Another major British newspaper – after The Guardian – is attempting to capitalise on the popularity of Apple’s iPad and the general hunger for good quality photography, including news photography.
The Daily Telegraph – which some time ago launched its paid-for iPad edition – has launched its Telegraph Pictures for iPad app – and the comparison with The Guardian’s Eyewitness app is inevitable.
While The Guardian goes for one stunning news image per day, the Telegraph selects 12 images daily. They are available around 5AM (UK time) every morning. They are not necessarily mind-blowing or unique. They are there to tell a story or a series of stories.
Yet for me it’s not all about the numbers. I personally prefer The Guardian’s approach. We are bombarded daily with hundreds of images and I’m not sure I really want to browse through yet another gallery of 12 agency images. I do like the fact Eyewitness selects one high-impact image a day. I tend to spend more time looking at and analysing what Eyewitness publishes – and the fact that each Eyewitness image comes with professional tips on top of any captions makes the app so appealing.
But that’s my personal preference.
What I really dislike about the new app is the fact it comes with no sharing options and no controls. There’s no way to favourite or share anything there. Also, there’s no refresh option, which means new images won’t appear unless you close the app completely and restart. Hmm, really?
I was trying to find out more on the Telegraph’s website, but there’s no mention of the app anywhere.
Which means it’s either an experiment or the app is at a very early stage of development. Either way, Eyewitness it ain’t.