliency, so if you close it, you get back to the last screen you were on.
As I said before, this will be an evolving medium. Perhaps that is why AviationWeek is late to the table with no iPhone app development underway only considerations. Greg Hamilton, their Online Publisher, argues that their mobile website works well on iPhone and that it serves the needs of their audience. It doesnt work off-line, but using WiFi it is fast and offers many of the features I like in the AINOnline app. It is a valid alternative approach that also has the advantage of covering all platforms, not just the iPhone. But when it comes to leveraging the unique features of each Smartphone system (like customization or integration), AviationWeek offers only the lowest common denominator approach. It is interesting to note that neither FlightGlobal nor AINOnline offer a mobile version of their site, arguing that the Smartphones display their regular site well enough. I am not convinced that it is a good argument. The AviationWeek mobile site is definitely the best way to get A&D News on the other Smartphones. And arent there more BlackBerrys than iPhones in use in the A&D industry anyway?
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