CNN Launches Interactive News App for iPhone/iPod touch

CNN on Tuesday launched what it calls an "interactive news app" for the iPhone/iPod touch. The app, which is available in the Apple App Store for $1.99 (note: it will also be monetized through advertising; it currently features logos and banner ads from "launch advertisers" Chevron and Lexus), offers among other things live breaking news video, push notification, localization and personalization tools, and user-generated content capture and upload functionality, the broadcaster says. "The CNN App has what we think is one of the best user experiences around, and will quickly become an essential daily news source for many iPhone and iPod touch users," Louis Gump, VP of CNN Mobile, said in a prepared statement. "We tailored the best of CNN specifically for them, whether they check in from the beach, the airport or the ballpark."

Features of the new app, according to CNN, include:

• The ability to access live streaming video directly from CNN's live, multi-stream video news service, CNN.com Live.
• Access to an extensive collection of on-demand video clips in such categories as Latest News, Most Popular, On TV, US, World, Entertainment, Tech, Offbeat, Politics and Health.
• A direct gateway to CNN's user-generated news service, iReport.com, that allows users to browse UGC, register, and sign into their account or sign on as a guest in order to capture and instantly upload photos and videos (with the iPhone 3GS). The app also allows users to browse iReport.com's latest "assignments," CNN says, asking the community to weigh in on local and national news stories.
• Various personalization features, including 1) local news, weather and traffic info based on the user's actual location or a location specified by the user; 2) the ability to "follow" a story or topic (as news alerts or new stories related to a chosen topic are published, they are automatically pushed to the app); and 3) "saved" content functionality, which CNN says enables users to access text stories that interest them even when they're offline.
• Various text news features including bulleted highlights above each article so that users can scan them, and the ability to share stories via email, SMS, Twitter and Facebook Connect.